Storms can scare in all kinds of birds

Oklahoma Mesonet reported 1.86 inches over the past week.

Payne County rare birds for the same period included Blackthroated Green Warbler and Indigo Bunting at Boomer Lake, Red Crossbill type 2 (Ponderosa Pine), late Tree Swallow, Spotted Sandpiper, Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Evening Grosbeak type 1 (Northwestern) at Lake Carl Blackwell, Dickcissel at Lake Carl Blackwell Dam and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Will Rogers Woods (private).

An estimated 168,200 birds crossed Payne County between Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 at 1730 hours CST and Tuesday Nov. 3 at 0650 hours CST.

Peak migration traffic was an estimated 71,900 birds in flight from the southeast, wind speed of 24 mph, and altitude of 2,500 feet on Nov. 3 at 0440 hours CST.

Expected nocturnal migrants were Dark-eyed Junco, Lincoln’s, Harris’s, Song, Vesper, Fox, and Savannah Sparrows, Orange-crowned Warbler, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Rubycrowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Canvasback, Ring-necked, Canvasback and Redhead Ducks.

Nationwide vagrant/rare birds this week will cover most of the month of October by giving a recap as well as the most recent, as it ties in a good number of tubenoses. Prior to that, landlocked Utah had zero, due mainly to Hurricane Rachel’s scuttle across the state. This event repeated Hillary’s behavior a few years previous.

We began with the hosting of Lake Havascu at the Arizona/California border with a few Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels, then blossoming into multiple Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels on Utah’s lakes, soon counting Black and Least Storm-Petrels.

The October hiatus led with their first Gray-headed Swamphen in North Carolina, including two others which could well have been escapees from Florida and Hurricane Isaias, followed by their first Hermit Warbler and third Elegant Tern.

Pennsylvania got their first Grayheaded Swamphen, as well as their third Hammond’s Flycatcher.

Georgia spotted their first Piratic Flycatcher and a Tropical Kingbird.

Gray Heron stopped by Southern Maine as their first, as West Virginia easily coped with their first Groovebilled Ani, with Florida sharing Broad-billed Hummingbird and Western Wood-Pewee.

Louisiana boasted Painted Whitestart or the former Redstart for those that used to be politically correct.

Texas did not lag with Northern Jacana, Roadside Hawk, AND Kelp Gull.

Nebraska discovered Little Gull and a deceased third Purple Gallinule.

Canada was peppered with their own superstars – Nova Scotia added Black-throated Gray Warbler and Tropical Kingbird, Ontario tagged Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Gray and Tropical Kingbirds, Manitoba’s First Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and first Tree Pipit in British Columbia and Canada.

Wyoming shouted out Tropical Kingbird and second Red-shouldered Hawk, as Nevada checked off their first Yellow Grosbeak, then Louisiana Waterthrush.

See HIRT on C2

LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE

Deb Hirt

The songbird Northern House Wren joins the list of fall migrants.

Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

CONTINUED FROM C1

Washington State included Chestnut-collared Longspur and Vermilion Flycatcher, and Idaho saw their second Broad-billed Hummingbird.

Alaska went wild with multiplicity – Pallas’s and Middendorf’s Grasshopper Warblers, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Gray-streaked Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike and Yellow- browed Warbler.

Boomer Lake added Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal sp., Ruddy Duck, White-winged and Mourning Doves, American Coot, Greater Yellowlegs, Franklin’s and Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, European Starling, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Orange-crowned, Nashville, and Myrtle Yellowrumped Warblers, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, American Coot, Killdeer, American Wigeon, Red head, Pied-billed Grebe, Belted Kingfish, Yellowshafted Northern Flicker and Northern House and Carolina Wrens.