Local Bird Events Coming Up

I received an email this morning from Katherine Smith of Wild Birds Unlimited of Wichita Falls with some upcoming bird-related events happening in the local area, reminding me I needed to get the word out. You wouldn't think I need that reminder as I am involved with most of them, but apparently that's the case.

Saturday, September 13, 8:00 AM: Bird Walk at Lake Arrowhead State Park. Meet at the firewood shed in the middle of the first campground on your left. There is a $3 entry fee to the park. Shorebird migration is in full swing, so I would expect us to see some good birds.

Saturday, September 13, 10:00 AM: Bird Program at Wild Bird Rescue, 4611 Lake Shore Drive. There is no admission, although donations are always appreciated. Chris will have either hawks or owls and will give an informative talk on their beautiful birds. This is the first of a continuing series of programs at  Wild Bird Rescue. Here is a list of the programs scheduled so far, as well as one or two special events happening at the Center:

Sat., Sept. 13, 10 a.m.

Sun., Sept. 14, 1 p.m.

Sat., Oct. 11, 10 a.m.

Sun., Oct. 12, 7:30 – 10:30 a.m. – The Big Sit Bird Count

       1 p.m. – Feeding your Winter Birds

Sat., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.

Sun., Nov. 9, 1 p.m.

Sat., Dec. 13, 10 a.m.

Sun., Dec. 14, 1 p.m. – Birds in Christmas Traditions

Thurs., Jan. 1 – Big Day for Wild Bird Rescue team birding competition and fund raiser

Sat., Jan. 10, 10 a.m.

Sun., Jan. 11, 1 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 14, 10 a.m.

Sun., Feb. 15, 1 p.m. – Birds in Love; Interesting Mating Behavior in Birds

Sat., March 14, 10 a.m.

Sun., March 15, 1 p.m.

Sat., April 11, 10 a.m.

Sun., April 12, 1 p.m. – Wildscaping your Yard to Benefit the Birds

Sat., May 9, 10 a.m.

Sun., May 10, 1 p.m.

Saturday, September 13, Noon, Wild Birds Unlimited Store: This is the one year anniversary of the Wild Birds Unlimited store opening in its Market Street location. There will be a big sale Friday - Sunday, but on Saturday, beginning at approximately noon, I will have some birds from Wild Bird Rescue to meet the customers. I expect to be there for about 2 hours.

The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club will have their meeting at the Wild Birds Unlimited store at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 16. Katherine Smith will be showing pictures from her recent birdwatching trip to Peru.

Don't forget the trip to the Hummingbird Festival in Rockport, TX, September 17 - 21. Some people have dropped out at the last minute, so you can probably still get a seat on the bus, departing Thursday morning. I for one, am looking forward to the trip.

On Tuesday, September 23, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM, there will be a Pollinator Workshop at River Bend Nature Center. Did you know that some bird species pollinate wildflowers? Well, they do. Come learn about providing good habitat for the birds and other pollinator species. Free.

If you would prefer to just get out and go birding, Lake Wichita has had some awesome numbers of shorebirds passing through on migration. Since I am taking part in almost all of the programs listed here, I plan to take a couple of hours Friday morning to head out to the spillway with a scope to check out the shorebirds.

Good birding!

The Best Laid Plans

My intent this morning was to head out to Clay County to look for the tundra swans near Lake Arrowhead after I stopped in to care for my charges at Wild Bird Rescue. During the winter we don't have a lot of birds, but some good ones--currently, we have 2 screech owls, a barred owl, red-tailed hawk and of course, Missi, our educational Mississippi kite.

However, when I got up, the fog was thick--knowing the area the swans were reported is well back from the road, I knew there would be no chance of seeing the birds at that distance with this much fog, so a change in plans was needed.

When I got to Wild Bird Rescue, I decided to walk down to the little inlet and see just how bad the visibility was over the lake. I couldn't see more than about 15 yards with any clarity. In spite of that, the 5 minutes I spent there yielded some good birds, to include several hundred red-winged blackbirds coming up out of the reeds for the day, a Cooper's hawk, a couple of coots, a pied-billed grebe, a marsh wren, a belted kingfisher, and six great blue herons that were spaced every few yards along the bank.

I got very close to the Cooper's hawk. I think he was concentrating on the red-winged blackbirds and contemplating breakfast. He was fairly low in a tree along the bank, so I wasn't more than 5 yards from him and had a chance to get a good look before he decided to move to a taller tree across the inlet.

The marsh wren was a special treat. I hear them occasionally, but they tend to stay in the thick of the reeds and when they pop out, it is only for a second or two. This morning, the wren was scolding and hopping around on top of the reeds, then flew across the path, right in front of me, so I had the opportunity to get a good look.

All in all, a very fruitful 5-minute investment. Right now, I am keeping an eye out on my feeders for Project Feederwatch, waiting for the fog to burn off so I can head out on my swan quest. The little ruby-crowned kinglet as usual, cannot resist the suet cake.

Good birding!

Bird Lectures at OU

Since Norman, OK isn't all that far away, I want to pass on information about some birding lectures at OU this week. Here is the announcement from OKBIRDS:

"Dr. Masakazu (Mark) Konishi from Caltech, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, will be on the OU campus next week to give two lectures on the two fields he pioneered. He will speak on "The Science of Birdsong" at the Sam Noble Museum Tuesday, October 6 at 7 PM (reception following) and will give a presentation on "How Owls Catch Prey in the Dark" in George Lynn Cross Hall 123, Wednesday, October 6 at 4:30 PM. Both are free and open to the public."