Tag Archives: Oxley Nature Center

My Corner of the World – Hiking Oxley Nature Center

One day late in October it was very windy. Windy days I like to go to Oxley Nature Center, especially their Sierra Club Trail. You can hear the wind howling in the treetops but it is calm down on the ground.

And I hardly ever see anybody. This trip I encountered only one person. A guy headed towards me looking kind of angry and upset. I had my spidey senses going but he passed me without looking up. I could hear him walking past in the leaves, crunch, crunch, crunch. Any change in the pattern and I would have looked around. But nothing happened. I’m not going to begrudge anybody needing a little solace in the woods.

I took a small garbage bag and my grabbers with me. The places I go hike there is hardly ever any trash. This day I found just a few cans and wrappers and that was it. Put the trash in the trashcan at the trailhead at the end of my hike.

It was a feast of Oklahoma style fall color. We don’t have a whole lot of color in the fall besides some yellows and browns. I’m okay with it.

Here’s a little reddish color for you. My Merlin ID app was going crazy with all the birds in the area. I was going crazy with inability to see such birds, except as small specs when they took off. I saw lots of squirrels and a glimpse of a deer. Kind of a zero day for photographing animals.

And a short video of the wind in the treetops.

And at the end, I see where a city surveyor had set up shot. I hope that they are not putting a new freeway in!!

A little shy of 3 miles, a nice walk in the woods is what I thought.

I’m linking with My Corner of the World.

Shadowy Twins in the Woods

Sorry about this fuzzy photo of these twin fawns in the shadows I saw at Oxley Nature Center. Of course one was looking away and then they exited to my left to their mother.

Shadowshot Sunday

Tulsa Weekend Critters – 9 March 2024 Edition

I was at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and came across this bee hive in a downed tree and the bees were active. So I stood off a ways with my camera and took a bunch of photos but I couldn’t tell at the time if they were any good. I got home and I got this bee coming in for a landing. I was pretty happy with the photo.

More backyard bunnies at the house.

Lizzie chilling at home

At Lafortune Park I found this guy and his girl testing out the pond.

And the moose is loose!!

A squirrel getting a snack

A couple of geese getting their feet wet.

A sure sign of spring.

And another great blue heron. They are all over town this spring.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Skies – Here, There, and Everywhere

I went walking a couple times at Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. Treated to the sunset one time.

I noticed this brush with beautiful coral flowers. Google lens tells me that it is Chinese Quince.

The redbud trees are starting to bud out. The Eastern Redbud is Oklahoma’s State Tree. I love them.

Fuzzy pic of people playing golf at one of the golf courses there.

Memorial High School has a baseball field that they were using.

I also went geocaching at Expo Square. I didn’t find the one here but I love this locomotive. It is retired now but pulled logging trains in southeast Oklahoma for years.

And checked out the Golden Driller there. It is dressed up in honor of City Year Tulsa’s tenth anniversary. They are the sponsor the people I tutor for. City Year is under attack for pushing a “woke ideology.” I’ve been tutoring grade school kids for five years now and the only ideology I have been trained to push on the kids is learning how to read.

Another geocaching stop. I didn’t find this one either but I loved the windmill in the stiff Oklahoma breeze.

Another time I went to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and walked the trails.

And enjoyed the views.

As you can I have been busy.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. and My Corner of the World

Saturday’s Critters at Oxley Nature Center

Last week I went to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center. I went in search of otters. The staff reports that they are active on Coal Creek at 8 am in the morning. Well I got out there at 8:30 and I didn’t see them, I don’t think. Near the old beaver lodge which they reportedly have taken over I could see that something was moving under the water chasing fish. I didn’t know if they were otters doing the chasing or if it were bigger fish chasing the smaller fish. So another otter failure but for some reason I didn’t mind.

So I started hiking around looking at what I could see.

Oxley has nice wooded areas, lakes, ponds, streams, and swampy areas. All sorts of terrain and it is pretty flat and the trails are all in good shape so it is easy to move around the preserve.

I saw a great blue heron flying around.

And a closeup, sorry for the fuzziness.

I came upon a limpkin. A tropical wetland bird that has a large range in South America and in the USA in Florida. It is an apple snail eater but they can eat other snails. As apple snails have migrated into south Louisiana the Limpkins followed them. Nobody knows why they are in Oklahoma now. Supposedly Oklahoma has seven of them now, three of them at Oxley. They have been here a few years so I guess they like it. You can read the Cornell Labs writeup here.

And way off in a swampy area I saw these waterfowl feeding.

I saw several groups of deer in the preserve.

And a couple of ducks of some sort.

And more deer. I think I saw four small groups of them.

They were staying in the woods. They were being careful but not skittish like deer in hunting areas get.

They are beautiful animals.

I didn’t find the otters but you know the fun is in the looking for, right?

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters.

Shadow Shot Sunday

A shadowy walkway leads from the visitor center of Oxley Nature Center in Tulsa to their trails.

An confluence of shadows and reflections make for an interesting shadow pattern at library in Tulsa.

“Negative Shadows” form on the side of a hospital in Tulsa.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Saturday’s Critters – Oxley Nature Center

In early August I ventured up to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.

They have lots of deer up there. Sometimes I find them and sometimes I don’t. This time I found three groups.

They are wary but not skittish like deer who have been hunted.

If you stand still long enough, they ignore you.

I found this mama with a fawn.

Lots of birds out that day also. They were way off so the photos are a little fuzzy.

And a dragonfly!!

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – Exploring Oxley Nature Center

I headed out recently to Oxley Nature Center in north Tulsa to hike the trails and see what kind of animals were out and about.

During the middle of the day I didn’t expect to find any deer but I found a small family of three resting in the woods. They didn’t seem too bothered by me.

This young one was browsing then laid down with its back to me. Go Away!!

I found this cool butterfly resting on a trail. Google Lens tells me that it is a Gorgone Checkerspot. I have never heard of such a thing.

This turtle was catching a few rays.

Two grown and two baby geese (goslings). I’ve done my research and apparently you can’t call a group of geese less than five in number a gaggle of geese. A group of swimming geese is called a plump. So here is plump of geese. I find the names of groups of animals fascinating. My favorite is a Murder of Crows. So I can truthfully say that I have seen a few murders.

A raft of ducks. I think this raft is blue wing teals according to google lens.

And a solitary great blue heron.

Too blurry of a photo for an ID but these birds were swooping all over the place. I got a new word maybe. A group of unidentified blurry birds flying really fast is called a Swoop. You heard it first here. You better check in often to keep up to date.

I found this funky looking dragonfly on a trail. Not good enough of a photo to get google lens to give me results that I am happy with.

And on the home front.

Our six pound Pomeranian puppy Kodi is a bundle of energy. He hates to be separated from my wife. If she is outside he pogos at the door to join her. When she’s inside he wants in. I guess that he has separation anxiety.

That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out, lots of great animalcentric posts by some very talented photobloggers.

Skywatch Friday – The North Woods at Oxley Nature Center

A week and a half ago, late on a Sunday afternoon, I went on a hike at Oxley Nature Center’s North Woods area. I love the North Woods area because it is beautiful, the trails are well maintained and hardly anybody besides me goes there even on a nice weekend afternoon.

It’s kind of a walking meditation.

Be careful while you are meditating and walking though. This thing will give you a headache.

The staff and volunteers are always tweaking and improving things on the trails.

It’s got water views and benches.

And what I call tree tunnels cutting through the woods. I love to come here when it is windy like it was on my hike. The woods are thick so there is no wind on the ground but you can hear the wind as it moves through the tops of the trees.