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Restoring habitat for birds, wildlife
Oklahoma Mesonet reported no rainfall over the past seven-day (Nov. 11-18) time frame.
Payne County rare birds for the month include a report of a Black-throated Sparrow in Legacy Village, Stillwater on November 7, as well as Sora and Common Gallinule at Cushing Water Treatment Plant and a group of Whitefaced Ibis flyovers at Lake Carl Blackwell on Nov. 8. Not certain how I managed to miss these, as they were not late reports.
The nationwide rare/ vagrant birds for the past week include the continuing Mottled Owl and Brown Jay, as well as the recent birding festival’s Cattle Tyrant, while has been observed before, not always in stark continuity.
Nova Scotia shared Tropical Kingbird, while Ontario located an offshore Razorbill which was not far from terra firma.
New Hampshire captured Bell’s Vireo, while New York shared Tundra Bean-Goose and Delaware recorded Barnacle Goose and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.
Texas snared Siberian IAmur) Sone Chat and came up with House Crow the week before, an Asian bird that also has small settlements in east Africa, southeast Asia and western Europe.
Kansas managed a King Eider, while Montana welcomed White-eyed Vireo.
Launched in 2021, the Conservation Forage Program has successfully restored over 10,000 acres of grassland in North Dakota, which is paramount in returning critical bird grassland habitat. This makes the program more that half way to its goal of 18,000 acres.
The ND Conservation Forage Program works with ND’s landowners and producers to establish functional grasslands on marginal cropland to
DEB HIRT
return native grasslands and forbs to improve soil health, while creating necessary nesting and foraging habitat fir grassland birds and other wildlife. The programs aims to accelerate grassland restoration and improve overall soil health across the state, also benefiting livestock and native wildlife and protecting air and water quality.
Boomer Lake added Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Mourning Dove, Ring-billed, Franklin’s, and American Herring Gulls, Double crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Black and Turkey Vultures, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, yellow-shafted Norther Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, American Pipit, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Slate-Colored Dark-eyed Junco, White-crown, Harris’s, White-throated, Chipping, House, and Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, American Coot, Killdeer, Pied-billed Grebe, American Robin, Red-tailed Hawk, Gadwall, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, and flyover Horned Lark.
Lake Carl Blackwell tagged Sharp-shinned Hawk, Swamp Sparrow, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Eurasian Collared- Dove, Bonaparte’s Gull, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Red-headed, Pileated, and Hairy Woodpeckers, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, Lincoln’s and Red Fox Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Common Grackle, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, Wood Duck, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eastern Phoebe, Pine Siskin, Cackling Goose, and Red-shouldered Hawk.
The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University penned in Rock Pigeon (Feral) and Merlin.
Keep your eyes on the ground and your head in the clouds.
Happy birding! Deb Hirt is a wild bird rehabilitator and photographer living in Stillwater.
A Lapland Longspur.
RHODODENDRITES, CC BY-SA 4.0
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