The Wild Side - Your April Wildlife Update

Join a community of naturalists by sharing your nature experiences with biologists and researchers across the state. Your sighting details can help shape our knowledge of Oklahoma’s diverse fish and wildlife populations. The following four projects are great ways to get involved with nature this spring!  

• Share American bumble bee sightings with the Wildlife Department by uploading your photos and sighting details to iNaturalist.
• Share sound recordings of prairie mole crickets with the Lost Cricket Project. 
• Share yellow wild indigo sightings with the Oklahoma Biological Survey. Email your sightings to Bryan Reynolds or Brenda Smith-Patten to help guide follow-up surveys for the frosted elfin, a small butterfly.
• Share April nature sightings to the 2019 Spring Virtual BioBlitz! iNaturalist project.

Species Spotlight:  Gray Treefrog

Late April and May evenings in eastern Oklahoma are often filled with the musical trills of calling gray treefrogs, especially during wet years. The lichen-like pattern of these cryptic frogs helps them easily blend in with tree bark, but homeowners often spot treefrogs clinging to windows near outdoor lights.

Learn more in the Wildlife Department's Online Guide

Grassland Birds Tracked at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

A trio of grassland birds that winter in Oklahoma has attracted the attention of University of Oklahoma researchers hoping to learn more about our state's role in their overwintering populations. As part of the study, John Muller has been tracking one species, the chestnut-collared longspur, at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma. This project is funded in part by ODWC’s State Wildlife Grants Program Grant F18AF00623, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Oklahoma.

Learn more about this study

Conservation Garden Tips from the Tulsa Zoo

The Tulsa Zoo's Conservation Garden isn't only helping Oklahoma pollinators; it's teaching visitors how to get involved in conservation! Interpretive signs describe the process of planning and building a pollinator garden - for rural backyards and apartment balconies! 

Get inspired with this short video

Two Wildscapes Certified

Information about landscaping for wildlife, and how to certify your property as a Wildscape can be found at wildlifedepartment.com. 

• The Schmidt Family, Tulsa County:  Certified Wildscape Habitat #481

This Wildscape includes a tremendous selection of native plants for butterflies, moths and other pollinators. They even have "no mow" zones strategically located around the property.

• The Garner Family, Bryan County:  Certified Wildscape Garden #46

As viewed in the photo, the Garner Family provides a lot of vertical structure with their plantings that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and dragonflies.

Calendar of Events

Migration Tour

May 3 & 4
Hackberry Flat WMA, Frederick

Salt Plains Crystal and Birding Festival

April 27
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge

Monarchs, Milkweeds and More

May 11
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Central Park Hall, Tulsa Fairgrounds

Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour and Plant Sale

May 18 - 19
Tulsa

Learning About the Snakes of Oklahoma

May 20
Ardmore

The Wild Side e-newsletter is a project of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Wildlife Diversity Program. The Wildlife Diversity Program monitors, manages and promotes rare, declining, and endangered wildlife, as well as common wildlife not fished or hunted. It is funded in part by sales of Wildlife Department license plates, publication sales, and tax checkoff dollars.  wildlifedepartment.com

Adding a Wildlife Conservation specialty license plate to your vehicle is a great way to help the Wildlife Diversity Program fund surveys of rare or declining nongame fish and wildlife. Twenty dollars of the $39 fee ($36.50 for renewals) goes to the Wildlife Department. Wildlife Conservation Plate fees are in addition to annual registration fees. The application for a pre-numbered or personalized plate is available at ok.gov.