Our total number of species for our 2015 Oklahoma City Christmas Bird Count is 116. Anything over 110 is outstanding so we did great.
This year, we had two particularly remarkable bird records on our count—the Pine Warbler and the Osprey. The Pine Warbler was found, and beautifully photographed, by Brian Marra, in Martin Nature Park, a moderate-sized preserve in the north-central part of our CBC circle. The Osprey was seen by Steve Davis and Mary Lane on the Fountains at Canterbury property, also in the north-central part of our count circle.
The Pine Warbler is an especially rewarding find: they have been seen on the Norman and Lake Arcadia Counts in the past, but we have never had a definite record on the Oklahoma City Count, although I know of 2 instances where we might have had them, but neither time it was counted because of some problems.
The Osprey was seen at a medium-sized pond near NW 122nd St. We would normally see them at our big lakes, but Steve and Mary found this one well north of our 2 large reservoirs.
What strikes me as a most interesting point about these 2 records is that neither one was seen at Lake Overholser or Lake Hefner, where we have come to expect our rarities. This shows that hard looking in areas where we do not usually expect rarities does sometimes pay off with a rarity. There is also something of a correlation between the many hours spent looking and the number of unusual birds. So to all you people who may feel that your areas are a little “ho-hum” for rarities, take heart—you never know where and when to expect the unexpected. Thanks for the hard work by everyone!
| Oklahoma City 2015 Christmas Bird Count Species Greater White-fronted Goose 40 |
Blue Jay 146 American Crow 174 Horned Lark 26 Carolina Chickadee 144 Tufted Titmouse 23 White-breasted Nuthatch 4 Brown Creeper 12 Carolina Wren 66 House Wren 1 Bewick’s Wren 2 Winter Wren 11 Marsh Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 6 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 77 Eastern Bluebird 69 American Robin 1809 Hermit Thrush 2 Northern Mockingbird 75 Brown Thrasher 5 European Starling 1696 American Pipit 16 Cedar Waxwing 272 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 154 Pine Warbler 1 Spotted Towhee 18 Chipping Sparrow 3 Savannah Sparrow 60 Le Conte’s Sparrow 1 Fox Sparrow 16 Song Sparrow 74 Lincoln’s Sparrow 9 Swamp Sparrow 10 White-throated Sparrow 43 Harris’s Sparrow 192 White-crowned Sparrow 26 Dark-eyed Junco 312 Lapland Longspur 2 Smith’s Longspur 28 Northern Cardinal 191 Red-winged Blackbird 382 Meadowlark (sp) 253 Eastern Meadowlark 34 Western Meadowlark 3 Common Grackle 10 Great-tailed Grackle 278 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 House Finch 158 Pine Siskin 3 American Goldfinch 217 House Sparrow 346 Total Species 116 Total Party Hours 94.5 Total Party Hours 508.5 Total (Party) Owling Hours 3.5 Total (Party) Owling Miles 19.5 Total (Party) Feeder Hours 7.5 Total Parties 18 |