Date: 2/25/25 5:47 pm From: Bryan Reynolds <nature_photo_man...> Subject: Recent central Oklahoma birds, 13-22 Feb 2025
All,
I was able to get out a little during the cold snap and photograph a few local birds. I did three outings to the Purcell City Lake, the first one on the 13th. The first species I saw was a pair of Northern Flickers. Technically, this was a photo-lifer, but I'm not really too happy with the photos. They would land in a dappled shade area and probe the ground. Those images were contrasty and the ground was covered in old leaves and feathers, making for very cluttered photos. The images showed behavior, but I only kept those where a bird was in a sunny spot. I did get a couple images of one on a tree branch, but still not my best shots. I've been back several times to try to get them again, but so far, no luck. However, another photo-lifer posed for a shot and that was a Brown Thrasher, this time much cleaner and a nice head angle. On that day, I also got a small group of Double-crested Cormorants in flight, a Northern Mockingbird feeding on cedar berries, and a Field Sparrow.
The next day out was on the 17th. I typically drive the back roads on my way to the lake, and will sometimes stop at an oil access road that provides a good light angle. On this day, a Turkey Vulture was perched on a limb and unlike many I encounter, it stayed put for me. The vulture was very close, and as I sat still with my engine off, it bounced around from limb to limb and actually got closer to me for some tight shots. Nearby a Northern Mockingbird landed in cover for a shot and then at the lake, I only got a shot of an Eurasian Collared-Dove before the weather started to get bad.
The last day in this report was on the 22nd and again to Purcell City Lake. I didn't know what to expect due to the freezing weather. Much of the lake was frozen except for a few spots along the edge. This actually made for some nice photos and the first subjects were a group of Ring-billed Gulls bathing and wing flapping. As this was happening, a pair of Mallards swam by and then a pair of Northern Shovelers approached with the hen bathing. The drake got very close and I got some decent shots with his reflection. As I was getting these photos, a large flock of something was coming in, squawking and swirling around near the south edge of the lake and preparing to land. I had no idea what they were and decided to check them out. This was fairly close to the parking area, and when I got there, they were just sitting out on the ice. I knew they were a species of goose, but this bird-newbie had no idea what they were. I just started taking a bunch of photos of individuals and small groups as they walked around, drank from the surface, and started to rest on one leg. I did notice that one of them was banded. When I got home, I looked them up and found they were Greater White-fronted Geese (lifer and photo-lifer). As I was photographing them, I also got some shots of Canada Geese (preening, stretching, resting), a couple Cackling Geese, and an Eurasian Collared-Dove that was foraging next to my window.
