Tulsa Raptors and Osama bin Squirrel Returns

Photo Cheryl Cavert
Hi Donna,

When I am out and about in Tulsa, I am always looking for any of the KJRH RT hawks, but a this time of year the spottings of any RTs in the urban setting have been few. I did see Jay a couple of weeks ago on the KJRH tower. Driving west out of Tulsa about 70 miles a couple of weeks ago, I could see numerous rural hawks circling-it was hard to watch the road instead of the all the hawks!!

Yesterday I could see a local Bald Eagle perched along the Arkansas River. It was the first time I had seen one there in 3 weeks. I parked and took a walk, trying to get as close as possible again along the high fence bordering the city sewage pumping station facility.

Photo Cheryl Cavert
The eagle perches are on the far side of the facility, along the river bank. I took a few pictures and then rounded one of the structures, but still was not close enough for a decent picture.


Photo Cheryl Cavert
I happened to glance at the nearer perch and Aha!-another Eagle! I quickly aimed my camera, brought the eagle into focus-just as the eagle took aim!!

Photo Cheryl Cavert
She glared a little at me for my nosy/noisy interruption. Then both eagles flew off into the river bottom and out of view.

Photo Cheryl Cavert
A few days ago I was in a parking garage and took this picture of the KJRH nesting tower 2 miles to the southwest. It was a beautiful sunny early fall morning and the fog/haze had not yet burned off in the river basin. On the far left the "Mazzio's Tower", a cellular transmission tower, is also visible above the treeline. In the far distant horizon is "Turkey Mountain", with the Arkansas River flowing between its base and the furthest visible treeline. The Riverparks System runs all along the Arkansas River in Tulsa. Even with the aggressive electric company trimming and all the damage/trimming from the ice storm and wind storms, the urban RT hawks of Tulsa still have plenty of perches, with the KJRH tower having the best view!!!
--Cheryl

No wonder Kay and Jay picked the KJRH tower to nest on and on which to perch during the off season. Just look at the amazingly wide view to monitor the movement of prey. It is far better than anything else I can see in that area but then again I don't know if their criteria has changed since last season. Let's hope not. I'd hate not having that sitting-in-their-lap view that the HawkCam makes possible!

As the Tulsa hatch was much earlier than those in NYC, I would think, that within a month or two we'd start seeing a little more of Kay plus some twig-to-nest action.

Will Thunder come back with her mother and be a juvenile about town?

I can hardly wait!

Photograph Carol Vinzant

Remember Osama bin Squirrel, the berserk baby squirrel being cared for by New York's Carol Vinzant? Carol gave me a little background on him, she said," My super found him with a bloody nose and a bad attitude 2 or 3 weeks ago in the courtyard of our building. So I just let him out right at my window to that courtyard.

AND....

A day after his release, Osama Bin Squirrel came back to my window sill.
He poked around in the nuts, then left when I opened the window. I figured that meant he was full and doing fine.

I left the room to make a call and when I came back he was not only inside, but sitting on the cage, looking down at the other squirrels.

I got squirrel dinner ready and offered him a syringe full of formula. He frantically drank it, so he was really hungry.

Figuring he would be terrified to be caught, I propped open the top cage door and left the room.

You guessed it, the other three squirrels came out. I fed them more.
I rounded them up pretty quickly.

Photograph Carol Vinzant

Osama hid in and behind the bookcase.

I left the room, turned off the light.

He came back on the cage and I caught him and put him in the cage.
All slept cuddled together. I guess he needs another week or two.

Of all the squirrels I’ve released, he is the one I would have figured least likely to return.

How does that expression go?
If you are kind of tired of being growled at and bitten by someone, set them free
If they don’t come back, they were never really yours
If they do, it means they were really hungry.

Carol Vinzant

Considering the way Osama ordinarily eats from the formula syringe one minute and then attacks it the next, I wonder if it wasn't O.b. Squirrel's mom who gave him the bloody nose after he treated her teat with the ferocity with which he uses the syringe.

D.B.