Being born and raised in Oklahoma, one learns about the array of “official state” stuff. Of course, over time, you learn that the list of symbols isn’t sacrosanct and things get changed. For example, I remember being taught that Mistletoe was the state flower, but it is now the state floral emblem. The Indian Blanket is now the state flower. According to one never faulty resource, the state vegetable is the watermelon. I leave you and your friends to debate the finer points on that one. Me? I’ll stick with focusing on the state bird.
Everybody’s Heard About The State Bird
Muscivora forficata, the ubiquitous Scissor-tailed flycatcher has been the official state bird since 1951. I went years without seeing one, but I don’t have to roam far these days. Before the recent spate of house building, it was not uncommon to see 40-50 of them perching on a particular stretch of power lines within a couple of miles of my home.
For this trip, my son and I made a visit to a place where flying things tend to hang out and watched the fun. Limited on time, the photography was fast and furious. This trip, the birds were mostly backlit, but they were very active. With the speed they move, I was happy to get something that at least looked in focus.
A bird on a fence is not my idea of a great image, but he is in focus! The lighting isn’t terrible, either, but I understand shadows are not ideal. You want the bird fully lit so you can clearly see all the beautiful plumage. For a quick, unplanned stop, I’ll take it, though.
The real fun was watching the spinning, whirling, dogfights happening overhead. I did catch a couple of images of the action, but I usually got bad angles. No surprise there. You cannot go out looking for wildlife and expect them to cooperate. You have to have a plan. Still, the incidental shots as they returned to a favorite perch is always worthwhile in my book.
That’s it for today’s distraction. I hope you enjoy these unruly snapshots of an amazing creature. In the near future, I hope to get out more often. I miss wildlife and landscapes. And, if I’m honest, my legs are a bit pale. I could use the extra sun.
