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Hundreds of bird species found in the Sooner State S


By Laura Araujo


A juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk is one of the many bird species spotted in Oklahoma each year. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.


tep out your back door and you’re likely to see them—perched on power lines, soar- ing overhead or fl uttering near a backyard feeder. Birds are an everyday spectacle, which makes bird watching a popular pastime. In fact, 765,000 Oklahomans participate in birding each year, whether traveling around the state or in their own back yards. Oklahoma birders enjoy a rich diversity of avian species. Of the 900 types of birds found in North America, 470 of them have been spotted in the Sooner State, though some are rare. Dough Wood, president of the Oklahoma Orni- thological Society, a statewide organization dedi- cated to the observation, study and conservation of birds, keeps track of the number of birds he’s seen. In 2009, he undertook a “big year” challenge to spot as many species as he could in a year. Though he was working full time as a professor of ornithology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, he still managed to observe 322 different birds in Oklaho- ma that year. The state record holder, George Kamp, identifi ed 381 bird species during his 2007 big year. According to Wood, one thing that makes Okla-


homa an interesting area for birding is its location in the center of the country. It’s far enough east that birders can expect to spot some eastern species, and at the same time far enough west to see western birds.


“Oklahoma is very unique because it sits between west and east. The birds all converge here so it’s a neat place to see a lot of species fairly quickly,” Wood said.


It’s also on the central fl yway, a route fl own by many migratory birds.


“A lot of birds nest in Canada and fly straight south to winter in Oklahoma; others nest here and winter in the tropics; and some stop for rest in Okla- homa,” Wood said.


The diverse habitats, including wetlands, prairies, mountains and different types of forests are home to a variety of avian species, some of them uncommon. For example, Oklahoma’s grasslands are inhabited by the increasingly rare lesser prairie-chicken. “We have some unique species here that people come from all over the country to see,” Wood said. One of the wetlands, Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area, located southeast of Frederick, Okla. on the Great Plains Trail, is a prime location for birding, especially during the spring and fall


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