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North America’s largest shorebird, the long-billed curlew, has captured the attention of a research team working in the prairies of North and South Dakota. Their multi-year study focuses on the movements and habitat preferences of curlews as the birds nest in the Northern Plains states but also tracks curlew migrations through other states, including Oklahoma. This year the movements of nine birds have been tracked, eight of which flew through Oklahoma as they migrated south in June and July.
“We want to know more about how they’re using the North Dakota landscape – how they’re using grasslands and cropland and wetlands,” said Sandy Johnson, Conservation Biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. “But we also want to know how long it takes them and what path they’re taking to migrate south.”
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 Gene Blackwell/RPS 2019
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Oklahoma has a diverse turtle community, including heavy weight snapping turtles, foul-smelling musk turtles, and terrestrial box turtles. And then there are the unconventional softshell turtles. Softshells have many unique traits, but perhaps the most distinctive is their unusual shell design. Instead of hard, dome-shaped shells covered in scales, these turtles have leathery, flat shells that are somewhat flexible. Blood vessels close to the skin of the bottom-half of the “shell” encourage oxygen exchange, allowing the turtles to stay underwater longer than some other species. Even then, the turtles may just extend their long necks and pointed snouts out of shallow water and remain submerged. Finally, softshells differ from other Oklahoma turtles in that their gender is determined genetically instead of by incubation temperature.
Two species of softshell turtle can be found in Oklahoma. The spiny softshell occurs throughout the state and is best identified by two small projections in the inside of the nostrils and small projections on the leading edge of the carapace, or top-half of the shell. The midland smooth softshell is more restricted to the body of the state and lacks projections in the nostrils and on the carapace.
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Monarchs and other pollinators in the OKC metro are getting a boost thanks to the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Living Classrooms Grant Program. So far, 22 grants have been awarded to metro-area schools to help build pollinator gardens that benefit migrating monarch butterflies. In addition to funds for garden supplies, the grants offer professional development opportunities for teachers and monarch-related curriculum from the National Wildlife Federation.
Gardens created under the grant program must be a minimum of 100 square feet in size and be maintained for three years. Once funded, a team of three teachers plan, install, and maintain the garden and develop educational projects involving the garden.
The Living Classrooms Grant Program is a partnership between the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Oklahoma Monarch and Pollinator Collaborative, and National Wildlife Federation.
Want to see a pollinator garden in action? Join the Oklahoma City Zoo and Bob Moore Subaru for a special Monarch Awareness Day on Saturday, September 10 to learn what the OKC Zoo is doing to help these iconic pollinators and how you can help. Event goers of all ages will enjoy a variety of activities including learning how to plant a pollinator garden, participating in Monarch Watch’s community science monarch tagging project, assisting with planting a pollinator garden in the Zoo, free milkweed plants and pollinator seed packs while supplies last, story time, Facebook Live, and more. Monarch Awareness Day activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the Zoo’s pollinator garden and all are free as part of regular admission. Learn more at www.okczoo.org.
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Keep your cool by visiting Outdoor Oklahoma's YouTube channel! We’ll take you hunting, fishing, and exploring without letting all the bought air out. Hundreds of episodes are available at your fingertips, plus we’ve created playlists designed for hunters, anglers, habitat managers, and even those looking for a virtual postcard from Outdoor Oklahoma.
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Outdoor Calendar
Wetland at Night Tour
Sept. 10, 7 - 10 p.m.
Hackberry Flat Center, near Frederick
Additional activities planned before and after tour.
Monarch Awareness Day
Sept. 10, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Oklahoma City Zoo Pollinator Garden
Adult Birding Walk
Sept. 10, 8 - 10 a.m.
Martin Park Nature Center, Oklahoma City
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