Oklahoma

Burrowing Owl - Black Mesa Grasslands, OK The Great Plains turned out to be good for Burrowing Owls. It looks like there have been some areas set aside for them and the Prairie Dog. The owls don't eat the Prairie dogs, they are much too large. In fact, they are dependent on each other and where the Prairie Dog has been removed so the owls will follow as they will use the prairie dog alarm call to warn them of predators like the Coyote. These owls are declining quickly in many of the states and provinces of the prairies. If you have owls on your land and would like to know how to help, read this article. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Burrowing Owl - Black Mesa Grasslands, OK
Swainson's Hawk - Felt, OK Swainson's hawks can be found in many variations including this Dark Morph. According to an article by Bill Chaisson, these color variations are only found in 10% of the birds. This one seem particularly dark to me and I had to take a better look as there were light morph Swainson's hawks on every second pole and this one just seemed different. The white and black barring under the tail feathers gave the bird away but it was a bit of a search through some photos and the bird book to make sure. This was just north of Felt, Oklahoma Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Swainson's Hawk - Felt, OK
Horned Lark - Cibola National Forest, OK The panhandle of Oklahoma is covered with barbed wire fence. many of the birds we saw were either on the fence line or the telephone poles as there are the highest points in the landscape giving the birds a chance to see what might be looking for them. This Horned lark, named for the feathers at the back of the eyebrow stripe, was up on the fence trying to keep steady as it was very windy on the plains. This was also our very first bird in Oklahoma and will go down in eBird just like that. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Horned Lark - Cibola National Forest, OK