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All photos and content are © Vicki Hart Wilmarth
Adventures of a new birder from amarillo
Since I started birdwatching (the cool kids call it "birding") in January 2019, I've been trying to discern which sparrow is which, to figure out where to see a variety of birds in the Texas Panhandle, and to learn to compose beautiful pictures of the amazing wildlife I have encountered. This website is a record of that journey.
Thanks for visiting!
Vicki Wilmarth
Birding and Wildlife Stories
Vicki Wilmarth
Aug 3, 2024
Summer in Sugarite Canyon State Park
With only a three and a half hour drive, Rohn and I are able to put the 100 degree days of an Amarillo summer behind us at Sugarite Canyon.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Apr 1, 2024
Bird Nerd Buys a Mirrorless Camera
In which I make the move to a mirrorless camera system for my bird photography--the Nikon Z8 and the 180-600mm lens.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Nov 17, 2023
Chasing the Panhandle's Rare Birds
In the fall of 2023, the Amarillo area hosted several rare birds--ones that don't reside in the Texas Panhandle or even migrate through,
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jul 16, 2023
Baby Bird Season
Summer in the Texas Panhande brings the joy of watching our local nesting birds produce the next generation. And feed them--over and over.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Apr 10, 2023
Birding Oklahoma's Black Mesa State Park
Black Mesa State Park, only 2.5 hours from Amarillo, provides a unique birding experience, as well as archeology, dark skies and history.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 12, 2022
Getting Better with the Bird Pics at Bosque
I spent three days in December 2022 at the Festival of the Cranes birding festival at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Oct 3, 2022
The Wayward Long-Billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlews are the largest shorebirds in North America. They are easily recognizable by their size and their crazy downturned...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Aug 1, 2022
Bald Eagles Nesting in the Texas Panhandle
Bald Eagles are nesting in the Texas Panhandle in the 21st century, which they haven't done since 1916.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jul 13, 2022
Western Kingbird vs. Swainson's Hawk
Photographs of interactions between an intruding Swainson's Hawk, two fierce Western Kingbirds and an Orchard Oriole on a Texas backroad.
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Vicki Wilmarth
May 11, 2022
Birding Melrose Woods Migrant Trap
On Mother's Day 2022, I got to be self-indulgent (I couldn't celebrate with my adult son until the next weekend), so my unending quest...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Apr 25, 2022
Spring Migration at Palo Duro Canyon
After a long winter and an extremely slow start, spring migration is finally bustling at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. While the...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Mar 29, 2022
Hey Amarillo Podcast
Birding and business in the Texas Panhandle were the topics of discussion between Jason Boyett and me on the Hey Amarillo Podcast.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Mar 21, 2022
Inland Birder in a Coastal Paradise
Whooping Cranes were the big thrill of a Spring Break birding trip to Rockport, Texas, but many other beautiful birds were also spotted.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Feb 15, 2022
Winter Birds of the Panhandle
Some birds, like Ferruginous Hawks and Bald Eagles, only spend the winter months in the Texas Panhandle.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jan 25, 2022
Photo Workshop in New Mexico
A five-day photo workshop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge provided me with 100's of inspiring pictures of nature.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jan 4, 2022
Upping My Landscape Photography Game
Photographing landscapes on the flat plains of the Texas Panhandle is challenging, but Palo Duro Canyon and our big skies help.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jan 4, 2022
The Red-Tailed Hawk and the Rattlesnake
A juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk made a photogenic meal out of Prairie Rattlesnake.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Oct 13, 2021
Northern Harriers Silently Glide over Panhandle Countryside
Northern Harriers soar over the agricultural fields of the Texas Panhandle all year, but they are particularly populous in our area...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Sep 15, 2021
Tips for Better Photography
Tips for Better Photography is a presentation both by video and PowerPoint slide show that provides six easy tips to taking better pictures.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jun 13, 2021
Burrowing Owls are Summer's Entertainers
The Texas Panhandle was one continuous prairie dog town once upon a time. Observers in the 1870's commented on the endless burrows and...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jun 4, 2021
McClellan Lake Birding and Camping
Red-headed Woodpeckers have found something they really like at McClellan Lake in Gray County (just off I-40 near McLean). I don't know...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Feb 15, 2021
Snow Birds
As much as I love photographing colorful Painted Buntings in the summer or energetic Yellow Warblers in the fall in the Texas Panhandle,...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jan 5, 2021
Birding Hot Spots in the Texas Panhandle
For a new birder, one of the most difficult challenges is figuring out where to find interesting birds to watch. Over the last two years,...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 21, 2020
Bird Nerd on a Podcast
Anette Carlisle, education guru and fellow birder, invited me to share a little about Texas Panhandle birding and my now two-year old...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 20, 2020
Christmas Bird Count 2020--Amarillo
Eighty-nine species of birds showed up on Saturday, December 19, 2020, to be counted by 15 local birders in the 121st Audubon Christmas...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Nov 15, 2020
Cooper's Hawks Nesting in our Yard in Amarillo (Updated)
Since April, we have happily followed the adventures of a pair of nesting Cooper's Hawks in our suburban front yard in Amarillo.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Nov 13, 2020
Why eBird?
eBird makes birding more fun and lets me participate in citizen science, treasure hunting, and scrapbooking all while learning about birds.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Sep 15, 2020
Swainson's Hawk Migration Begins
A cool fall morning in northeast Potter County marked the early stages of very long journey for the dozens of Swainson's Hawks that I...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jun 6, 2020
Birding a Different Part of Texas
At the beginning of June, birding in the Texas Panhandle slows down and can seem a little, well, monochromatic. The migratory birds are...
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Vicki Wilmarth
May 20, 2020
Mystery Birds
Quick! If you are a birder, what kind of hawk is this? This picture is from my front yard in Amarillo, taken on May 9, 2020. You can see...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Apr 20, 2020
The Reopening of Palo Duro Canyon State Park
For two weeks in April, the animals had the 26,000 acres of Palo Duro Canyon State Park to themselves and they quickly staged a takeover.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Feb 17, 2020
The Eagles of Amarillo
As many as a dozen Bald Eagles call Amarillo home during the winter months, but they can go unnoticed unless you know where to look for them
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Vicki Wilmarth
Jan 21, 2020
Bosque del Apache Should Be on Every Birder's Bucket List
Rohn and I spent the weekend in New Mexico at the birding dream location, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 22, 2019
Buffalo Lake's Boisterous Northern Shrike
A beautiful, buff-colored bird has sparked birdwatcher's interest in Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge this winter. The juvenile...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 15, 2019
Christmas Bird Count 2019--Amarillo
For 120 years, birders have been trudging out into fields, lakesides, mountains and beaches as citizen scientists to record the types and...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 13, 2019
Yellow-Headed Blackbirds By the 100's
While huge flocks of blackbirds are not uncommon, particularly in agricultural settings, I was startled in early October 2019 by more...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 9, 2019
The Great Varied Thrush Stakeout of 2019
While I was visiting my big brother, Steve Hart, in Lakewood, Colorado, he created a small birding sensation when he spotted a Varied...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 4, 2019
Playa Lakes are the Lifeblood of the Texas Panhandle
Playa lakes provide water, food and shelter to migratory and local birds and have become one of this bird nerd's favorite destinations....
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 3, 2019
Aoudad Sheep in Palo Duro Canyon
A herd of fascinating non-native North African barbary sheep roam the canyon, but they are seldom seen in the state park. The sheep (who,...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 3, 2019
Palo Duro Canyon Beauty
The Texas Panhandle is just a blank canvas on which God paints a new masterpiece every day. Growing up in Arlington, Texas, I thought...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 3, 2019
Palo Duro Canyon Bird Blind
The bird blind at Palo Duro Canyon State Park yields a treasure trove of interesting local birds.
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 2, 2019
Ferruginous Hawk (dark morph)
Only 10% of Ferruginous Hawks are dark morphs, so I felt lucky to see this beautiful guy in northeast Amarillo. On the west side of NE...
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Vicki Wilmarth
Dec 1, 2019
Northern Parula in Palo Duro Canyon
Someone needed to tell this bird it was the middle of November and he wasn't supposed to be here. I was birding at Palo Duro Canyon State...
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