What an interesting month!!  May was a beautiful bird month with multiple reports of Yellow Warblers.  Though not as plentiful, other colorful bird reports included Painted Bunting, Lazuli Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, and Summer Tanagers.  Shorebirds loved the rainy weather and muddy puddles left behind.  But the beauty was shattered by violent storms that roared across the Central Oklahoma landscape.  Was that the reason for Will’s sighting?  Who or what killed Libby’s unusual bird discovery?  And then surprise, surprise a habitat neighbor to Libby’s bird was discovered slinking around in the cattails.

On the 1^st Bill Diffin started at the Coffer Dam with Orchard Oriole, Yellow Warblers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Bell’s Vireos, and White-faced Ibis while Bob and Dana Holbrook saw a Sora Rail and Marsh Wren.  On the 2^nd at the Stillwater Oklahoma Botanical Gardens and Arboretum John Polo found a Painted Bunting and Swainson’s Hawks.  At Lake Hefner Patrick Elder saw Ruddy Ducks, an Osprey and Spotted Sandpiper.  On the 3^rd in her Midwest City yard Gayl Wells had a House Wren.

On the 4^th the Tuesday Morning Birders led by Bill went to Lake Carl Blackwell and found a Wild Turkey, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Pine Warbler.  Later along the west Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge Bill located a male American Redstart, and Eastern Wood Pewee.  In Stillwater Tim O’Connell was working from home when he was visited by a Blackpoll Warbler and then, there, beneath his feeder an Indigo and Lazuli Bunting were squabbling.

On the 7^th John Shackford and Bill sited a Yellow-breasted Chat on the east side of Lake Stanley Draper.  On the 8^th Brian Davis located about 15 Bobolinks out in Norman’s Ten-Mile Flats on 72^nd just south of Tecumseh; meanwhile, Jim Bates came across them on the corner of 50^th and Morgan Road in Canadian County.  Dick Gunn discovered Loggerhead Shrike at Lexington Wildlife Refuge, at South Jenkins a Barred Owl and Least Tern, and Matt observed White-rumped Sandpipers.

On the 9^th along Lake Thunderbird Brian noticed a Black-throated Green Warbler.  At the Teal Ridge Wetland just east of 19^th and Western in Stillwater Jay Burtka saw a pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes. Along South Jenkins Matt discovered Chimney Swift, Red-eyed Vireo and Tennessee Warbler.

On the 10^th 6 tornados traveling at 50 to 60 mph struck Central Oklahoma along and south of I-40.  Four had EF3 ratings and quite a bit of damage was done to buildings and plants.  Just after the storms Tim O’Connell checked the Teal Ridge Wetland and located 17 species including Pectoral Sandpipers, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Black-crowned Night-heron.  Tim also reports Will Jessie had a good look at a Swallow-tailed Kite west of Stillwater about 2 miles south of State Road 51 on Hackelman Road.

On the 11^th Bill led the Tuesday Morning Birders to Rose Lake where they located Pectoral Sandpipers and an Alder Flycatcher.  Meanwhile, Dick and Libby, his dog, were checking South Jenkins and decided to take a different route.  He saw great numbers of sparrows foraging along the road including a few remaining White-crowned Sparrows when Libby stopped and sniffed something in the middle of the road.  Dick took a closer look and realized it was a dead Virginia Rail.  He took it to the Sam Noble Museum’s bird collection where they learned it had been pierced in the head. Did hail from the previous day’s storm kill it?  Then again, on the 18^thDick saw a Peregrine Falcon in the area, a serious suspect.

On the 12^th Nancy Reed in Norman and Lindell Dillon in Midwest City also reported Lazuli Buntings.  On the 13^th Brian Davis saw a Cackling Goose flying over Norman, and the next day along South Jenkins CJ Metcalf found a Black Vulture.

On the 14^th Ernie Wilson reported a fallout of Dunlin and other shorebirds on the Canadian Valley Sod Farm east of Wilshire and Midwest Blvd.  Jim Bates and Bill Diffin checked it out and other species observed included Black-bellied Plover, Red-necked Phalarope, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, and Stilt Sandpiper. Later Eivind Vamraak added Whimbrel and Upland Sandpiper.  He said the birds seemed very nervous.  No wonder.  Ben Holt discovered a Peregrine Falcon hunting them.

On the 15^th Jim Bates checked Rose Lake and observed a Forester’s Tern, and a Willow Flycatcher which was also seen by Angie and Ben Holt.  Matt located a Yellow-throated Vireo along South Jenkins.  Mary and Steve Lane found a Double-crested Cormorant at Rose Lake and Franklin’s Gulls at the Coffer Dam.

On the afternoon of the 16^th a devastating hail storm roared though the northern part of Oklahoma City causing millions of dollars worth of damage.  In the morning before the storm Matt saw and heard a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher on NW 50^th just west of County Line Road.  That evening at Lake Hefner he and his wife discovered an Eared Grebe and 4 Black Terns.  At the Canadian Valley Sod Farm Jim came across a Hudsonian Godwit.  Joe Grzybowski went to the McClain County sod farm south of Goldsby and identified Lesser Yellowlegs, White-rumped, Baird’s, Semipalmated, and Stilt Sandpipers.

On the 17^th Les Imboden in Stillwater had an Olive-sided Flycatcher in his yard.  On the 19^th Debbie Kaspari reports a Fish Crow flew over her tornado damaged home at Lake Thunderbird.  Many of the birds were much more vocal and active than normal.  But of course, they too had to reestablish territories and rebuild nests.  That evening another outbreak of tornados and hail occurred in Kingfisher and Payne Counties causing more disturbances.  Total storm damages for the month may exceed one billion dollars. How much damage did wildlife experience?

On the 22^nd at Yukon Park Jimmy Woodward had a Mourning Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Bewick’s Wren. On the 25^th Bill led the Tuesday Morning Birders to Lake Stanley Draper and heard a Kentucky Warbler singing out of sight in a little ravine choked with vegetation, while White-breasted Nuthatches and Summer Tanager were calling and singing in the woods.

In the morning of the 29^th Eivind Vamraak and Bill had five separate sightings/hearings of Least Bitterns at the Lake Overholser’s Coffer Dam – with an absolute minimum of two birds. The song is easily mistaken for that of a rather quiet frog.  It was quite an interesting discovery to end an exciting month.

During May a total of 170 bird species were reported with 34 new additions making the Central Oklahoma area to date total at 248 species.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in reports.  I can be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net.

Esther M. Key, Editor.

When April began, the beautiful purple flowering redbuds were highlighting by the gray winter forest, which suddenly turned various shades of green as all the leaves burst forth.  The last frost was on the 7^th with another one skirting the western side of central Oklahoma on the 26^th.

April 1^st Cynthia Van Den Broeke reported a beautiful Yellow-crowned Night Heron by the Sam Noble Museum in Norman, and Jim Bates saw a Little Blue Heron fly over his house in Oklahoma City.  Bill Diffin found an Eared Grebe on Lake Hefner and a Swamp Sparrow at the Coffer Dam on Lake Overholser.  On the 3^rd at the Coffer Dam he saw a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk take off above the wooded swamp and slowly circle higher and higher until it drifted off to the north.

On the 4^th Jennifer Kidney found a Prothonotary Warbler along south Jenkins in Norman, and on the 6^th Dick Gunn found an Eastern Towhee, a fly over Northern Harrier and heard a distant Northern Bobwhite Quail.  On the 7^th Sue Lutze saw the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Tuttle, Jimmy Woodward found an Eastern Kingbird at Lake Stanley Draper, CJ Metcalf spotted a small flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a flooded pasture off Reese Lake Road, and Feodora Steward reported a cloud of 75 to 100 Cedar Waxwings in west Oklahoma City.  On the 8^th Jim Bates saw American Golden Plovers at the sod farm at SW 149^th and MacArthur, Brian Davis ran across over 70 Upland Sandpipers in Norman along Franklin Road between NW72nd and NW60th, and along South Jenkins Dick and Matt saw a singing Northern Parula presenting it’s magnificent self in the early morning sunlight – just dandy!

On the 10^th the OCAS field trip at Pat Murphy Park led by Jerry Vanbebber had 4 American Avocets, a fly over from an Osprey carrying a fish in its talons, and at the Police Station Pond Bonaparte’s and Franklin’s Gulls.  Later Jimmy’s group saw a Western Grebe at Prairie Dog Point on Lake Hefner, and at Rose Lake Jerry’s group found Semipalmated Sandpipers.  On the 11^th Jimmy found a House Wren at the Yukon Park and along Wagner Road some Lesser Yellowlegs.  At the Oklahoma State Arboretum Vince Cavalieri found Chipping and Clay-colored Sparrows, at South Jenkins Ana Starr and Jenifer Kidney saw a Common Nighthawk flying down the river, and Jim Bates put out four of John Newell’s Prothonotary Warbler boxes along the Coffer Dam road.

On the 12^th along South Jenkins in Norman Dick found a Green Heron on the Beaver Pond, and on the 14^th Matt had a Grasshopper Sparrow and Spotted Sandpiper.  On the 16^th it rained all day and Cattle Egrets appeared in a grassy field next to Esther Key’s yard.  On the 18^th Joe Grzybowski saw an adult Bald Eagle circling in Norman.  On the 20^th the Tuesday Morning Birders led by Bill Diffin found a female Surf Scoter on the Lake Hefner water treatment ponds, and later a Gray Catbird.  Near the Coffer Dam at Lake Overholser Jim Bates saw a Sora Rail run across an open area between bunches of cattails and utter the whinny call.  In Edmond Terri Underhill’s Carolina Wrens fledged.

On the 21^st at Lake Hefner Bill heard a Warbling Vireo.  On the 22^nd Matt and Jenny Foster heard their first Chuck-will’s-Widow in Blanchard.  On the 23^rd along South Jenkins Matt and Dick found Blue Grosbeaks, an Indigo Bunting and a single Sedge Wren.  In Mustang Jimmy had a Baltimore Oriole come to both hummingbird feeders and try to get some sugar water which was a very nice surprise.  Later he birded Pat Murphy Park and found a Swainson’s Thrush.  On South Jenkins Dick found a Red-eyed Vireo, Snowy Egret, and possibly heard a Great Crested Flycatcher calling.  Mississippi Kites flew over Matt and Jenny’s home in Blanchard and Terri Underhill’s home in Edmond.

On the 24^th Jimmy and Nadine found a Summer Tanager at the Yukon City Park, the Yellow-billed Loon at Lake Hefner, 30 Wilson’s Phalaropes at the Yukon Treatment Plant, and heard two Prothonotary Warblers at the Coffer Dam.  Matt had Bell’s Vireo and Black-crowned Night-Herons at the Coffer Dam and Western Kingbird along Morgan Road.  Eivind Vamraak and Bill Diffin were birding the west side of the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge when a Peregrine Falcon briefly flew over and later Ernie Wilson saw one near Rose Lake.

On the 25^th at Lake Stanley Draper Jimmy had several Kentucky Warblers, a female Painted Bunting and Broad-winged Hawks.  Pat Velte discovered that the Surf Scoter is still at Lake Hefner.  At Lake Carl Blackwell Timothy O’Connell found a Pine Warbler, Jim Bates flushed an American Bittern at Rose Lake, and Bill found 41 Willets at the Coffer Dam.  On the 26^th Tim Ryan and Debby Kaspari birded the eastern edge of Lake Thunderbird and found 3 Black Vultures, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Nashville Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Summer Tanager and Great-crested Flycatcher.

On the 27^th the Tuesday Morning Birders led by Bill found a Bank Swallow at the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, and Dana Holbrook and Susan Prescott found a Palm Warbler at the Coffer Dam.  On the 29^th Bill and Charles Douglas walked the east Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge and had a Caspian Tern fly over the trail heading to Lake Overholser. Angie Holt saw a White-faced Ibis and Dickcissel at 10 Mile Flats in Norman.

During April over 50 new bird species were reported for a total of 170 bird species making the Central Oklahoma area to date total at 214 species.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in reports.  I can be contacted by email at emkok@earthlink.net.   Esther M. Key, Editor.

Until this year Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) have nested regularly in our chimney; we are feeling a bit guilty because we have put a cap on our chimney on the advice of our “chimney sweep.”  So we just watch the Chimney Swifts circle around and say to themselves—what’s with these inconsistent, thoughtless people?  In some areas Chimney Swift numbers have been dropping in recent years:  For central Oklahoma, their numbers on Breeding Bird Survey Routes between 1966-2003 have declined, on average, more than 1.5 percent per year.  If you are serious about providing alternatives to chimney nest sites there is information about building an artificial nesting tower at www.chimneyswift.org.

The Chimney Swift, with its tapered head and tail, has been called “a cigar with wings.”  During daylight hours, it spends very little time perched—it feeds in flight, drinks water and bathes in flight, gathers nesting material in flight, mates in flight.  Other than landing inside a chimney for roosting or nesting, it only accidentally touches our earth.  Most build nests inside chimneys, but once in a while a pair will still resort to a hollow tree, their “pre-civilization” nesting habitat.  With both feet, in flight, they break off small dead twigs to make their nests.  These twigs are covered with saliva and usually pasted to the insides of a chimney.  Bird’s-nest soup, an Asian delicacy, is usually made from the nests of either the White-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) or the Black-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus), species that use only saliva to build their nests.  Dr. George M. Sutton, in his book, Birds Worth Watching, 1986, confessed that he had never gotten up the courage to boil 2 or 3 Chimney Swift nests (twigs and all) to see what that bird’s-nest soup tasted like.

A.C. Bent, in Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds and their Allies, 1989, notes that “[o]f the few North American birds—and they are very few—that were influenced favorable by civilized man…the [C]himney [S]wift received the greatest benefit.”  Bent goes on to say that the Chimney Swift doesn’t give humans any respect (as Rodney Dangerfield would have said).  They build their nests “…in the chimneys of thousands of our homes and crisscross for weeks above our gardens and over the streets of our towns and cities, yet, wholly engrossed in their own activities far overhead, they do not appear to notice man at all.”  “[W]e like to see them shooting about over our heads, and we enjoy their bright voices, yet …it is a guest that does not know we are its host.”

There is an interesting discussion about the Latin name of the Chimney Swift in the Dictionary of Birds of the United States, 2003, by Joel Ellis Holloway of Norman, Oklahoma:  The Latin genus name Chaetura, means “hair-tail or bristle-tail,” although normally this use is restricted to animals other than birds.  But one can see what this name is aiming at—the Chimney Swift’s “bristly” tail.

The real fun starts with the Latin species name, pelagica, which means “of the sea.”  Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), the original “lister,” assigned the species name pelagtea in 1758 and pelasgia in 1766:  Linnaeus is speculated to have been trying for “the name Pelasgi, an ancient nomadic tribe in Greece,” but in all the confusion the species name ended up being pelagica—of the sea; not only is this name not helpful, it misdirects attention to the sea, which does not relate well to this species at all.  If Linnaeus couldn’t get it right, this should make the rest of us feel a bit better about the lists we try (or fail) to keep.

March is the magical month when birds return and winter turns into spring, but this year was different.  Several winter residents left including the Yellow-billed Loon and the Trumpeter Swans, and other species started returning from Purple Martins to Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.  But an unusual event occurred the first day of spring.

On February 28 the first Purple Martin scout was reported in Blanchard.  On March 1^st Martin and Carol Blick from England saw the Yellow-billed Loon, Western and Horned Grebes on Lake Hefner.  On the 3^rd Matt Jung reports the Red-headed Woodpeckers are back in Eldon Lyon Park.  On the 6^st Terri Underhill’s Carolina Wrens were starting to nest.  At South Jenkins Dick Gunn reports the first Blue-winged Teal arrived.  Bill Diffin and Paul Roisen from Iowa birded central Oklahoma and found Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatches, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and the Western Grebe.  On the 7^th Berlin Heck found the Yellow-billed Loon on Lake Hefner.  On the 9^th Lindell Dillon last found the Trumpeter Swans in Norman.

On the 10^th in Grady County Paul Sunby from Austin, TX found Mountain Bluebirds and a Ferruginous Hawk. On the 13^th along South Jenkins Matt found the Marsh and Winter Wren, one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and in his daughter’s backyard a female Purple Finch.  Near 36^th and Classen Larry Mays found two Barn Swallows.  The OCAS Kingfisher County birding trip discovered Swamp Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Green-winged Teal, Bald Eagle, Greater Yellowlegs, and Loggerhead Shrikes.

On the 17^th at South Jenkins Dick found a Vesper Sparrow, and Larry Mays saw a Turkey Vulture from the dentist’s chair.  On the 18^th CJ Metcalf found a Least Flycatcher in Norman.  In Perkins, Mark Cromwell had a Purple Martin arrive at their new house.  On the 19^th the last report of the Yellow-billed Loon at Lake Hefner was made by Matt plus Jimmy and Nadine.  Later while checking the Max Westheimer Airport area in Norman Matt observed a small jet taxied to the take-off lane and flushed up a Short-eared Owl.  Jimmy Woodward and Nadine Varner also found a Rough-winged Swallow at Overholser and a Great Egret at Stinchcomb.  On Twin Bridges in Norman Dick saw a single Bank Swallow.  Terri Underhill and her grandchildren discovered Great Horned Owl babies in a pine tree nest in Edmond.

On March 19^th, the last day of winter was 70°F.  March the 20^th was the first day of spring but rain had turned to snow and central Oklahoma was experiencing a winter blizzard.  It was hard to tell if it was snowing or the wind was just blowing the fallen snow into drifts.  Meadowlarks in the front yard were hiding from the ferocious wind behind tufts of grass.

Around noon in Stillwater Jason Heinen heard some Killdeer outside his apartment.  When he opened the door he was amazed to see close to 50 of them frolicking in the snow!  Nearby James Ownby reports another dozen or so were playing in the street.  In Oklahoma City Patti Muzny reports dozens of Killdeer all over Fifth Street in Moore between South Santa Fe and Janeway and large flocks of them at SW 85^th and Walker.  Further east Frank in Sand Springs saw well over a hundred grounded Killdeer.  In Norman Ben Holt reports at Ten Mile Flats just before dark there were groups of 3-5 American Pipits everywhere you looked from Indian Hills down to Rock Creek.  The road edges are absolutely dense with sparrows – Savannah’s and Vespers were especially abundant, and in the ditches Wilson’s Snipes were found in good numbers.  On the 21^st Jerry Vanbebber found a Sprague’s Pipit in the group.

On the 22^nd Jimmy checked the Sutton Wilderness area and found two Golden-crowned Kinglets and at 10 Mile Flats an American Golden Plover.  On the 23^rd Dick and Matt walked the length of South Jenkins and found a Fish Crow and Field Sparrow.  Andy Feldt stopped by the playa near 48^th and Rock Creek and found a Marbled Godwit.

On the 26^th Matt birded the Norman area and found a Baird’s Sandpiper, Bonaparte’s Gull, and Pine Siskin. At Crystal Lake in Oklahoma City Jim Bates saw Franklin’s Gulls.  On the 27^th in Stillwater James Ownby saw a Black and White Warbler.  In Oklahoma City Jim Bates observed a Swainson’s Hawk.  On the 28^th Brian Davis saw two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers along the outflow creek on South Jenkins.  On the 29^th in Norman Lindell saw a Lark Sparrow in his yard. In Midwest City Anais Starr found a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  Along South Jenkins Brian Davis discovered the Yellow-throated warbler had returned and was singing his heart out from the same stand of trees. On the 30^th Matt found two Chipping Sparrows.  In Norman Nancy Reed arrived home and looked out the window just in time to see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  On the 31^st along South Jenkins Dick found a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Nancy Reed found one on the chain link fence at Tinker Air Force Base, and Cynthia and Matthew Whittier saw a couple of on the south side of Norman and heard a Chimney Swift loud and clear.  On South Jenkins Matt Jung heard the White-eyed Vireo while the Brown Thrasher showed up in his daughter’s back yard. As the birds return in the forest the red-bud tree buds are beginning to break open to brighten the stark gray bark of the winter trees with a cheerful purple, the promise of spring’s grand opening for real this time.

During March 137 bird species were reported making the Central Oklahoma area to date total at 158    species.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in reports.  I can be contacted by email at emkok@earthlink.net.   Esther M. Key, Editor.

Purple Finch (male) © Patricia Velte

In its online write-up about the Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus), Cornell University states: “The Purple Finch is the bird that Roger Tory Peterson famously described as a ‘sparrow dipped in raspberry juice.’” To me there is always something very satisfying about seeing Purple Finches, and Peterson’s phrase catches much that is appealing about this beautiful bird. To clarify, it is the male Purple Finch that has the beautiful raspberry juice—or wine—color that goes over the head and “drips” downward over much of its body. This raspberry color is different from the red of the similar male House Finch—and this difference in color is rather easily distinguished if you get an adequate look with binoculars. The male Purple Finch is most similar in color to the Cassin’s Finch, but Purple Finch males have a more uniform raspberry wash than the Cassin’s Finch. Also, the Cassin’s Finch does not normally range into central Oklahoma (travel to the Black Mesa area in wintertime to have the best chance to see a Cassin’s Finch).

The female Purple Finch also has its own “character”—a strong white stripe behind the eye that (boldly) says “female Purple Finch,” rather than the nondescript face pattern of the female House Finch. Both the male and female Purple Finch have strong brownish-black and white streaking on the body; immature males and older females have a faint wash of “raspberry,” but not nearly so much color as an adult male. Often helpful too is that both a male and a female Purple Finch are seen together, at least in my experience.
The Purple Finch nests over much of southern Canada and into the northern U.S., and it is the state bird of New Hampshire. It lays from 3-6 eggs, usually 4 or 5, and most often nests in coniferous trees, the nest usually being about 15-20 feet high.

In Oklahoma City we are on the western edge of the winter range of the Purple Finch; it shows up here erratically and most years we see very few or none. Then we have a year when they are decidedly more common, although seldom would you say abundant. This past winter has been a “boom” year; we have seen at least 9 at our yard feeders, a considerable jump over the usual zero. Many other people are also reporting them across Oklahoma this winter/spring (2009-10). Because of this influx, humor me for a moment while I suggest that—for this particular winter—we informally adopt the Purple Finch as the State Wintering Bird of Oklahoma! Most of these finches leave some time during April, according to Woods and Schnell (Distribution of Oklahoma Birds, 1984), so watch your feeders for an ending date.

The Latin name of the Purple Finch—Carpodacus purpureus—means purple (purpureus) fruit biter (Carpodacus). On the breeding ground its diet is reported in Bent (1968, Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies, part 1) to include strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries, both tame and wild; other things it is reported to eat at some time of year include fruit tree blossoms and insects. In winter, its diet is reported to be mainly seeds, and like a lot of small birds, they seem to particularly enjoy black sunflower seeds. In late winter and spring it will also eat the buds of a number of tree species. I suspect the developing pollen and young seeds in these buds provide a lot of nutrition for comparatively little effort for his small finch that weighs only ¾-1 ounce (a 1-ounce letter is about 4 sheets of paper and an envelope—not very much weight).

by Mark Howery, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

Three species of hummingbirds are regularly found in Oklahoma.  Two species, the Ruby-throated and the Black-chinned, nest in Oklahoma and are found here during the summer months.  The third species, the Rufous Hummingbird, does not nest in Oklahoma, but migrates through the state during the spring and fall.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird © Patricia Velte

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the most common and widespread species.  It is found across the eastern 3/4 of Oklahoma and is the only species found in the eastern half of the state.  The Black-chinned Hummingbird is found in the western quarter of the state and is most common in the southwestern corner.  It is the most common hummingbird around the cities of Lawton and Altus, and it has expanded its range eastward over the past three decades and is now common as far east as Chickasha.

Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds return to Oklahoma in early spring – usually between the 10th and 20th of April.  They remain here through the summer and migrate back south during September.  Like many migratory land birds, the male hummingbirds typically return one to two weeks before the females in the spring and migrate south in mid-September about two weeks before the females and juvenile birds.  Contrary to popular myth, hummingbird migration is not triggered by changes in their food supply but by changes in day length.  In the fall, they migrate southward in September regardless of whether or not there is an abundance of flowers and/or hummingbird feeders.

We recommend that people place their hummingbird feeders out in mid April – between the 10th and 15th unless they see a hummingbird earlier than that – and maintain these feeders until late October – Halloween is an easy date to remember.  Nearly all hummingbirds have migrated south by the first of October, but occasionally stragglers, especially young-of-the-year birds, may be seen throughout October and these birds benefit from the energy boost provided by hummingbird feeders.

Hummingbird feeders should be filled with a sugar water solution that is approximately one part sugar to four parts water.  This can be made a little stronger in the spring and fall when hummingbirds are migrating, and a little weaker during the heat of the summer.  It is not necessary to add red food coloring to the sugar water – although this was commonly recommended twenty years ago.  Also, it is not necessary to use elaborate nectar mixtures, although there is nothing wrong with using these.   In addition to drinking flower nectar and sugar water, hummingbirds obtain the protein that they need by eating the small insects that are attracted to flowers and sometimes pollen.  Even when they appear to be dependent upon your feeders, they are supplementing their diets with insects.

It is extremely important to keep hummingbird feeders clean!  Sugar water is an excellent growing medium for yeast and some bacteria, therefore it can be contaminated and sour (turn cloudy) within a few days during the summer.  We recommend emptying and cleaning hummingbird feeders every five to seven days during cool weather in the spring and fall, but every two or three days when the afternoon temperatures are routinely above 85 degrees.

You may have noticed hummingbirds acting very aggressively around your feeders.  Hummingbirds defend feeding territories (usually patches of flowers) during most of the year, so defending a hummingbird feeder is a normal behavior for them.  Often, one hummingbird will try to dominate a feeder and drive all other hummingbirds away.  A hummingbird can usually accomplish this if there are only a few other hummingbirds in the area, however, if there are more than eight to ten hummingbirds, this territorial behavior will decrease because of the difficulty in driving off a large number of birds.  Two remedies can be used to address aggressive hummingbirds – both involve placing more than one feeder in the yard.  If there are only a few birds around (less than six), you might try to put out additional feeders that are scattered in the yard twenty-five feet or more apart.  This allows multiple hummingbirds to establish individual territories in your yard.  If you have several hummingbirds (more than five), it might be better to place several hummingbird feeders in the yard close together – separated by only a few feet.  This will allow multiple hummingbirds to feed at one time and thus concentrate the birds in one area where it is difficult for a single bird to take control.  The second remedy is being used more and more in areas with large hummingbird populations.

Male and female hummingbirds normally defend individual territories.  During the nesting season, the female alone builds her nest, incubates the eggs and raises the young.  Females usually lay two eggs in a nest (occasionally three eggs), and normally raises one or two broods per year.  Hummingbird nests are extremely small – about the size of a half walnut.  They are constructed of spider webs and fine plant fibers, and are build on the ends of tress branches 10 to 30 feet above the ground.  Often, lichens or moss are incorporated into the nest and these help camouflage the nests in the trees.

In addition to placing feeders out for the hummingbirds, you can provide for their needs by growing flowers that they prefer.  Hummingbirds find flowers by their sense of sight and are attracted to red, orange, deep pink and deep yellow flowers.  They also appear to prefer flowers with a tubular shape that resemble the hummingbird’s long bill.  Some beneficial flowers for hummingbirds include the following:

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)         Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans)

Swamp Hibiscus (Hibiscus militaris)                          Flame Azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum)

Autumn Salvia (Salvia greggii)                                    Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)

Scarlet Sage (Salvia splendens)                                  Texas Red Sage (Salvia coccinea)

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)                   Beard Tongue or Penstemon (Penstemon species)

Red Morning Glory (Ipomea coccinea)                   Cypress Vine (Ipomea quamoclit)

Four O’Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa)                                                 Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Red Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)                            Missouri Verbena (Verbena missouriensis)

Crimson Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)               Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens capensis)

Red-hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria)                            Coral Bells (Heuchera sanguinea)

Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)                            Tall Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Prairie Phlox (Phlox pilosa)                                          Standing Cypress (Gilia rubra)

Smooth Wild Petunia (Ruellia strepens)                 Canna (Canna cultivars)

National records were set in February regarding both snow and wind.  For the first time in the national weather records on February 12^th snow fell in all 50 states.  Also, it was the only month since 1950 when there were no reports of a tornado in any of the 50 states.  In Oklahoma February started cold and wet but ended ‘warm’ and dry with the monthly precipitation total 0.91inches above average and temperatures 5.7ºF below normal.

In Norman on the 1^st Dick Gunn commented that the January snow was still awfully pretty down on South Jenkins as he found Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Snipe, Wood Duck, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and the tracks of river otter, beaver, coyote, bobcat, skunk, cottontail, raccoon and white-tailed deer. At feeders Kim Wiar had at the same time White-winged, Eurasian Collared and Mourning Doves; while Matt Jung had an Orange-crowned Warbler along with over 300 blackbirds of various species.

On the 2^nd in Norman at South Jenkins Dick added Bald Eagle, Barred Owl, and March Wren, and Matt had a Brown Creeper, Fox Sparrow, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  On the 3^rd at Lake Hefner Bill Diffin found at least 20 Herring Gulls in and around a raft of Common and Red-breasted Mergansers and one Glaucous Gull.  On the 4^th John Manganiellow had a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at his feeder in Edmond. On the 6^th along South Jenkins Matt and Cecil Johnson had a Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatches, and the ‘white’ Red-tailed Hawk.

On the 6^th at Lake Hefner Pat Velte photographed an immature Yellow-billed Loon just north of Prairie Dog Point.  On the 7^th Jimmy Woodard and Jerry and Anita Vanbebber relocated the loon and also found a Western Grebe.  Both species were last reported in February on the 27^th by Brian Davis.  On the 7^th at Lake Hefner Bill Adams and his mother found a couple of Hooded Mergansers and Horned Grebes.  At Rose Lake, Mary and Steve Lane saw about 40 Northern Pintails. Over the weekend in her Norman backyard Nancy Reed had what  is thought to be gray-headed Dark-eyed Junco.

On the 11^th Max Fuller reports the Lesser Black-backed Gull is at Lake El Reno. On the 12^th Pat Velte reports the 8 Trumpeter Swans were still on Summit Lake in Norman, and on the 16^th Mark Cromwell found 4 Trumpeter Swans on a pond in Logan County north and west of Crescent.  In Norman on the 16^th Ben Holt had 121 Smith’s Longspurs, and on the 19^th Brian Davis reported the Merlin was flying over the ball fields south of Jackson Elementary.  On the 20^th Joe Grzybowski reports two adult Thayer’s gulls and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Overholser.

On the 25^th Bill Diffin and the Tuesday morning birders found several interesting species:  Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese were at Lake El Reno; Ferruginous Hawks and Western Meadowlark were in the Fort Reno area; and several flocks of Mountain Bluebirds were west of Fort Reno.  Turkey Vultures were seen in Midwest City by Jim Jorgensen and over South Jenkins by Richard Gunn.

On the 26^th Jim Bates saw Short-eared Owls in pastures near Fort Reno.  On the 28^th about 1 mile west of Norman on Indian Hills Road Joe Grzybowski spotted 3 American Golden Plovers, which is about 10 days before expected.  Patti Muzny reported American Woodcocks were heard/observed calling just after sunset on their property in Byars. Where is spring?  Is this the beginning?

During February 121 bird species were reported making the Central Oklahoma area to date total at 133 species.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in reports.  I can be contacted by email at emkok@earthlink.net.   Esther M. Key, Editor.

Hairy Woodpecker

The Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) is told from the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) by having a longer, heavier bill, and an extra two inches or so of overall length. Also, there is a subtle difference on the white outer tail feathers of the two species: the Hairy has no black bars, while the Downy does, a distinction that can often be difficult to determine. These two are the only North American woodpeckers that have white down the middle of the back. If your ears are musically inclined, you probably won’t have much trouble telling the high-pitched “squeak-toy” note of the Hairy from the lower-pitched note of the Downy. But this difference can be somewhat difficult to sort out for less sensitive ears, especially if a call is not heard well or one is not that familiar with the notes of both species. And opportunities to hear this bird in this part of the country are not all that frequent: even though 57 birders participating on our Christmas Bird Count, we found no Hairy Woodpeckers.

Bent (A.C., 1964, Life Histories of North American Woodpeckers) has some interesting comments about the Hairy Woodpecker. As to how these woodpeckers locate tree-boring larvae, Bent quotes Dr. Thomas S. Roberts who says that “[a]ll the special senses of birds are very highly developed and it seems probable that in this case [Hairy Woodpecker] hearing, touch, and smell all may play a part. The active grub, as it crunches the wood, makes a sound that would surely be audible to a bird with its keen sense of hearing. The tunnel produces a cavity which would give both a different sound and feeling on tapping over it. Such things as grubs have a strong odor, and it is probable that this plays a part also.”

Bent also relates an interesting story V. A. Alderson published in the “Oologist” in an 1890 article entitled “Hairy Woodpecker and potato bugs” (I believe these are the same as the Colorado potato beetles, adults of which are 2/5ths of an inch long, and 1890 was definitely before wholesale modern-day sprayings). Alderson talks of an infestation of “potato bugs [that] covered every patch of potatoes…” in Marithon County (his home county), Wisconsin, except for the field of one farmer. This farmer took pains to find out why he didn’t have an infestation, and he observed a Hairy Woodpecker “making frequent visits to the potato field and going from there to a large pine stub a little distance away.” After about six weeks, the farmer visited the pine stub, saw a large hole about fifteen feet up, cut down the stub, split it open, and found “over two bushels of bugs. All had their heads off and bodies intact.”

Early ornithological literature (before field guides) would sometimes say that such-and-such a bird ate a lot of harmful insects and not very many that were beneficial. At times—it seemed to me—this was a somewhat strained defense of a particular species, but this was back in the day when birds were not protected by law, and such “kind” words about a species probably did change the behavior of some hunters. Now—I think we would all agree—the beauty and novelty of birds are reasons enough to protect them, but to learn of a Hairy Woodpecker that gathered two bushels of potato bugs in six weeks is impressive. The same general principle, eating lots of bugs, no doubt extends to many other bird species as well. So maybe over a nesting season, a Purple Martin colony really does eat a gazillion mosquitoes!

A new year, a new bird list, and a new weather pattern start the year 2010.  In spite of a few days in the 60ºF the monthly summary is recorded as a cold and wet month with a precipitation total of 2.77 inches.  Quite a few days were rough on both wildlife and humans.

On New Year’s Day in Edmond Terri Underhill woke up to a Great Horned Owl, and David McNeely started with a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the feeder.  In Norman Jennifer Kidney had 3 Pine Siskins, a female Purple Finch, and Merlin. On the 2nd she saw a greenish flash in the Photinia bush next to her back stoop when out hopped a lovely Orange-crowned Warbler.  At Lake Overholser Jim Bates found a Great Egret, all three Mergansers, Lesser and Greater Scaup, and a Long-tailed Duck.

On the 3rd the Cleveland County Christmas Bird Count included Rusty Blackbirds, Smith’s Longspurs, a Western Grebe, plus 8 Trumpeter Swans (1 immature and 7 adults) were located in the main pond of the Summit Lake Addition off Alameda Drive just east of 24th Street East.  In Oklahoma City Jimmy Woodward and Max Fuller spend a wonderful day out birding.  At Lake Overholser they found an immature Bald Eagle and two winter adult Glaucous Gulls, at Twin Lakes a pair of Wood Ducks, and at Terri Underhill’s house in Edmond a Rufous Hummingbird, Purple Finch, Hermit Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, and Brown Thrasher.  In Edmond Dora Webb saw a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk zoom right over her bird feeders.  A little while later it zoomed back over the feeders immediately followed by two Red-tailed Hawks in hot pursuit.  She could see them going after it like Kamikaze pilots as they chased it off to the north.

On the 6th the temperatures began dropping and went clear down to 5ºF during the night of the 8th and 9th.  It was so cold and windy during this time that several schools closed to protect students from frostbite indicating a tough time for wild creatures.  Small ponds froze.  On the 10th at Lake Hefner Angie, Amelie and Ben Holt found a mixed flock of about 500 Canada, Cackling, Greater White-fronted, Snow and Ross’ Geese.  Brian Davis joined them and located the Lesser Black-backed Gull and 4 Common Loons. They returned to Norman and kicked the fields north of the Embassy Suites to find a Loggerhead Shrike, LeConte’s Sparrow, Smith Longspur and six Northern Harriers.

On the 12th Brian Davis found another very large group of various geese species on the frozen water treatment lagoons on the north side of El Reno.  On the 14th at Lake Hefner Bill Diffin found American White Pelicans, a first winter Glaucous Gull and a pale 2nd winter type Thayer’s Gull.  On the 15th Mark Cromwell found Mountain Bluebirds in the Freedom area.

On the 19th the weather warmed to 63ºF and the next day over an inch of rain fell.  On the 23rd at the southwest end of the Lake Hefner dam, Bill Diffin confirmed a report from Doug Eide of a Western Grebe.  On the 24th at Fort Reno Ben and Angie Holt found a Barn Owl, Winter Wren, a lone Greater Yellowlegs and two Ferruginous Hawks.  Later another Ferruginous Hawk was found in the Purina Field in Edmond.  On the 24th along South Jenkins in Norman Jennifer Kidney found a Brown Creeper, and on various dates Dick Gunn found his first Purple Finch, a Marsh Wren and Common Yellowthroat.  On the 25th Matt Jung found a Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Snipe, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. In Edmond this was the last day Terri saw the Rufous Hummingbird.

On the 27th the temperature warmed up to 64ºF, keeping the ground warm, but the next day schools closed in anticipation of the arriving storm. On the 29th Jimmy Woodward reports that there is about an inch to two inches of ice and sleet on the ground in west Mustang. He then went to Lake Overholser but it began snowing heavily and he returned by 12:30 to find around 500 blackbirds at his feeders.

On the 30th Jimmy and Max found a flock of Mountain Bluebirds approximately five miles southwest of Calumet and a third year Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake El Reno.  Over the weekend at South Jenkins Dick Gunn found a Least Sandpiper and Swamp Sparrow.

During January 121 bird species were reported making the Central Oklahoma area to date total 121 species.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in reports.  I can be contacted by email at emkok@earthlink.net.   Esther M. Key, Editor.

Spotted Towhee

Although the Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) and Eastern Towhee (P. erythrophthalmus) are closely related, they are currently classified as separate species.  The debate about “splitting” these into two species or “lumping” them into one has an interesting history.  The American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU), official arbiter of bird nomenclature, periodically puts out updated Checklist Editions that show name changes since the previous AOU Checklist Edition.  From the AOUs 1st Edition (1886) through the 4th Ed. (1931) the Spotted Towhee was split as a separate species called the Arctic Towhee, while the Eastern Towhee was known simply as Towhee.  By the 5th Ed. (1957) through the 6th Ed. (1983) the two towhees were lumped as a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee.   By the 7th Ed. (1998), the most recent, the towhees had been split once again into two species, the Spotted and Eastern Towhees.

In his “Oklahoma Birds” (Sutton 1967), Dr. Sutton made the following statement (in which I have substituted common names for Latin names): “…in my opinion there is no more justification for throwing the two [towhees] together than for throwing togetherYellow-shafted and Red-shafted Flickers, Myrtle and Audubon’s Warblers, Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles, Indigo and Lazuli Buntings, and possibly even Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks because…each of the twelve forms ‘breeds true’ throughout a vast area.”  Currently, only the Flickers (lumped as Northern Flicker) and Warblers (lumped as Yellow-rumped Warbler) are considered only one species.  I believe I am accurately paraphrasing something Dr. Sutton once said about nomenclature and closely related populations:  Just wait a while and things will change.

Males of both the Spotted and the Eastern Towhee have black backs, with at least some white spots on the back, considerably more of these white spots on the back of the Spotted Towhee. The females of the two species differ because the back color of the female Spotted can be either black or gray, while that of the female Eastern is a chocolate brown; females of both species also have white spotting on the back similar to the respective males.  Both species have rufous on the sides of the breast and white in the middle of the breast.

In central Oklahoma, the Spotted Towhee is our common towhee.  A very few Spotted Towhees nest in the Black Mesa area of the Oklahoma Panhandle; their song is a “harsh buzzy trill” (Kaufman Field Guide 2000).  A few Eastern Towhees nest in northeastern Oklahoma; their song is “drink your teeeeee.”   But both species are primarily migrants and winter residents in Oklahoma.  On our Oklahoma City Christmas Bird Count there are usually about 50 Spotted Towhees reported for each Eastern Towhee.  In central Oklahoma the Spotteds may actually be a little less common than 50 to1, because the Spotted is the “default” towhee when a bird is not checked carefully.
Not long ago my wife Melissa noticed an Eastern Towhee eating birdseed in our yard.  During the snowstorm a few days later, we had both a Spotted and the Eastern Towhee feeding in the yard, quite a treat.

An Addendum to last month’s Bird of the Month, Ring-billed Gull.  Although this gull spends time at trash dumps, including mall parking lots, I do not consider it a “trash” bird in the way I do the Starling and House Sparrow.  One difference is that of the three species, only the Ring-bill is a native species; they have expanded opportunistically within their historic range, but not as an invader of new territory.  Furthermore, they do not have a strong negative impact on other species as do the Starling and House Sparrow.