Outdoors: Bird Watch
BY DAN REINKING
Sunday, June 17, 2012
6/17/12 at 6:24 AM
Abundant in mature forests of eastern Oklahoma, the red-eyed vireo is more often heard than seen.
While it is a persistent spring and summer singer, most of its time is spent foraging in high, leafy tree canopies where it is difficult to observe.
Rare is the occasion when it can be seen well enough to glimpse its namesake red eyes, although attentive observers can sometimes see one dispatching its prey. Caterpillars and other insects make up most of its diet, with larger items being beaten against a branch and then held with one foot while consumed bite by bite.
This weekin eastern Oklahoma
ARRIVALS
Lesser Yellowlegs, Upland Sandpiper
DEPARTURES
None listed this week.
Dan Reinking is a senior biologist at the Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville. Contact him at dreinking@ou.edu or see tulsaworld.com/suttoncenter
The Bird Watch list is excerpted from the Date Guide to the Occurrences of Birds in Oklahoma, which lists normal dates of occurrences for bird species by seven geographic regions of the state. It is a publication of the Oklahoma Bird Records Committee of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.
For full information about the guide and how to report unusual bird sightings at unusual times of year go to tulsaworld.com/okbirds
Original Print Headline: Bird Watch
Associated Images:
A red-eyed vireo rests on a branch in Cimarron County. STEVE METZ / Courtesy
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