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Outdoor Oklahoma Journal

This is the Outdoor Oklahoma Journal, where we're all about helping you pursue and engage in Oklahoma's vibrant outdoor lifestyle. Follow us for great hunting and fishing stories, wildlife features, insider information about unique opportunities, and tangible details on how to go out and be a hunter, angler, and conservationist. The outdoors are always open, so don't miss out!

Christmas Birds Counted at Red Slough WMA

Bird watchers covered nearly 180 square miles from the Idabel area south to the Red River, documenting 111 species of birds.

2016-2017 Big Game Report

Oklahoma continues to enjoy some of the best deer hunting in North America as our habitat and herds continue to recover from the severe drought a few years ago. The overall harvest increased by nearly 12 percent from 2015-16, with a total of 99,023 deer taken in 2016-17. Figure 1 depicts deer harvest from 1972 through this past season. A breakdown of the past 10 years by bucks (including button bucks) and does appears in Figure 2. Does account for 37 percent of the total deer harvest, below the 40 percent to 45 percent target rate but acceptable for a herd recovering from the lower reproduction encountered during the drought. A total of 189 mule deer were checked from the westernmost areas of the state.

University of Oklahoma's Ichthyology Class Joins Survey

Biologists conduct these presence/absence surveys along a 300-mile stretch of the river twice a year, once in July and again in October.

Turn your Backyard Landscape into a Wildlife Oasis

After the dog days of summer and the recent memories of colorful blossoms, many Oklahomans are taking advantage of fall’s cooler weather to redesign their backyard landscape.

Prepare Your Bird Feeders: Install a Grackle Log Roller

Get ready for the traditional winter bird feeding season - and the large flocks of birds that may overwhelm your feeders.

Oklahoman Documented 3,516 Species of Beetles in Latimer County

Karl Stephan collected, processed, and donated many specimens of beetles to science.

The Value of a Photographs

Tips for establishing photo points to monitor changes in habitat.

Using Camera Surveys to Understand Your Deer Herd

Done correctly, trail camera surveys can estimate the number of deer per acre, the buck-to-doe ratio and recruitment.

A Status Report on Oklahoma's Bird Populations

This "bird's eye view" of the status of Oklahoma's bird populations reveals the remarkable viewing opportunities and shares ways get involved at any level.

Oklahoma Bats

Whether flying low over the ground with gracefully slow and deliberate wing strokes or erratically high above a stream, bats are fascinating to watch.