Kahâriwis (Cliff Swallow) Site Visit

Kahâriwis (Cliff Swallow) Site Visit

Join Tulsa Artist Fellowship for a guided visit to a cliff swallow colony at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County, Oklahoma. Dr. Charles R. Brown, a longtime researcher from the University of Tulsa, will speak about cliff swallow biology, their Oklahoma habitats, and his four decades of research. Artist and Tulsa Artist Fellowship awardee Warren Realrider will introduce the event and share insights from his research-based art project Kahâriwis (Cliff Swallow), which explores the cliff swallow as an entry point for Pawnee reconnection to contemporary Nebraska.

Date: Saturday, May 10

Meet-up Location: Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor Center

Meet-up Time: Between 9:00–9:30 AM

Group Departure: Caravan departs at 9:30 AM

The site visit will take place outdoors, and guests are encouraged to come prepared for weather exposure.

After gathering at the Visitor Center, the group will caravan by car to one of several cliff swallow colony sites located in concrete culverts beneath the preserve’s gravel roads. A map with three potential locations is available here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nTjw1gNBnZ1EhfbVA.

Participants will park along the roadside near the selected site. From there, we’ll walk down a gentle embankment to observe the cliff swallow nests inside the culvert. Please note: the walk is off-trail and not wheelchair accessible.

A designated team member will remain alert for nearby wildlife, including buffalo, and we’ll briefly discuss safety considerations before leaving the Visitor Center. Guests are asked to respect the landscape and minimize their impact on the habitat throughout the visit.

is a behavioral ecologist whose 43-year study of cliff swallows in western Nebraska is one of the longest-running field research projects in North America led by a single investigator. His work has advanced understanding of social behavior, parasite dynamics, and rapid evolution in colonial birds. Brown is best known for identifying the costs of ectoparasitism, uncovering intraspecific brood parasitism, and documenting rapid morphological change in response to severe weather. More recently, his research has shown how cliff swallows have evolved to avoid road traffic, how adult survival fluctuates with climate, and how the birds have developed tolerance to their parasites. He has also studied viral transmission between cliff swallows, their parasites, and invasive species like house sparrows.

(Pawnee/Crow) is a multidisciplinary sound artist based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His work blends noise performance, improvisation, and experimental composition, often exploring sound, site, and material as active elements. He is the creator of the Tick-Suck project and has presented work across Oklahoma and nationally, including in Spokane and New York City. Realrider’s pieces—such as IIII Kitapâtu and Unassigned Data—engage the tensions between objects, environments, and human presence, creating immersive structures rooted in anti-plains futurism and sonic disruption. His practice traces Indigenous futurities and the unstable boundaries between function, movement, and place. Realrider is a 2024-2026 Tulsa Artist Fellowhip Awardee.

The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve spans 39,650 acres and is the largest protected remnant of tallgrass prairie on Earth. Once covering 14 states, less than 4% of this ecosystem remains. Since 1989, The Nature Conservancy in Oklahoma has restored the prairie using 2,500 free-ranging bison and a patch-burn model of prescribed fire. The preserve is home to over 700 plant species, 300 birds, and 80 mammals, with scenic drives, trails, and wildlife viewing throughout.

The is located at 15316 County Road 4201, Pawhuska, OK 74056, 36° 50′ 46.6004″ N. 96° 25′ 22.4320″ W.

The Visitor Center has parking, restrooms, water fountains, a short orientation film, Junior Ranger activities, exhibits, a bookstore, and friendly rangers ready to help make your experience a good one. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available inside the visitor center, and accessible parking is available 24 hours daily.

Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) that addresses pressing challenges faced by contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa Artist Fellowship believes the arts are critical to advancing cultural citizenship and supports community-invested practitioners who intentionally engage with our city.

Our exhibitions and events are free, documented, and archived.

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Also check out other Arts events in Pawhuska, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Pawhuska, Exhibitions in Pawhuska.