After one recent dampening of the streets, which I guess should be called a rain shower, I saw in a field about 100+ American Robins feeding at the edge of a field near SW 59th and Santa Fe.  Perhaps the small amount of moisture caused insects or worms to come toward the surface and the robins took advantage of this windfall. 

Perhaps that’s why the Robins were attracted to our back yard one recent evening.  I was loafing on the glider under the patio when I noticed two male Robins at the edge of my garden.  The more dominant male was hopping around on the landscape post and cocking his head sideways toward the grass below.  In a flash, he landed on the lawn, cocked his head sideways again and lunged forward and jabbed his beak down into the grass. 

When his head came up, so did a large, writhing nightcrawler.  The robin obviously had experience with this type of dinner, because he pounded the protesting worm into the grass and soon his dinner was in two portions.  He quickly ate the smaller section and lunged again after the still-wriggling larger section.  The larger piece took a little longer to consume, but soon it was “down the hatch.”  I looked to see if its crop was jumping up and down, but it wasn’t. 

Each morning, just before sunrise, I’m awakened by the neighborhood Mourning Doves as they greet their day.  Shortly afterward I hear the irritated chips of the Cardinals. 

The Capitol House Finches have been singing their hearts out from among the columns at the Capitol.  I enjoy their cheery greeting each morning as I walk from my car to the building. 

Saturday, March 4th, was to have been a field trip to Lake Purcell, Lexington WMA, and Byars.  In the newsletter I had listed the 9:00 a.m. meeting place as the SE corner of Lowe’s parking lot.  We always meet at the NE corner.  So…Sam, Brian and I were at the NE corner of the parking lot before 9:00 a.m. and waited until about 9:10 a.m., before leaving Oklahoma City for Byars.  We looked around for any cars that might have birders in them, but saw none, so we left. 

Around 10:00 a.m., my cell phone chirped a greeting and I noticed it was Nancy Vicars.  I knew Nancy had other plans and was unable to come with us.  I told her we were approaching Rosedale, on the way to the cabin.  It was then I found out two of our new members had been waiting for me at the SE corner of Lowe’s parking lot!  Not having made this trip before, they dutifully parked where the newsletter indicated, not where we “always” meet on the NE corner.   

Needless to say, I felt like a terrible host, and I do apologize for my errant fingers when I typed the newsletter’s field trip list.  NEXT TIME, I’ll double-check the newsletter, like I thought about doing. 

This brings me to another thought about our field trips.  If members are planning to attend a field trip, PLEASE NOTIFY THE LEADER to let him/her know you will be attending.  I received no phone call or e-mail from anyone, so I assumed nobody was coming.   

The Muznys solitary field trip turned into a wonderful early spring weekend, although there still were no Woodcocks to be found.  It is still powder-dry. 

We had scurried around on Friday evening and early Saturday morning to get organized to spend all day Saturday and Sunday at the cabin.  On Saturday afternoon, after making my birding trail rounds, I decided to curl up with a good book.  I curled up and I had my book, but soon the thought of a nice afternoon snooze won out over any other activities.   

The earlier bird walk was not very exciting.  I did find our winter resident Red-headed Woodpecker at the end of the pond, where it’s been all winter.  It’s very quiet until I walk down there, and as soon as I’m in the vicinity, the squawking commences.  The Great Horned Owl was roused from his slumber, too.  It flew away with a “murder” of crows hot on its tail feathers.   

Along our fence line, a Mockingbird was hunting something interesting down in the grass at the edge of a multiflora rose thicket.  In the deeper woods, I found a flock of Chickadees, Titmice, Brown Creeper and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.  Brian found a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  The Field Sparrows, that have been very quiet all winter, have begun to sing their ‘bouncing ball’ call. 

Along the creek were a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and a collection of woodpeckers.  The Carolina Wrens were loudly proclaiming their territories everywhere I went.  The wasps have begun to fly around again and the moths that were bouncing off of our screens on Saturday night were too numerous to count. 

Among the more emphatic early spring singers are the Cardinals, Titmouse, Chickadees and those impudent crows.  There is one bird that takes the prize for incessant singing – the Eastern Phoebe.  Early on Sunday morning the first sound I heard was the breathless “phoebe, phoebe.”  I opened one eye and peeked out to see how close it was.  Right above the bed was the tail-dipping singer.  Right beside him was the second phoebe.  It appears we have a pair.  Sam told me he shooed them out of his barn right at dusk on Saturday evening.  If he happens to leave the barn doors open, they waste no time sneaking in and making themselves at home among his barn possessions.

As I sat on the screen porch to do some writing, I watched the phoebes fly catching and singing all afternoon.  The sound of their beaks snapping up airborne delicacies is so neat to hear.  Phoebes also have a conversational fussy-like call they do when two are present.  My Sunday morning walk found Phoebes at the cabin, near the highway bridge, along the highway, and near the pond.  I think it’s safe to say the Phoebes have returned from wherever they went to winter. 

The Cardinals were singing on every “corner,” and the crows were constantly fussing at something.  Near the birdhouse at the edge of the pond, the Bluebirds can be heard singing their beautiful spring songs.  The Field Sparrows that were so secretive and quiet and sometimes absent all winter suddenly burst forth into their bouncing ball song. I also saw a flock of Juncos, Cardinals and Bluebirds taking their morning bath at the edge of the pond.  Splashes of red and blue decorated the edge of the water.  Water was splashing in all directions.  Maybe they missed their Saturday night bath? 

The feeder behind the cabin has attracted Goldfinches that are beginning to show off their more yellow plumage.  They feed with the juncos, that are fairly tolerant of each other, but once in a while I hear their soft little fussy-calls when some upstart gets the bright idea to land too close to the more dominant junco.  Making quick trips to the sunflower seed are the White-breasted Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers. 

Several Brown Creepers made our birds list for this weekend.  We usually don’t see many, so maybe this species is beginning to move northward?   

The flock of Wood Ducks did not visit the pond this weekend.  Brian saw a pair of them fly over the pasture while he was out birding, but we saw none at the pond.  I guess that was only a winter thing.   

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker continues to feed in the oaks around the cabin with a couple of Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.   

The drought seems to be affecting the armadillos of our pasture.  I found four of them busily digging and rooting in the extremely dry earth on Saturday afternoon.  They normally are not out foraging in warm weather, but these appeared to be in need of food.  One smaller Armadillo even had a bony backside.  If they have hips, its hipbones were nearly poking out of his shell on its back.  It actually looked more square than round. It did a lot of digging, but I didn’t observe any eating, and I was close enough to touch it, which I did once.  I decided not to do my usual clap to startle the emancipated creature.  I took a few photos and backed away so it didn’t have to use any more energy running away from me. 

I’m not an avid fan of the armadillo, but I do feel a certain amount of empathy for the critters that must feed on munchies they derive from the earth.  If a human can barely turn the earth with a rototiller, how difficult it must be for animals to forage in the earth.   

One of our Sunday afternoon projects was to check all of the 20+ various and assorted bird houses we’ve put all over our property.  Nothing has started building a new nest, but Bluebirds, Chickadees and Titmice are singing in the vicinity of several houses.  We have two boxes suitable for Screech Owl nesting, but we haven’t seen anything in them all winter, nor have we heard the little guys singing.  This Sunday afternoon Sam and I drove the 4-wheeler on a trail close to one of the boxes.  I didn’t have my binoculars, but I noticed the hole was stuffed with something gray that moved back into the box as we approached.  I went back for binoculars and Brian and I walked back to the box.  Sure enough, the gray “something” was a sleeping gray-phase Eastern Screech Owl.  It may have been on a nest, but we didn’t disturb the box and its snoozing occupant.  What a neat way to end a weekend of birding and loafing! 

One Week Later 

On March 12, the landscape was in the process of a major transition to spring.  The redbuds were blooming and softly decorating the landscape with their delicate red-lavender blossoms.  Wafting along through the woods on the breeze was the smell of the American plum trees.  Along the creek, several elms were showing their soft lime green color against a backdrop of darker grey bark and limbs.  The Cedar Waxwings took notice of this development.  Found one lone Spring Beauty in the pasture and the Wild Prairie Verbena was in full bloom at the edge of the pond. 

It had rained an infinitesimal amount sometime during the past week—not enough to measure, I’m sure, but enough to make it damp along the low places.  Foraging armadillos had been making up for lost time and I had to watch where I stepped instead of rubber-necking into the treetops.  

My day had begun with my favorite “birding beneath the blanket” pastime.  Just before dawn I awoke to hear a lone Cardinal sounding his wake-up call.  Soon I heard a Carolina Wren, then more Cardinals, then the Phoebe started in and it’s STILL “phoebe-ing” around the cabin and barn at 3:00 in the afternoon!  I stayed under the covers for about 45 minutes, just listening to a Sunday morning coming down.  It was extremely windy, but since the wind was blowing bird sounds to me rather than away, it was a rather productive lazy awakening. 

As I just kept quiet and listened, I felt a renewing of mind, body and spirit.  There were no traffic sounds, no lights, no sirens, no barking dogs, and no disruptive noises to clog my communication with nature.