Lesser Prairie Chickenless in Oklahoma...

Once upon a time a journey was made to Oklahoma to look for Lesser Prairie Chickens.  Two brave biologists set out from a distant land to cover a giant grid and found themselves surrounded by unexpected beauty and incidental birds...

 

 

Faithfully the two biologists covered the prairie, diligently listening for prairie chickens, dutifully staying in the field long after surveys ended to record incidental bird observations.  The trees were still bare, the visibility was excellent, and the wooded thickets of the backroads held promise of juicy birds...

 

  
Being in the time before we all got Bird Pods, one of the biologists was far advanced for the age and possessed a magical handheld PDA loaded with bird sounds.  The two biologists laughed and high-fived as they confirmed a Carolina chickadee - a bird not found in the land where they were from, far, far away.  A blue-gray gnatcatcher confirmation caused great excitement that was soon overpowered by the sighting of a Bewick's wren and the discovery of some very interesting nests.  The first one an oriole, sure, but that second one?

 
There were many long, moments of strained listening as wild turkey gobbles floated by on the breeze, teasing the biologists minds with the possibility of distant phantom prairie chickens.  The biologists pressed on, rewarded with the spring arrival of scissor-tailed flycatchers, a treasured lifer for one of the biologists.

The days continued and the birds continued to impress, bobwhites, cinnamon teal, loggerhead shrike, prairie falcon, Swainson's hawk, red-bellied woodpecker, vesper sparrow, long-billed curlew - the list grew and grew.  Burrowing owls were a highlight, barreds were regular, and one evening a great-horned gave a fine performance of turkey roost upset in a stand of trees as a couple of great blue herons flew over in the failing light.  The biologists moved at a snail pace as owls swooped across the roads on the way out...

The biologists knew they were in a foreign land upon discovery of great protective fences made entirely out of junked vehicles and they moved on cautiously as not to upset the castle dwellers inside.  Moments of serious study were had on a random throne the biologists stumbled upon and they feasted at local establishments...

One morning of their journey was marked with thousands of fresh tracks of critters that had traversed the sandy backroads that very night and morning.  Rodents, raccoons, badgers, fresh burrows, and the sure sign of the phantom chicken gobblers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the time to return home neared, the biologists were observing an armadillo when a Mississippi kite swooped by providing full dorsal and ventral views in a flash and offering up another lifer.  Though unsuccessful at locating a lesser prairie chicken, the journey had produced a healthy list of juicy birds and the story had gotten them out of a speeding ticket.  For an adventure where the target species was not spotted, they had seen many others to compensate.  The biologists then traveled home and birded happily ever after. 

This was the only chicken they documented...