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Articles by Deb Hirt
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Oklahoma Mesonet reported 0.84 inches of rainfall over the past week.
LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE: Birds suffering from fewer protections
Oklahoma Mesonet reported zero inches of rainfall over the past week. Migratory arrivals for the month include Green-winged Teal, Sora, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden-Plover, Wilson’s Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, California Gull, Common Tern, American Bittern, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, American Redstart, Black-throated Green, Canada, Mourning Warblers and Northern Waterthrush.
LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE: Best leave those young birds alone
Oklahoma Mesonet recorded 1.49 inches of rainfall over the past seven-day time frame.
LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE: Environmental shifts reduces range of some birds
Oklahoma Mesonet recorded 0.71 inches of rainfall over the past week. Payne County rare birds for the same time frame included Back-bellied Whistling-Duck at Boomer Lake and Wood Thrush on West 11th Avenue.
Birds moving into Payne County
Oklahoma Mesonet reported 1.92 inches of precipitation over the past seven days. Migration arrivals for the month of June include Upland Sandpiper and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.
LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE: Birds moving into Payne County
Oklahoma Mesonet reported 1.92 inches of precipitation over the past seven days. Migration arrivals for the month of June include Upland Sandpiper and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Expected departures are expected to be Eared Grebe, American Golden-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Stilt, White-rumped, Pectoral, Semipalmated, and Spotted Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Phalarope, Olive-sided, Alder, Willow, and Least Flycatchers, Swainson’s Thrush, Cedar Waxwing and Pine Siskin.
LIFE AT BOOMER LAKE: Better late than never for these birds
Oklahoma Mesonet recorded 1.99 inches of rainfall over the past weekly period.
Endangered birds in Great Lakes show improvement
By Deb Hirt It took 40 years, but the efforts to save the Great Lakes Piping Plovers are seeing good results. The recovery scientists, NGOs, nonprofits, and more have been assisting these endangered birds overcome threats while doing better than they ever did in 2025 with 85 nesting pairs. Deb Hirt is a wild bird rehabilitator and professional photographer living in Stillwater.
Shorebirds get in mood to nest
It's almost time for peak migration for many species including juvenile shorebirds, but there are a few things that affect the timing of migration. Adult males leave before adult females, migration is based on temperature and weather, then food availability, and habitat quality. Fall migration is upon us and it's going to be a more leisurely flight, not what it used to be for the spring when the birds were in a hurry to get the best nesting sites.
Decline in seabird population a must change
Seabirds have declined 70% between 1950-2010, which we must reverse. Aleutian Terns to Zino's Petrels share ocean habitat, the most endangered birds in the world, due in part to ocean plastic, industrial fishing, coastal development, introduced predators, energy development - all current issues for marine birds. Important pillars create safe havens, finding and protecting nesting spaces, solutions being created for fishing, energy and kinship.
Things change, not always for the best
One of the most extreme avian residents of the High Latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the Gray-headed Chickadee is a resident from the North Sea coast of Norway easterly to the Bering Sea coast of Russia. Until about the last decade, the species also occurred from central Alaska to far northwestern Canada. It was last seen in North America in 2018, and it may now be extinct due to the effects of global warming.
Differing habitats result in different traits
Serious Melospiza students learned their adaptability over the years, especially the more those students traveled and birded different regions, namely coasts. I searched year round for the plethora in the local region, which all have differing habitats.
Birds more advanced biologically
Birds are incredible evolutionary creatures, as birders tend to know. They can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, which really causes colors to be brighter and more electric. As humans, we do not have that capability with only three cones comprising our eyes, while birds possess four. Bird eyes are more transparent to UV light than humans, permitting it to contact the retina. That is why birds can easily tell the differences between male and female.
Tropical bird book set for release next month
By Deb Hirt Owen Deutsch's and Michael Parr's book "Birds of the Tropical Andes" is set to be released on July 8. This 264-page hardbound large-format book illuminates the extraordinary diversity and splendor of Andean birds, and the habitats that they depend on, including some old friends that breed in North America, the boreal forest, and Arctic regions. Deb Hirt is a wild bird rehabilitator and photographer living in Stillwater.
Birding buddy expands knowledge, territories
Several years before I met my first birding buddy, I knew my hotspot like the back of my hand. Writer knew where every unturned stone was, when the best times to go out were, what side of the lake that we wanted to be on at any time of day so we wouldn't be trying to photograph birds pointing the camera into the sun.
Birds deserve more credit for being sensible
For half a century, people have been told not to anthropomorphize the thought process of animals, especially birds. That means not to give them more intelligence than they have. Animals are more sensible than we give them credit for. YouTube is filled with crow experiments, where they solve rather complicated puzzles to get a reward. Then it was Blue Jays with the wherewithal to put a walnut or similar under car tires at a red light to crack nuts for them.
Weather affects bird migration, expansion
Since the advent of eBird and technology alone, science has made some very important strides in bird behavior knowledge. Along with each university that has courses designated on the topic, they have produced a number of excellent individuals that that have been working in an ethnoornithological field. What prompted these events was the article on the loss of three billion birds, which shook education to its core, prompting many of us to take as much direct action as possible.
Baja California trip offers numerous birds to watch
Writer has read several pieces of literature on the virtues of Baja California from the general peninsula to Sur, and naturally, Cabo at the very end of the peninsula. Over the years, the material has been intriguing, with much good advice, including a native guide and a driver that is an expert birder and knows the area well. Baja has just six endemics, but there are numbers of subspecies, which include the California Towhee and California Scrub-Jay.
Endangered Military Macaws could return to US
Late August 2025, a pair of Military Macaws were photographed at Big Bend National Park in Texas. This record may be the first confirmed, but this is not the first report. August 1992 provided data about a party of seven individuals in Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, attributed to Hurricane Lester. The Military Macaw is endangered in Mexico, where it has a weak stronghold, globally vulnerable, in 35 fragmented groups across 16 Mexican states.
Blackpoll Warbler makes way to states
I could not stop without one more piece of warbler trivia. We're about due for this spring migrant, the Blackpoll Warbler. This larger warbler breeds in the boreal forest, and as a later arrival, this individual is about the last warbler migrant, weighing as much as a small coin, performing the longest migration over water of any songbird. It is named after its black cap, and in the fall it molts into green-yellow plumage, just like the Bay-breasted Warbler to make it even more confusing.
Warblers get names from different sources
Birding friends and myself were discussing warblers a few days ago, and it was a fun conversation, as naturally, the conversation revolved around identification, especially with their songs and calls. We all know how hard it can be to only hear the warbler and not see it, which can be very frustrating. I got a text asking me what sparrow sounds like an insect, and the first words out of my mouth was Grasshopper Sparrow.
Encountering Flammulated Owl no easy task, but well worth it
A secretive owl of the West that haunts the aspen, fir, ponderosa pine, and spruce will be no easy task for the uninitiated. They could be hard to hear for some, and they could even be in the company of the Northern Saw-whet Owl. Surprisingly, they are one of the most common in their 11 states, they feed simply, upon arthropods, and favor dry montane conifer forests with a mix of aspen and oak. Intrigued?
Plummage among species may vary by habitat
I read an article early in the week with no intention that research was on my mind, though it always is, like the typical ornithologist. It just struck a chord, as an interest in red-tailed hawks has been there since the Jim Lish books and articles came into being. Dr. Lish studied the species for decades and came up with the fact that all red-tails funnel through the Great Plains after they finish the breeding cycle. Quite true, as just about every sub has been seen by myself through the years.
Where, when to see Swainson's Warbler
Even on its breeding grounds, Swainson's Warbler is one of the hardest warblers to locate during the breeding season, though not difficult to find with its loud and unusual song. Southern Appalachia is surely appropriate habitat, and its organized loud song with rapid downward notes gives it away, but do not confuse it with the sound of the Louisiana Waterthrush, which ends in weak and short chaotic chip notes.
Birder's journey may diverge
One of the most valid questions to ask someone that birds to get to really know what is within their hearts, is to pose the question that differentiates the birder from the ornithologist. I believe many of us ask ourselves that question throughout our birding lives. It is a very valid and pertinent question. We follow our own road through the birding world.
Variety makes appearance in Costa Rica
It would have been nice to bring you all to Costa Rica to see what I was privy to, but the plane was full. Every carrier was. March is a fabulous month for birding the Caribbean side with Costa Rican endemics including rarities, endangered birds, and winter birds. There were even old friends like US pre-arrival migrant warblers, Broad-winged Hawks, Costa Rica's own Red-tailed Hawk (costaricensis), waterfowl, and more. It would have made one's head spin and did.
Purple sandpiper moves at start of Spring
This tough northerly shorebird has been noted as rock snipe or winter snipe. It is a winter resident of generally eastern rocky shores, though it has been known to come to Missouri and Oklahoma occasionally. It doesn't breed as far north as some, but it migrates less of a distance and winters father north than other waders. It is found nearly exclusively on wave-washed rocks in small flocks with other sandpipers.
BIRDING TODAY: YouTubers complete 2024 bird count
YouTubers Sara and Stu finished their final bird count for 2024 by stopping at Superior Entry with reports of Snowy Owl perched on the breakwall with numerous Bald Eagles in the Lake Superior area. No snowy found, though there was a Bald Eagle coming in among Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. kAmrC@DD65 :?E@ sF=FE9[ |:??6D@E2[ 7@C $2I\+:> q@8[ H96C6 D?@H 3642>6 962G:6C] %CJ:?8 7@C $92CA\E2:=65 vC@FD6 :? p:E<:?[ |:??6D@E2] }@ 8C@FD6 :? E96:C 7:6=5] ~3D6CG65 }@CE96C?
BIRDING TODAY: New field guide provides treatment of Africa's regions
Last week “Habitats of Africa: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists” by Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes, and Iain Campbell was published. This compact, easy to use guide provides a one-of-a-kind treatment of the continent’s diverse habitat regions. As an up-to-date and inclusive guide covers the unique features of every habitat from geology and climate to hydrology and soil that requires no scientific background.
BIRDING TODAY: Stu, Sara continue trip through Midwest
With intentions for Chicago area, Stu and Sara were on I-94W taking them to Lake Michigan before veering south, exiting toward St. Joseph, where a residential cobbled road brought us to the lake. On Dec. 6, they stopped at Tiscornia Park in Benton Harbor, filming in the car, looking bleak and windy. There was a lookout over Lake Michigan where Red-throated Loons were reported, as was Snowy Owl. Carefully edged to end of pier where abutments were ice covered, nearly like Swords of Damocles.
BIRDING TODAY: Northern Minnesota no place for faint-hearted birders
In the heart of northern Minnesota, one hour from Duluth, Sax-Zim Bog holds a place in our hearts with 300 square miles of boreal forest. In the midst of winter, it is no place for the faint of heart. This area is one of the trickiest places for northern birds with its open bogs and frozen wetlands. There are feeders and boardwalks to visit and several roads within one of the prime birding venues, along with several roads between Highways 133 and 53.
BIRDING TODAY: New book will help beginner birders in the field
For those of you that wish to get more out of your birding, you’re going to want to carry “Habitats of North America: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists” by Phil Chaon and Iain Campbell. This book can go next to your usual field guide if you’re just getting started in birding travel, and will easily fit in a backpack. It will be a must to take along with your camera and binoculars, as it will assist greatly in your field experience, no matter how experienced you are.
BIRDING TODAY: Without conservation, agenda for birds would not benefit
Birds are disappearing fast and we are trying to prevent their imminent extinctions, improve millions of acres of habitat with bird friendly management practices, and advocate for and create solutions to urgent threats that put them at risk. We are achieving lasting results for those that need them while benefitting our own communities, biodiversity, and planet’s fragile climate. Without a strong conservation movement, we could not advance our agenda to benefit birds.
BIRDING TODAY: Winter Wren seems to play games with observers
In the center of the state, we get our fair share of those glorious wrens, which arrive at assorted times of the year. If we were fortunate enough to observe the Winter Wren during winter, but more so during spring migration, we would be even more amazed to witness its behavior in the east. For those unaware, the winter wren is lighter than the Pacific Wren, but just as tiny. Both birds sing long, complex songs with warbles and very high trills.
BIRDING TODAY: Tule goose is rarest of subspecies
When the Greater White-fronted Goose is observed, my mind slides over to the thought of Tule Goose. What? Tule is the rarest subspecies, known as elgasi, but that is another story on the name, which Bob Elgas never wanted to have. It is very different in appearance, sounds dissimilar, and has different habitat, though not terribly far from the nominate species. Do you know where I am going with this thought?
BIRDING TODAY: Forecast reasonably accurate for variety of finches Original
With Christmas coming, things are changing in way of finches, with missing pieces in the boreal seed crop starting in the fall. Be that as it may, the forecast is reasonably accurate for siskins, finches, redpoll, Pine Grosbeak, and the three non-finch irruptives.
BIRDING TODAY: Owls don't always hide deep in woods Original
For those that don’t watch birds as much as some of us that almost get out on a daily basis, owls don’t all hide deep in the woods where nobody can find them. Some of them are very handy, like the Great Horned Owl sitting on the roof of my neighbor’s car, which she told me about. Then there was either a screech owl or a Great Horned Owl that was in the pine in front of my rental house in Pennsylvania, which could be heard occasionally.
BIRDING TODAY: External factors working against birds in Central, South America
Between billions of dollars in cocaine, bird trade, and the likelihood of climate change, Central and South America have much working against them for their biodiversity for birds. Traffickers get pushed further into remote forested areas, where they clear land for roads, cattle grazing, landing strips, and counterdrug strategies for forest birds like the Golden-winged and Golden-cheeked Warblers which are heavily impacted by the destruction of appropriate forest habitat.
BIRDING TODAY: Super continents aid in terror bird answers
For those unaware but have heard about them, there are two supercontinents, one covering the north on our world, the other comprising the southern continents. Gondwana is the southern of the two and Laurasia, the northern supercontinent, is the most recent of the north. These supercontinents have much to do with fossils of the world, with China holding a number of them, yet Laurasia of Pangea is the most recent.
BIRDING TODAY: New bird examines evolution of Darwin's finches
A new release “40 Years of Evolution: Darwin’s Finches on Daphne Major Island, New Edition,” by evolutionary biologists Peter Grant and Rosemary Grant is the tree‘s seed that Darwin made infamous through careful nurturing on evolution of the species through natural selection. This remarkable study begins the Grants’ ecological, genetic, and behavioral niche to measure changes in finch populations over four decades in the Galapagos archipelago.
BIRDING TODAY: Author offers field journal for bird watching in any location
The author of “Slow Birding,” Joan Strassmann, which I reviewed in an earlier column, takes her job seriously as an instructor. Her companion book, “The Slow Birding Journal: A Field Diary for Watching Birds Wherever You Are” is the second part to the Slow Birding book. Strassman suggests more ways to look closely at birds and not just list, but all listers do things a little differently.
BIRDING TODAY: Handbook helps with identification in Europe
The two-volume work “ID Handbook of European Birds” by Nils van Duivendijk was released on Oct. 22. The book comprises 1,056 pages with 5,500 high resolution and artful color photographs. This is not your standard field guide. It is geared toward the identification of every bird species that has appeared in Europe, which includes many vagrants.
BIRDING TODAY: Birds migration dependent on Costa Rica seasons
Birds are migrating every day of the year, and it is dependent upon wet and dry seasons in Costa Rica, especially for those that have the nerve during the wet season. It depends upon where one wishes to go. Despite flying thousands of miles north from wintering grounds, as soon as assorted sandpipers, plovers, Surfbirds, and more turn around again to return south, which is the nature of the beast, it is more relaxed during the fall even in Central America.
BIRDING TODAY: Convention center takes steps to protect birds
About one year later, also during fall and fifty thousands e-mails, we learn that McCormick Place Lakeside Convention Center has taken a much-needed step in protecting America’s birds. After the loss of three billion birds over the last half century, bird-safe window film will be on the window walls of that location. It took a great deal of effort, though it claimed over a thousand lives in one night.
BIRDING TODAY: 'Guide to Finches' enlightens readers, enthusiasts
“The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada” by Lillian Stokes and Matthew Young is long overdue. Fifty years ago, Ron Pittaway, the first finch forecaster in the Finch Network in 1999, and Ian Newton, the author of Finches in 1973, worked hard to help the species, some of the rarest birds in the world.
BIRDING TODAY: Marshall Islands experience natural restoration
Some of the most remote atolls in the North Pacific can be found at the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which have an unusual composition and a very low elevation for islands. Three projects are located there with Island Conservation—Bikar, Bokak, and Jemo, which goes to show what low-lying fossilized coral atolls will gain from ecosystem rebalancing.
BIRDING TODAY: Some species want to remain incognito with humans
Plenty of birds have been lost to science for years, and the Search for Lost Birds Project was begun between Birdlife International and Re:wild. Since 2020 a list came to fruition on 144 birds that were missing and it was hoped that eBirders, or birders in general would look for them. We always do! With birds that are rare, poorly known, and just wish to stay out of contact with humans, these things will happen.
BIRDING TODAY: Attempts to save Guam Kingfisher underway
The Guam Kingfisher is nearly extinct, but it in the process of being saved and has a good start, however, it is not Guam’s only soon-to-be success story. Before writer unfolds this new information, we must also know that The Guam Rail has a self-sustaining population on Cocos Island, not far from Guam, nor is Rota which should have at least two hundred birds on the island, at least since 2019.
BIRDING TODAY: Arid climate perfect for some species
Seabirds can nest in some of the oddest places, like Marbled Murrelet, whom we have talked about breeding within old growth redwoods, so far from the seabird’s habitat. The tiny Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel breeds in the driest desert in the world, as if the open ocean isn’t hard enough. Several species of Storm-Petrel like the Markham’s Storm-Petrel and Ringed Storm-Petrel breed at Atacama Desert in Peru and Chile when they come ashore for that purpose.
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