YESTERDAY

Putting the duststorm behind me, I shoved off from Guymon but not before stopping at the local park during sunrise and getting some great scenes of a Bald Eagle soaring low over the water towards this strange Blue Heron-infested island. 

Several Snow and Greylag Geese (and weird domestic hybrids) were launching a honking assault at the herons as they landed in the trees. Turning to the other side of the islet, I think I saw their casus belli. A mother goose sat on a bank with perhaps a couple too many eggs to care for.

 

I also picked up the abundant Eurasian Collared-Dove. This was the first location I could really sense the quotidian species shifting from the familiar Eastern set I'm used to.

 

Despite having no expectation of driving the entire Oklahoma panhandle, Black Mesa State Park was up next. I started at Lake Carl Etling, walking along the shoreline and not experiencing much by way of birding, but mostly just appreciating the absolute dead calm of the air. Moving around to the north end, I came across what I think was a Lincoln's Sparrow and what I know was a lovely Canyon Towhee, a species that showed itself to be surprisingly cooperative and curious.

 

Camp was set up in the creek grounds and there were actually some other tent campers around! I headed off a hiking trail and found a White-Crowned Sparrow, a Bushtit, and heard a Canyon Wren singing its incredible descending song just behind a fence. Oh and I got a nice close-up of a Prairie Lizard:

 

The main attraction of the park is its dark sky, rated a Bortle 1. I didn't know this going in, but it was truly absurd and a necessary distraction to a really frigid night in the tent. I swear I'll never settle in and try to brave a deep freeze like that again on this trip, it honestly made me depressed. It's OK the lifers are worth it.

 

This is being typed during my first night attempting to sleep in the back of my car, may I be warm, secure, and un-depressed like this Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (sorry for anthropomorphizing you).

 

 

TODAY: 19

 

LIFE LIST: 182 -> 194