What
Festive Tiger Beetle (Cicindela scutellaris)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Festive Tiger Beetle near a lake
What
Longhorn Beetles (Family Cerambycidae)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A long horned beetle wandering around at night
What
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta ssp. elegans)Observer
greenmotherDescription
8 Red Eared Sliders poking their heads up to see us on the shore. There were a lot more than this.
What
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A monarch butterfly visiting crimson clover. I have only counted 6 monarchs all year. I have yet to find any larva on indigenous milkweeds, even though the drought is broken in this area, and it's been a good growing season for milkweed.
Normally we would see larva by now.
What
Holarctic Treefrogs (Genus Hyla)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Grey Treefroglet
We have had an incredibly wet year, especially in light of the last 3 years of drought. The frog and toad population seems determined to make the best of it.
Photos / Sounds
What
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A red tailed hawk being mobbed by two American Crows.
When I first came upon this scene, the hawk was perched on a utility pole and one crow was swooping down dangerously close. Eventually the hawk took flight and the game was on. Another crow joined in.
What
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Some kind of Raptor, it appeared quite large to me.
What
Subgenus LasiusObserver
greenmotherDescription
An unusual ant found in loose dirt, I think it had been hibernating but was disturbed accidentally by something. It is so large, and because it appears to be overwintering I assume it's female.
At first glance I wondered if it were some kind of velvet ant because of it's size and strange coloration. It had a chatoyancy like a piece of tiger's eye.
What
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A Crow calling from the treetops, stops as it warily watches us walk under it's tree, obviously in it's territory.
What
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds in the treetops. Both genders.
What
American Coot (Fulica americana)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Black water birds--some sort of duck perhaps, with a white bill and red or orange eyes. I have no idea what they are called.
What
Ichneumonid Wasps (Family Ichneumonidae)Observer
greenmotherDescription
It landed on my arm, under an elm tree that was in bloom. That's very early for this area.
Subfamily Pimplinae?
What
Red-shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Box Elder Bugs feeding on Soap Berries
What
Genus PsaphidaObserver
greenmotherDescription
An unknown moth in the early morning sun. I thought perhaps it's some sort of owlet moth, but my guide book isn't giving me any images that sink up to these markings.
What
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A red Tailed Hawk on a power line.
What
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)Observer
greenmotherDescription
At lake Arcadia, hanging on the fringes of a flock of Cedar Waxwings.
What
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A flock of Cedar Waxwings on the South side of Lake Arcadia
Photos / Sounds
What
Barred Owl (Strix varia)Observer
greenmotherDescription
I have no photograph of it, but we could hear it's calls from the wooded area near the shoreline.
I do have recordings of the call though, but no way to post them here.
What
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)Observer
greenmotherDescription
2 American Robins drinking at the shore line
What
Ray-finned Fishes (Class Actinopterygii)Observer
greenmotherDescription
You cannot see the fish, but you can see the wave action they created in the water as they schooled. This lasted for about 10 minutes before subsiding and then appearing in other areas of the lake. I assume the fish were feeding on something in the water. Perhaps some kind of shad?
What
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A bird wading in a lake.
What
Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Dead, Sulphur butterfly on the shores of a dried up lake.
What
North American Freshwater Catfishes (Family Ictaluridae)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A very large dead catfish found on the shores of a lake that is drying up. The fish was approx 14 inches long. The shore line was dried up so that one could walk a good 30 yards into the lake bottom.
What
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)Observer
greenmotherDescription
The dove was just about to fly away, so it's a bit blurry.
What
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Feral rock pigeons in OKC
What
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Birds nesting in Oklahoma County near ponds. Hundreds of them in some cases.
What
Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)Observer
greenmotherDescription
An opossum gets caught raiding a garbage can. We released it in a wooded area near a stream.
What
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)Observer
greenmotherDescription
A Painted Lady Butterfly visiting a bee yard in December.
What
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)Observer
greenmotherDescription
Common American Snout Butterflies visiting Bee Yard in December.
This is another butterfly that migrates, but I have yet to witness such a phenomenon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Snout_Butterfly