An identifiable habit of a hunting bird

Oklahoma Mesonet reported no rainfall for the past seven- day period in Stillwater, covering three full weeks.

Payne County rare birds for the same time frame include Eastern Towhee and a lovely Franklin’s Gull in breeding plumage which was very striking, at Lake Carl Blackwell-Dam.

Nationwide rare/vagrant individuals include all continuing birds without any new individuals this period.

New York shared Tundra Bean-Goose with Florida’s Gray Gull. We also have Crimson- collared Grosbeak, Cattle Tyrant, Brown Jay, and Mottled Owl from Texas, as well as Hawai’i’s Blue Rock-Thrush.

A recent meteorological news report detailing abnormally warm temperatures in the Arctic and low sea ice in the region says this may not be over, as unusual conditions have also been triggering cold snaps across the US. We have record low sea ice levels, and normally do not see only 10% like we are experiencing this year. It is normally much higher.

This creates a domino effect in the atmosphere, releasing heat, creating planetary waves in the atmosphere and has been disrupting the polar vortex, affecting weather, allowing heat to move southward, leaving blankets of snow and sub-zero temperatures in North America and Eurasia.

Globally, warmer climate can supercharge extreme weather events, making them more frequent and severe.

Extreme changes like this can also disrupt growing seasons, creating unbalanced ecosystems and spreading disease.

We can combat this by reducing planet-warming pollution causing Arctic ice to melt, as well as creating clean energy sources if done soon enough.

Writer would like to touch on the American Kestrel for a moment, a bird that we all have seen and are very familiar with.

There is one habit of this gorgeous little hawk that renders its field identification very easy, and that is its hunting method. We rarely watch the bird for more than a minute or two without seeing it “heave to” with its head to wind and remain stationary in the air, sometimes on rapidly quivering wings and tail fanned out, at other times nearly motionless for a few seconds while its keen eyes scan the ground.

It may drop a few feet and repeat or move elsewhere and

DEB HIRT

repeat.

This habit, along with its general brown coloring, is enough to identify it with certainty in the British Isles.

The kestrel would be an exceedingly common bird in England if not for the gamekeeper, as it is not as a rule injurious to game. Most kestrels don’t bother game, but in areas where pheasants are reared under hens in coops in the fields, a kestrel will sometimes look for mice. When they see young ones without a parent or with no mother, it may pick up a chick, which may require it eventually being shot.

They are under protection in many locations, so the effect of the great war of 19141918, there were gamekeepers needed just for this purpose, but after a couple of years, it was no longer too necessary, as most young men were at the front, so now there is less ground preserved for game as it is no longer needed, as they find their way to secured breeding places in unaffected and unhunted territory. In other words, they learn quickly to keep out of breeding areas, whereas in the US, that is not the case with their protections for all non-invasive species.

Boomer Lake counted Canvasback, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Canada Goose, Mallard, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Rock Pigeon (Feral), Mourning Dove, American Coot, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Darkeyed Junco, White-throated and Song Sparrows, Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Northern Shoveler, Horned Grebe, Belted Kingfisher, and Harris’s Sparrow.

Lake Carl Blackwell added Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Hooded and Common Mergansers, Northern Bobwhite, Bonaparte’s and American Herring Gulls, Bald Eagle, American Pipit, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Franklin’s Gull, American Crow, European Starling, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Lincoln’s, Savannah, and Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Bluebird, Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers, Spotted Towhee, Sedge Wren, Common Grackle, Brown Creeper, and Fox Sparrow.

Lake Carl Blackwell--Dam tagged Red-tailed Hawk, Cackling Goose, American White Pelican, American Kestrel, Eastern Meadowlark, Lesser Scaup, Red-shafted Northern Flicker, Slate-Colored Dark-eyed Junco, Greater Scaup, Eastern Phoebe, Bewick’s Wren, Cedar Waxwing, Field Sparrow, Red Fox Sparrow, and Eastern Towhee.

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.

An American Kestrel.

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