“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Friday, April 11, 2025, 3:23 PM, Brent Barnes <00000113f4c02191-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Thanks Hal and Jesse! I will employ both techniques when I head up there in a couple of weeks.
Brent Barnes
On Friday, April 11, 2025, 11:25:21 AM CDT, drhal2 Yocum <drhal2...> wrote:
Hi Brent, I used a slightly different due to my loss of hearing at the higher frequencies. I found the Henslow sparrow there at the Tall Grass Prairie by driving at 100 yard intervals , stopping for 5 minutes and using “Merlin to hear for me”. Then just 1-2 calls brought several right to the fence for excellent viewing and photos. That way I could cover more areas. No motor noise to compete.Hope you succeed.Hal A. Yocum , MD
Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 11, 2025, at 8:15 AM, Jesse Pline <jessepline...> wrote:
Hi Brent,
Your best bet for Henslow's Sparrow will be by avoiding driving and instead walking the roads and trails. I had the same difficulty when working on finding them for my OK Big Year, the easiest way to find them is when they're singing and their song is very short and high-pitched, something that you'll have a very hard time hearing over a car engine.
On Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 1:02 AM Brent Barnes <00000113f4c02191-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Hello birders of Oklahoma!
I have finally broken down this year and am reaching out to the many Oklahoma birding experts on this list serve for suggestions on finding and photographing a bird that has become a real nemesis of mine - the Henslow's Sparrow. Obviously, the best place to find this species in Oklahoma is the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, but after six half-day trips in April and May during the past two years, I have continued to strike out.
I know Henslow's Sparrow is a secretive bird of the sparse grassland, but reportedly males can be seen perched and singing during breeding season. I have slowly driven many miles at the Tall Grass preserve looking along grass areas and have walked the trails many times. I have found many great birds such as Upland Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, roosting Common Nighthawk in the mid-day, American Pipit and can usually find Savannah Sparrow and Field Sparrow and in May can easily find dozens of Dickissels, but no Henslow's Sparrows.
Do any of you have suggestions for finding and photographing this species at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve? For those who have seen this species there, is it usually by slowly driving the grassy areas and searching the grassland or by walking the trails or headquarter areas? Is there an area of the large preserve where you have had better luck finding this species?
Thanks for any tips, I will likely try and get up there in the next two weeks and was hoping for suggestions.
Brent Barnes
