Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk)
American kestrel male
I spent about an hour last month photographing a single male American kestrel, also known as a sparrow hawk. When he first arrived at the blind at Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwest Oklahoma, he was wet. Read the rest of this entry »
Harriers and a Merlin
Northern Harrier
Harriers, also known as marsh hawks, are a very common sight here in southwestern Oklahoma in winter. Although the Cornell Lab of Ornithology map shows they occur year-round in the northwestern parts of our state, I did not see any last summer. They were replaced by the very numerous Mississippi kites. Read the rest of this entry »
American Bittern and Some Other Birds
American bittern
Sometimes you have to look hard to find a bird that blends in so well with its surroundings as does the American bittern.
I was with another birder on Jan. 2 when a photographer drove up and told us where to find a bittern at Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwestern Oklahoma. Read the rest of this entry »
Short-eared Owls
Short-eared owl
I didn’t get a chance to post my photographs from my January 2 visit to Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwest Oklahoma. I flew to Seattle two days later, and did some of the photo editing while there.
The short-eared owl, which is a winter bird in Oklahoma, is a life bird for me (number 461) and I would have missed them if another birder had not told me there was about a dozen of them hunkered down in the tall grass by the visitor center. Read the rest of this entry »
