Category Archives: Saturday’s Critters

Pelicans in Tulsa

So I ride my bike from time to time along the Riverparks Trails in Tulsa alongside the Arkansas River. I’m always seeing stuff that you can’t really capture with a small handheld camera or cell phone. I was reading somebody’s blog a few weeks ago and they described how they took their “big camera” in a backpack when they went bike riding. The light went on, a dim light in my case, but it was duh. I need to do that. So I loaded up my old Canon Powershot. It can zoom optically out to 40 and beyond software wise. And it is a ton lighter than my “big camera” Nikon with a long lens.

It’s pretty light so I loaded it up in a small backpack, and took it to the Riverparks with me.

For years there has been a large population of pelicans hanging out at sandbars on the river. I could see them but now I could photograph them. Here are a group of three with a grackle or some other black bird hanging out with them.

Here is another group. Both these photos were taken on the east bank near where the Gathering Place is located.

On the west bank of the river, about a mile upriver I spotted this armada of geese all headed to somewhere.

There was another grouping nearby. So I took a lot of other pics of none wildlife stuff. I’ll be taking the camera in my backpack some more. I forget who gave me the idea, if it was you, let me know. I’m thinking of getting some sort of basket to carry it in.

And now to switch gears to my back yard I have been trying for a couple months to capture an image of a hummingbird at our hummingbird feeder.

And I finally got one!! Not though, it is just a female cardinal flying in back of it.

My trailcamera caught a swooping photo of grackle coming in for a landing.

We have lots of bunnies in the back yard.

And sometimes even a raccoon.

This is Rascal our Pomeranian. He is our baby. He is only eleven but he has developed hip and shoulder issues, along with some heart problems. He lives for his walks though, they revitalize him but it has been really hot.

So now we are dog stroller people. We take him on his walk until he gets winded and then we put him in the stroller. He is getting acclimated to it, so win/win.

But maybe we overdid it. We thought our little plump kitty, Lizzie would like the stroller. Nope, she is not a fan. She didn’t have any fun. But we did, so all was not lost.

She was exhausted after her short jaunt. Literally down and back our driveway in the stroller wore her out. She thinks we suck at cat parenting.

That’s about it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters.

Weekly Critter Summary

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We’ve had this hummingbird feeder up for weeks. We keep stuff in and clean and refill regularly. The first day we had a hummingbird and nothing since then. Nothing in terms of hummingbirds. We got all sorts of other critters who perch on it or get behind it like this smart aleck squirrel.

And some more bird action in the background.

And here is a cardinal and a blue jay mocking me about my hummingbird failure.

I went hiking on Turkey Mountain and found this new (to me) bat nest.

I also found this black colored snake in the middle of the trail. He scooted off by the time I got my phone out and ready.

I also found this guy in the middle of another trail. I let him be.

I checked out the monarch waystation and there are more wildflowers popping up.

I saw this little moth looking creature on one of the blooms. Inaturalist says it is a “gorgone checkerspot.” I’ve never heard of that but I’m going with it for now.

And this doesn’t have anything to do with critters. It’s another jigsaw puzzle. I’m getting to where I am not intimidated by large expanses of sky or water. I’m really enjoying working on online jigsaw puzzles. No pieces are ever lost plus I use the setting where all the pieces are in the right orientation. I know, I am cheating.

I’m linking this to Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.

Backyard Birdcam Fest

My wife put a new suet cake in the feeder in our back yard. So far the grackles love it and it is getting attention from the brown thrashers, sparrows, blue jays. The squirrels are also eyeing it.

The grackles are not mobbing it, yet. The sparrows are being fairly aggressive and the thrashers are just watching.

I’m loving watching all the interplay between the various species.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters by Eileen. Go check it out!

Weekend Critters – Nighttime Creepers

I set my trailcam up on the back porch the other day. At 1 am we had a visitor.

I don’t know whether these are the same bandits or not. I think it is the reason we have had two bird feeders destroyed.

I took the camera down to Beavers Bend and set it up hoping to capture some deer but all I got was this ghostly image of a raccoon. At least I think it is a raccoon.

We have a hummingbird feeder. I have had the camera at it for multiple hours over multiple days and have captured exactly zero hummingbirds. We got a lot of critters in the background though.

Our bird feeders have lots of visitors.

I like the candid shots of them taking off or landing.

It would seem taking off or landing would be harder than flying.

I was hiking on Turkey Mountain the other day. I always keep a sharp eye out for copperheads. I didn’t see any that day but I saw this tiny critter hopping across the trail. At first I though it was a bug but I think it is the world’s smallest frog. Talk about good camo, when he quit moving, I couldn’t see him!

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters with Eileen. Go check it out!!

Weekend Critters – Oxley Nature Center and More

Earlier this week I spent the morning at Oxley Nature Center here in Tulsa. I was hoping to see some deer but I went too late for that I think. I did find some mosquitos, or rather they they found me!! Thanks to slathering on my 40% DEET repellant and I emerged unscathed from them but they followed me everywhere.

While still on the boardwalk off the visitor center I spotted this gray squirrel and their friend. They are very shy.

Just off the boardwalk I found these. INaturalist says they may be a wild iris. I loved the color.

Where a Green Heron had been just a minute or two earlier.

I walked on down to Coal Creek and stopped at this swampy area. There was a guy there with a huge camera and one of those gigantic grey colored lens on it. He said there was a green heron. He told me where to go to see it which was just a few steps from where I was standing. So I went over and looked and looked, he eventually wandered back and tried to help me find it but he couldn’t find it either. He showed me one of photos he captured and then left. So I stayed for a while and two other people showed up making lots of noise and then the heron sprang up from right where I had been looking and went into the tree canopy and I lost sight of it. I just got a glimpse of it. I’d never seen one before.

And then I walked along Coal Creek hoping to see the otters that live there but again, too late in the day. These turtles were all over the place.

I was walking along one of the muddy trails and saw this snake wriggling its way along the same trail. It slithered into the brush so I went and found it. I think it is a rat snake. Lots of them at Oxley.

And here is a Relive Video of my first hike at Oxley.

I went back to the Visitor Center and drove to a remote section of Oxley called the North Woods and hiked their loop. I saw no wildlife at all except the mosquitos were really out. I was hiking along and I heard this sound like some critter was really in distress. What in the world I thought and I came up on this group of four guys with big huge cameras and they had an electronic device that was making very loud bird calls. All the birds in the area were responding to it and the guys were scoping the trees with binoculars. When they saw me they acted a little sheepish, and told me they were trying to call warblers. I said okay and walked on and they took their device and moved on elsewhere. Anyway I enjoyed the rest of my hike without the racket they were making.

Here is the Relive Video of my second hike.

On the home front, we put out a hummingbird feeder and within a day we saw a hummingbird feeding at it. I put up my trailcam and no hummingbird’s on it yet. We got this squirrel checking it out.

The only bird I’ve captured is this hawk (I think it’s a hawk) high in the air.

Speaking of squirrels, here is an action shot of me mowing the yard.

I’m linking Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Check it out!

Creatures of the Night

Last night we had a couple visitors.

A raccoon showed up and later…

A possum!

Something big toppled over my trail camera after that.

The creatures of the night!

Linking with Eileen’s Saturday Critters. Come check it out!

Shadowy Critters

I put my trailcam out last night for the first time in a long time. I checked it this morning and we had a mystery cat snooping around at 1:30 in the morning.

I haven’t been able to go hiking in the woods for a while because of all the rain we’ve had so I have been walking around Lafortune Park here in Tulsa a lot. I followed this squirrel down the trail for a 25 yards or so and he finally climbed up this pole and was looking at me chattering and flagging his tail. It was like he was saying “What!!”

I am linking with Shadow Shot Sunday and Saturdays’ Critters. Come join in the fun!!

Saturday Critters – Our Pets – 2022

We lost our beloved Abby (right) to lymphoma on Wednesday. She was a bright, energetic, highly engaged dog almost up to the end. She was the straw that stirred the drink, so to speak, among the pets in our house. On the left is her cat buddy Lizzy.

Abby always liked to update her barkbook status first thing in the morning despite our efforts to shush her. We had a cranky neighbor who more than once came over to our front door and pointed at her and growled at me about the matter. Fortunately, he moved somewhere else. I miss Abby but I don’t miss our miserable neighbor.

Abby’s loss was proceeded by the death of our dachsund mix, Ginger last September. Ginger was the boss dog of the house and brooked no nonsense from either the dogs nor the cats and would give me an earful if I was late with her meals.

Abby loved barking at my drone, at the neighbor’s dogs, at dogs, cows, and horses on television. She was very verbal.

These are LJ and Lizzy, brother and sister. They play with each other a lot.

Our remaining dog is Rascal, a Pomeranian. He’s kind of our baby but he is old now and has lung, heart, and hip problems. We don’t know how long he is going to be around.

He and Abby loved to hang out together and loved to go on walks with each other to go bark and their friends in the neighborhood. Rascal I think wonders what happened to his buddy Abby.

But he still loves walking even though we have to pick him up and carry him home after he sees his friends.

You know our pets just don’t live long enough but we have them and love them anyway.

I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out!!

Saturday’s Critters, Springtime

It’s the love season for dove. Here’s a couple doing some mixed bathing, almost concealed because the blend in so well with the fence.

Mr. Squirrel gets kind of thirsty also.

And we have another cat roaming the back yard at night.

We have lots of sparrows stopping by.

I love the cardinals.

I was walking at Lafortune Park the other day and saw this goose checking everybody out. As I approached it he started acting restless so I backed off so he could chill down.

Grackles everywhere. I run them off whenever I can.

And a brief kerfuffle between a sparrow and a cardinal.

And I completed another jigsaw puzzle on my ipad. I am really slowwwww on these. But they are fun.

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters hosted by Eileen.

Saturday’s Critters – In the Darkness of Night, and More

I’ve been putting the trailcam out at night. Most nights I don’t get anything but I got this cat one time. I think it is somebody’s pet. It doesn’t have that lean hungry look of a feral cat.

I’ve caught him a few times stalking birds near our feeders during the day.

And we had a bunny one evening. I hope they don’t have a nest in the yard as it is quite sad when our dogs find the nest.

I captured this house finch the other day. I am thinking the bird right next to it is a sparrow.

And a dove scavenging seeds on the ground. They are not as skittish as other birds. They are not too smart with their nesting sites.

And our Lizzy chilling out with us in the living room.

Peace for Ukraine!

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters by Eileen

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