What to look for in nature in Oklahoma this March

Can you still see whooping and sandhill cranes in Oklahoma in March?

• Whooping cranes that wintered at Salt Plains

  Left in early March 2026; if any winter over again, expect a similar timing · Salt Plains refuge, by the town of Jet in north-central Oklahoma

  A group of eight whooping cranes, six adults and two tawny juveniles, stayed at Salt Plains through the whole 2025–26 winter, the Fish and Wildlife Service says. They were still there for the Christmas Bird Count in early January, which made them the first group known to winter at the refuge rather than push on to the Texas coast. A late-January arctic blast left eight inches of snow, yet the birds stayed, grazing on scrap corn. The group headed north in early March toward their breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, the story says. Whether any winter over again is unknown, so check the refuge and the Wildlife Department before planning a trip around them.

• Whoopers on the move

  Stopovers are expected mostly in April, and only for a day or three · Western half of the state, mostly east of Guymon and west of Interstate 35

  The Wildlife Department says migrating whooping cranes use shallow wetlands, marshes and crop fields, stay at a stopover for one to three days, and rarely travel in groups bigger than eight. The wild flock now numbers just over 500 birds, so any sighting is notable. A whooper stands nearly five feet tall, is white with black wingtips, and flies with the neck stretched straight out. Sandhill cranes, in contrast, gather by the dozens. If you think you have seen one, photograph it from a distance and send the date and place through the Wildlife Department’s crane sighting form. Leave the bird alone; it is endangered and it needs to refuel.

• Sandhill cranes passing through

  Late winter and early spring flights; flocks come and go with weather · Salt Plains and the wetlands and fields of the west

  The Wildlife Department puts the mid-continent sandhill population at over half a million birds, at least four in five of all sandhills. The call is a rolling, trumpeting trill that can carry more than a mile, so you often hear a flock before you spot it high up in a V or a shifting line. Salt Plains reports that its peak spring and fall counts of ducks, geese and cranes together can approach 400,000 birds. Look for gray birds with outstretched necks and trailing legs. Herons fold their necks into an S when they fly, and cranes do not.

• The light goose Conservation Order

  Season dates listed as February 15 to March 30, 2027 (2026–27 license year) · Open fields and wetlands statewide

  Snow geese and their relatives are so abundant that a special Conservation Order has been set for February 15 through March 30, 2027, in the Wildlife Department’s published 2026–27 seasons. Large white flocks lifting off a field in March are heading north, and during this period they may also be hunted. If you walk or bird near wheat fields or reservoir shorelines, learn which land is open to hunting and wear something bright.

Where can you watch prairie-chickens boom and bison calves in Oklahoma?

• Greater prairie-chickens on the lek

  Booming starts in late March and goes to early May, at sunrise · Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, near Pawhuska in Osage County

  The Nature Conservancy says males perform at sunrise from late March through early May. They stamp, inflate orange air sacs on the neck, raise feathers like ears and let out a low hum; the sound is called booming. The 39,650-acre preserve is free and open daily in daylight hours, with a 15-mile bison driving loop and several self-guided trails. Dogs, off-roading and camping are not permitted. Treat a lek as you would a nest: stay in your vehicle, keep the engine off and never walk toward the birds.

• Lesser prairie-chickens in the northwest

  Spring display season; the birds are federally threatened · Short and mixed-grass prairie of northwestern Oklahoma

  Reddish-orange air sacs identify the lesser prairie-chicken, according to the Wildlife Department, which also explains that the greater bird has heavier barring and richer color. Both species can be reported to eBird or iNaturalist with a photo. Tulsa Audubon, which used to host a festival around the western leks, announced that it ended the event in 2021 because there were too few birds to promise participants a view, and suggests Kansas’s lek festival as an alternative. Check with a local Audubon chapter before driving out.

• Bison and their calves

  Calving runs through spring; the preserve counts 600 to 700 calves by mid-May · Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and Chickasaw National Recreation Area

  The Tallgrass preserve is home to about 2,500 free-ranging bison. It has been managed with patch-burn fire since 1989, which creates a patchwork of fresh and old grass that benefits birds and grazers alike. The Wichita Mountains refuge in southwest Oklahoma, about 60,000 acres of granite mountains, mixed-grass prairie and lakes, is home to bison, Texas longhorn and Rocky Mountain elk, and more than 275 bird species. Black-tailed prairie dogs live in towns there. Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur keeps a bison herd too. These are wild, powerful animals; stay far back, never get between a cow and her calf, and watch the posted refuge rules.

What blooms first in Oklahoma in March?

• Chickasaw plum

  Average first flowers March 17 in the old Norman records; Chickasaw plum flowers appear any time from February to May, says the Wildflower Center · Fencerows, old fields and sandy ground across the state

  Small, white, fragrant flowers cover the thickets before the leaves appear. The Wildflower Center notes that birds and mammals eat the fruit later and that the dense tangles shelter nesting birds. Look for a cloud of white along a fence line and a hum of early bees.

• Eastern redbud

  Average first bloom March 24 in the Norman records; the Wildflower Center gives March through May · Woodland edges, yards and parks, mainly in the east and center

  Clusters of pink flowers grow in tight clusters along bare stems and branches before heart-shaped leaves appear. The Wildflower Center notes that redbud is of special value to native bees and bumble bees. Oklahoma’s state tree is the redbud, and a mass of them on a hillside is a reliable signal that the last freeze is close to over, though not past: see the freeze table below.

• The small early flowers

  Henbit averages March 12; yellow false-garlic and Missouri buffalo currant March 19; narrowleaf puccoon March 27; ground-plum March 28 · Lawns, roadsides, pastures and prairie edges

  Look low. The old records list midland dogtooth-violet at about March 6, Carolina anemone about the 14th, Missouri violet and plantainleaf cat’s-foot about the 24th, and the first yellow wood-sorrel near the end of the month. Cottonwoods flower about the 26th and box-elders about the 19th.

Which frogs and salamanders are moving in Oklahoma in March?

• Spotted salamander

  Migrates on rainy nights from late January through March · Hardwood forests of south-central and eastern Oklahoma, near temporary ponds

  The Wildlife Department says adults walk to temporary breeding ponds during late winter and early spring storms, and females lay clutches of from about 20 to more than 300 eggs on twigs and leaves underwater, which hatch in 30 to 40 days. Most of the year the animal lives underground; you may also find one under a rotting log. If you move one across a road, send it in the direction it was heading.

• Woodhouse’s toad

  Choruses form from March through August if rain is enough · Sandy and open country almost statewide; also under porch lights

  This is the most common toad over most of Oklahoma. The male’s call is a long, low, nasal sound that can last several seconds. Eggs hatch and tadpoles transform within a couple of weeks in warm water, so a ditch that fills after a storm can be a nursery.

• Blanchard’s cricket frog

  Calling begins in April; listen for the first on a warm late-March evening · Ponds, streams, creek edges and lake shores statewide

  The Wildlife Department calls this inch-long frog one of the most abundant in the state. Its call sounds like two marbles rubbed together. It is a good one to log on your first warm evening. Note the night, the air temperature and whether the water was moving.

What fish run in Oklahoma in March, and which trout waters close?

• Paddlefish

  Spawning season is March through June; snagging usually starts sometime in March and ends in late April · Grand and Neosho, Arkansas and Red River systems; lakes such as Kaw, Oologah, Texoma and Hugo

  The Wildlife Department describes the paddlefish as one of Oklahoma’s largest fish, with a long paddle-shaped snout. It spawns when spring rains lift the rivers and water temperatures reach 50 to 60 °F. Paddlefish numbers dropped because of dams, poor water quality and illegal harvest for caviar, and the state has released hatchery fish since 1992. Season dates, permits and closures change, so read the current fishing regulations before you go.

• Seasonal trout waters

  Several end March 15 or March 31; two rivers stay open · Blue River, Sunset Lake in Guymon, Robbers Cave, Medicine Creek, Lake Carl Blackwell’s Turtle Pond; the Lower Mountain Fork and Lower Illinois River are year-round

  The Wildlife Department’s trout page lists the Blue River, Sunset Lake and the Turtle Pond near Stillwater as November 1 through March 31, and Robbers Cave and Medicine Creek as November 1 through March 15. The Lower Mountain Fork in McCurtain County and the Lower Illinois River below Tenkiller dam have trout year-round, and both require barbless hooks in their managed areas. A fishing license is needed. Robbers Cave and Medicine Creek close in mid-March, and the rest of the seasonal waters run to the end of the month.

Which birds return to Oklahoma in March?

• Ruby-throated hummingbirds

  Begin arriving in mid-March and early April, males first · Eastern half of the state, in gardens, woodland edges and at feeders

  The Wildlife Department says males come before females. Its advice is to put feeders out by early April and keep them up through at least November 1, by stirring one part sugar into four parts boiled water, with no honey, dye or substitutes. Hang more than one feeder, well apart, because males defend them. Change the nectar weekly in cool weather. Journey North collects first sightings from across the continent and maps the spring advance.

• Purple martins

  Arrive from mid-February through May; last year’s young arrive four to six weeks after the adults · Open lawns and fields with martin houses, usually near water

  The Wildlife Department notes that martins nest in colonies and that houses should be 12 to 14 feet high and within about 100 feet of human activity. Oklahoma City Audubon warns that the earliest arrivals risk starvation if a cold snap suppresses the insects. Have houses clean and open before the first scouts show up.

• American woodcock displays

  Dusk and dawn display flights, which begin in January in some years · Damp thickets next to clearings, such as Lake Draper in Oklahoma City

  Oklahoma City Audubon describes the display: a short, buzzy peent from the ground, then a spiraling flight 50 to 100 yards up with a liquid, twittering sound made by air rushing through the wing feathers. Arrive before dark and stand quietly.

• Spring shorebirds

  Migration builds in spring; the Wildlife Department counts 29 species at Hackberry Flat · Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area near Frederick, and Salt Plains NWR

  The Department ranks Hackberry Flat among the region’s best spots for shorebirds, and the number of flooded wetland units depends on rainfall. Salt Plains calls itself a major rest stop for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds across spring, summer and fall. At Hackberry Flat, visitors who are not hunting need either a Wildlife Conservation Passport or a license. At Salt Plains, fishing and selenite crystal digging open on April 1.

How warm, wet and stormy is March in Oklahoma?

When is the last spring freeze in Oklahoma?

How much daylight does Oklahoma gain in March?

What is in the Oklahoma night sky in March 2027?

• Dark skies and the Milky Way

  Around the March 8 new moon; our calculation puts the best pre-dawn window at roughly March 5 to 16 · Dark country away from town lights, such as the Panhandle and the Ouachitas

  With no Moon in the evening, faint objects stand out in the first weeks. The bright center of the Milky Way rises only in the hours before dawn this early in the year. Our own calculation suggests a window of up to a couple of hours before the sky starts to brighten, so set an alarm and give your eyes twenty minutes in the dark.

• A young moon by the Pleiades

  Evening of Saturday, March 13 · Western sky after dark

  On the evening of March 13, a thin crescent, five days past new, should pass within about one degree of the Pleiades star cluster, by our own calculation. Binoculars bring out the cluster’s stars next to the Moon.

• The Moon beside Jupiter

  Evenings of Thursday and Friday, March 18 and 19 · Southern half of the sky after dark

  The gibbous Moon, about 88 percent lit, moves past Jupiter on these evenings, coming within a degree of the planet on the 19th. It makes Jupiter easy to find, and a small telescope will show its four large moons.

• The equinox and the Worm Moon

  Equinox on the 20th (a Saturday) at 3:25 p.m. CDT; full moon on the 22nd (a Monday) at 5:44 a.m. CDT · Anywhere with an open horizon

  The Worm Moon, the traditional name for the March full moon, turns full just before sunrise on Monday the 22nd. Expect it to look full on both of those evenings, March 21 and 22. Watch the sunrise and sunset points move north along the horizon over the month.

• Mars near Jupiter

  Evening of Tuesday, March 30 · Southern half of the sky after dark

  Our own figures put Mars roughly four degrees from Jupiter on Tuesday, March 30, a wide but easy pairing when both are high up around 8 p.m. The last quarter moon comes the evening before.

Which nature programs and citizen science projects can you join in Oklahoma in March 2027?

Safety notes for March in Oklahoma