The sounds lead to sights when the birds are unexpected

Oklahoma Mesonet reported 0.44 inches of rainfall over the past weekly period, which encompasses the snowfall that we had in our last storm. Fortunately, it wasn’t quite what was expected!

The migrant arrivals for the month of February include.

Blue-winged and Cinnamon- winged Teals, Sandhill Crane, Turkey Vulture, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Purple Martin, and Sprague’s Pipit.

None of the birds arrive until the middle of the month in Central Oklahoma.

No departures listed in this area.

Payne County rare birds for the week include only a male Eastern Towhee at Lake Carl Blackwell Dam.

On Jan. 29, writer was pleased to hear a hubbub across the street at Boomer Lake, looked up and spotted a nervous hybrid Dark morph x Snow Goose with a partial dark head and neck.

It had been walking toward the Canada Geese that alerted the bird, which became nervous and instead, began walking north.

What a beautiful sight, when what should appear several days later on Feb. 1 was something even more out of the ordinary.

Hearing the high-pitched call of a multitude of Cackling Geese and looking up, there was something to write home about.

There was a lovely entourage of three waves of 16 Snow Geese, 1 Blue Goose, 2 Ross’s Geese, 6 Canada Geese, and 500 Cackling Geese. Needless to say, this sighting created a wonderful day for some of us.

There was also a mention of how insects are not hitting windshields or getting caught in car’s grills any more, which we can all safely attribute to pesticide usage, which is turning into

DEB HIRT

a very sad state of affairs. Every once in a while some of us find uncommon birds dead on lawns or near telephone poles, which could well have the same issues.

Boomer Lake added Snow, Ross’s, Cackling, Greater White-fronted, and Canada Geese, Mallard, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Ring-billed, American Herring, Iceland (Thayer’s), Bonaparte’s, and Lesser Blackbacked Gulls, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Ringnecked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Killdeer, Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Bald Eagle, Redhead, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue Jay, American Crow, Eastern Bluebird, Harris’s, Lincoln’s, and Song Sparrows, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Junco, Rock Pigeon (feral), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Finch, American Goldfinch, domestic Mallard, Common Merganser, Mourning Dove, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, House Sparrow, Common Goldeneye, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Shoveler, Greenwinged Teal, suspect California Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, and Red-winged Blackbird.

Lake Carl Blackwell--Dam counted Wood Duck, Double Crested Cormorant, Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers, American Kestrel, Cedar Waxwing, White-throated Sparrow, Western Meadowland, western/ eastern meadowlark, Common Grackle, Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Phoebe, American Pipit, Fox Sparrow, Spotted and Eastern Towhee, Cooper’s Hawk, Hermit Thrush, Red-breasted Merganser, Savannah Sparrow, Pintail/ Mallard hybrid, and Belted Kingfisher.

Oklahoma State University tagged slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco.

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.

AGreater Yellowlegs.

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE