Texas Horned Lizard
The Texas Horned Lizard's intimidating exterior is quite
opposite from its docile and gentle nature. They spend their days eating
ants, sunbathing and eluding predators. When threatened, their first
reaction is to flatten out and freeze or to run briefly then stop, to
create the illusion of disappearing. However, when extremely agitated,
it will inflate its body, hiss, and even squirt blood from its eyes in
order to deter predators.
Black-Tailed
Prairie Dog
The Black-tailed Prairie
Dog inhabits the short and mixed grass regions of Oklahoma.
Prairie dogs are highly social animals that group together in
colonies commonly called “towns”.
Prairie dog towns supply a number of other grassland species with suitable homes and are food for a number of others.
Prairie Dogs are an
integral component of grassland and prairie ecosystems, but their
numbers and distributions have been reduced to about 2% of historic
levels. Prairie dog eradication programs and conversion of
native rangeland to cropland are the primary causes of this decline.
Lesser Prairie
Chicken
Swift Fox
Arkansas River Shiner
Black-capped Vireo In
recent years this vireo has become rare, mainly because
its nesting has been disrupted by cowbirds. These notorious nest
parasites remove eggs from a vireo's nest and deposit
their own eggs in their place. The young cowbirds are so much larger
than the vireo’s young and they crowd and starve them out.
Programs are underway in Texas and Oklahoma to prevent cowbird
parasitism, by trapping the birds and removing their eggs from other
birds' nests.
Snowy Plover
Snowy Plover
This small shorebird is commonly found at the beach, alkaline lakes, salt flats, dunes or river sand bars.
In northern Oklahoma, large numbers can be observed at the salt flats at the Great Salt Plains
The salt flats, at first glance, are not very hospitable places for this small bird to live.
The standing water is too salty to drink, the wind blows hot and dry, there is very little vegetation for shade or
shelter.
So what does this shorebird do to survive?
It does NOT drink the salty water; most of its water comes from the animals the bird eats:
mostly insects (flies & beetles) and worms. It spends most of it’s time near the water where it is slightly cooler.
When the bird gets really hot, it cools off by standing in the water!
Mountain
Plover
The Mountain Plover
is a Great Plains native that breeds on the arid short grass prairie of
Oklahoma. Prairie dogs create unique patches of habitat ideal for
Mountain Plovers nesting sites.
Currently their numbers are on the rise, and efforts are being made to
protect breeding habitats, both inland and on the coast.
Lesser Prairie Chickens
are upland nesting birds present in the shinnery oak and sand sagebrush
areas of Oklahoma. The Lesser Prairie Chicken is a medium
sized, grayish brown grouse. They are best known for their unique
courtship displays on leks, or spring courtship-displaying grounds, to
which they return year after year.
Once present in large numbers, the Lesser Prairie Chicken
population and original distribution has declined significantly since
1800. The decline of suitable habitat has occurred due to conversion of
native rangelands to cropland, excessive grazing of remaining native
rangelands, herbicide use, and severe drought.
The Least Tern is a small sea gull-like
bird which breeds and nests primarily along rivers and salt flats. Many
of these areas have been lost or altered by damming, dredging, and
straightening of rivers. In addition, eggs and young chicks are
vulnerable to predators, human disturbance, and the untimely release of
water. The Least Tern finds safe havens in Northwest Oklahoma, but its
habitat must be protected.
The Whooping
Crane stands nearly 5 feet tall and has a wing-span of more than 7
feet. It breeds in northern freshwater bogs and winters on coastal
prairies. The Whooping Crane has been reduced due to habitat
destruction from draining and clearing of wetlands, and human
disturbance along its migration routes. While its population is on the
upswing, the Whooping Crane remains on the endangered species list.
In Oklahoma, Swift Fox prefer short to midgrass prairies. The
Swift Fox
use den sites year-round. It may excavate its own den or occupy
abandoned dens or prairie dog bun rows. This species was once abundant
throughout much of the North American prairie. Agricultural practices,
as well as recent recurring drought, have reduced habitat and prey
abundance. It is apparent that more intensive monitoring and management
will be necessary to recover this species to a secure population level.
Bald
Eagle
At one time the Bald Eagle was a familiar sight from coast to
coast. However, our national bird suffered a dramatic decline caused by
ingestion of pesticides and of lead-contaminated waterfowl. The main
culprit was DDT, which was sprayed on crops to control pest damage. DDT
use was outlawed in the U.S. in 1972, and conservation efforts on behalf
of the Bald Eagle began.
The Arkansas River
Shiner is typically found in turbid waters of broad, shallow, unshaded
channels of creeks and small to large rivers. The Arkansas River
Shiner has disappeared from most of the historic range over the
past few decades due largely to human-caused alteration of natural
stream-flow patterns and introduced fishes.
This little vireo, with its restricted range, differs from
most vireos in being rather nervous and active in its behavior. It is a
tireless singer but is often difficult to find in the dense oak scrub.
It has a titmouse-like habit of hanging upside down while foraging among
twigs.