The Osprey's fall visit

I saw my first Osprey of the fall migration today at Rose Lake in Yukon! These beautiful birds of prey, sometimes called “fish eagles” are striking with their black and white plummage. They are also known for carrying their prey, a fish, facing forward. Legend has it that Ospreys do this so the fish can […]

My first Laughing Gull

A new bird! I got to photograph a new (for me) bird today! During a quick trip to Lake Hefner today, I found the 1st year Laughing Gull that Terri Underhill and Bret Mayden discovered yesterday. I was very excited to see the bird hanging out in the same area of Stars & Stripes Park […]

Young hummers all look alike

How can anyone be expected to know the details of a bird that’s only 3.75″ long?! I’m struggling to identify the plummage of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that’s been visiting every morning. It seems to be a juvenile — an adult male would have the signature red throat; an adult female would have white tips on […]

Merlin returns to Lake Hefner

One of my favorite birds… one that I think is indeed surrounded in something quite mystical… made a wonderful appearance today at Lake Hefner. The Merlin returned!!! I literally jumped out of my car and quickly set up my spotting scope on a muddy road when I caught that first unexpected glimpse of him sitting […]

Purple Martins stage for massive migration

I stood in the parking lot and looked up to see tens of thousands of Purple Martins swarm through the evening sky with a singular destination… two Sycamore trees! By the time the sun had set, literally tens of thousands of these birds had navigated through continuous clouds of birds to settle into two trees. […]

T-storms dampen river journey

Nothing like standing out in the open when lightning strikes to get the adrenalin going and the feet peddling across sand and water, ignoring any /all birds enroute to the safety of my SUV! A good old-fashioned summer downpour hit the South Canadian River this evening while I was standing on the river bottom, and […]

Gallery: new Mississippi Kite pics

I saw two things today that I hadn’t seen in some time: clouds and rain! A front is coming in from the north and it kicked off a few scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. The temperature dropped from 99 to 77 and it was wonderful while it lasted! Temps are back up in the high 80s […]

Photo Gallery updates: Vireo & Turkey

I found some time this evening to work on several photos I took in June and July of a Warbling Vireo on the nest. I’ve added them to the Backyard BirdCam Photo Gallery.

I found this vireo nest on June 18 while tracking the call of a Warbling Vireo at Lake Hefner (Oklahoma City). These […]