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With the warmer weather finally settling into the Ozark region of north-central Arkansas, it is exciting to think about getting outdoors again to enjoy some recreational activities in our public lands. Arkansas State Parks exist, in part, to enhance the quality of life through exceptional outdoor experiences and help our guests form personal connections to the parks and their resources. Bull Shoals-White River State Park has a variety of walking paths and hiking trails of varying lengths and difficulties for visitors to explore, offering cliff top views overlooking the White River and shoreline stopping points along Bull Shoals Lake. Each trail and point of interest contribute to our park’s unique story. While we often anticipate hiking towards a specific destination on the trail—perhaps a clearing with a view or a streamside bench for a picnic spot—we have a tendency to overlook the subtle, simple wonders occurring along the way, forgetting to “stop and smell the roses,” so to speak. Some of nature’s truly incredible “wow” moments are happening all over the forest floor, camouflaged against the shrubs and trees, or tucked beside a rotting log, and each of those has a story to uncover. The following photos and descriptions provide a brief glimpse of a much grander narrative that is unfolding in nature all the time, regardless if we are witness to its mysteries. How many of these, and similar amazing things, can you spot during your next venture down a trail? “It is a shame to miss that which is right beneath the steps of inquiring minds.” –Anonymous

Four Tulsa birders were joined by five Bartlesville folks Saturday morning to walk the Pathfinder Parkway and see what birds we could find. Migration still seems to be a little later than usual, but we did find a few good birds. Here is a list of the highlights: White-eyed Vireo-2 Warbling Vireo-2 Yellow-throated Vireo-2 Red-eyed Vireo-1 Orange-crowned Warbler-3 Northern Parula Warbler-3 Myrtle Warbler-5 Yellow-throated Warbler-2 Prothonotary Warbler-2 Louisiana Waterthrush-1 Lincoln's Sparrow-5 Thanks go to Mark Peterson for leading us, and to Jen Wong for the attached photos. - Jim Deming

Seven Tulsa Audubon members met four Indian Nations Audubon members at Spavinaw State Park for a day of birds and wild flowers. After birding around the park and vicinity, we headed for the main objective; the City of Tulsa property between Lakes Spavinaw and Eucha, which has been largely untouched for 100 years.Migrating birds were scarce, but we did find Louisiana Waterthrushes, Northern Parula, and Yellow-throated Warbler. The Ozark wildflowers were blooming nicely, and we saw Woodland Phlox, Rue Anemone, Dutchman's Breeches, Bloodroot, Trout Lillies, Yellow and Blue Violets, Cutleaved Toothwort, and others we could not identify. Both Spavinaw and Eucha Lakes still had Common Loons, and Eucha had an Osprey. After lunch in Jay, we went to the upper Eucha area for a while before heading home. There we found a rookery of Great Blue Herons, and observed them coming and going for a while. We lucked out on the weather, and while we finished with only 52 bird species, we all agreed it was a very good trip. Here is the complete bird list: Canada Goose Gadwall Scaup sp. Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant American White Pelican Great Blue Heron Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Coot Bonaparte's Gull Franklin's Gull Eurasian Collared-Dove Mourning Dove Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird American Robin Northern Mockingbird European Starling Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Parula Yellow-throated Warbler Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow

Experience the natural wonders of Panama with Tulsa Audubon Society, Sept. 26 - Oct. 5, 2019! Panama offers some of the most exciting birding in all of Central America as well as amazing lodging options. Our tour will start at the unique Canopy Tower, a former US Air Force radar tower in the midst of Soberania National Park (near the Panama Canal) that’s been turned into a beautiful eco-tourism lodge to give you eye-level looks at birds and other wildlife. Then, we’ll move on to the Canopy Lodge situated in beautiful El Valle, for a very different set of birds and other wildlife. Lots of birds and other wildlife, plus fun and fellowship! Click here for a flyer with the details. Contact Jeff Cox ( jeffacox54@gmail.com or 918-629-2140) for more information.

The American Woodcocks are back!!!! And they are displaying at Oxley Nature Center, so it's time for an ad-hoc field trip. We'll meet on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the gate into Oxley Nature Center. Be on time or early, as they started displaying about 6:15. Please park in the lots just before the gate. We'll be meeting Amy from Oxley there and she recommends we stay on the entrance road rather than walking down the flowline, which is very wet. She has been seeing them about half way up the road. Woodcock Watch Etiquette: The birds are somewhat tolerant of people, but be sure to keep your voices down, so everyone can hear the peenting, and stay with the group. You are welcome to bring a camera, but know it will be dark and they are very difficult to photograph. Since we are with a group please do not use any flashes, and stay with the group and don't try to get closer. As with most wildlife photography, you are best off doing it alone without a crowd around.

Saturday's (Feb. 16) field trip to Tulsa Area Lakes has been canceled. Like many around Tulsa, Terry and some other alternate leaders are not feeling well, so we are canceling this trip.

The Tulsa Audubon Society is teaming up with the Jenks High School Ornithology Program to once again host the annual Tulsa Eagle Day event on Saturday, January 26. The event is FREE to the public and geared toward adults and children alike. For 2019 we are updating our program. We will have the wild Bald Eagle Watch early in the morning along the Arkansas River followed by a "Raptor Rally" at the Jenks High School, featuring separate presentations for both adults and children, all featuring live raptors! The Outdoor Watch is 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. on the Jenks Pedestrian Bridge. Use the parking lot on the Jenks/West side of river, located at Riverfront Drive and "B" Street. (There is also a smaller overflow parking lot down below the main one.) Join us after the viewing for our Raptor Rally, featuring live raptor presentations, from 9:00-12:15 at Jenks High School, Building 6, 301 N. Birch St.

Thanks to a generous donor, Tulsa Audubon is pleased to offer again two full scholarships, each worth up to $1,500, to young birders to attend a youth birding camp in the summer of 2019. There are several such camps in different parts of the country and the scholarship can be applied to any of these. The eligible camps are described on the application. Some excellent discussion on youth birding camps can be found on the Young Birders Facebook page . More good info can be found on the American Birding Associations Young Birder's Blog . To be eligible, you must meet these criteria: Live in the general Tulsa area Be between 14-18 years old (as of June 1st, 2019) Be willing to provide a short report (about 10 minutes) at a TAS meeting Be willing to provide 10 volunteer hours (such as at Oxley, giving a bird talk to an elementary school class, leading a youth field trip, etc., or your own idea, something meaningful to you.) Note: These are not general nature camps, but are designed for youth that have a passion specifically for birds! You don't need to be an "expert" birder but do need to have a basic knowledge of birding and identifying birds. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2019 , but you are encouraged to send in your applications as soon as possible since these camps fill up very fast and we will judge applications as they arrive. The scholarship will cover the camp fee, up to $1,500. Transportation and other incidental expenses will be paid by the camper or his/her family. Additional funding to help with transportation may be available on an as-needed basis. Click here for an application .

We're pleased to announce a new service from Tulsa Audubon. Video of our monthly meetings for those who are not able to make it to our Tuesday evening meetings, or for those who want to hear it again! Thanks to Ron Huebner for the providing this service! We are posting these on the Tulsa Audubon YouTube channel . Our September meeting is up first, featuring Jay Pruett's program on the Birds of Cuba: https://youtu.be/Owm7jOKuV1g And the October meting, featuring Dr Mia Revels on Saw-whet Owls in Oklahoma: https://youtu.be/D2Q8Dy2mAPM We also have available there a lecture given to TAS by Dr. Doug Talamy from 2015 .