2021 Christmas Bird Count

Dec 18, 2021 OKC Audubon CBC Summary

A cold front swept through the metro area prior to sunrise on Dec 18 and quickly dropped unseasonably warm temps back down into the low 30s, coupled with a northly wind gusting up to 25 mph. Temps did creep back up into the low 40s by early afternoon but by then, several count teams had packed it in for the day. Central Oklahoma is also in the middle of a moderate La Nina cycle which had produced relatively dry and above-average temperatures leading up to the count.

Before going further, want to first pay a huge tribute to a loyal CBC participant, Miss Feodora DeGrasse Steward, who passed away back on October 18 at the age of 93! Kudos to Carla Brueggen who usually took Feodora out with her. Feodora was dearly missed for this year’s count!

Even with the cold and wind, coupled with drier conditions, 21 count parties comprised of 44 counters that walked an amazing 66 miles still managed to log 108 species and 16,925 birds!

The most amazing bird(s) seen on count day were by Warren Harden’s team – four White-tailed Hawks! Warren provided a very thorough documentation but unfortunately the birds moved on the very next day. The next best bird was actually a count week bird which was a Northern Shrike, discovered by Brian Marra out at Crystal Lake.

We seemed to have a good distribution of both species of kinglets as well as American Goldfinches. Getting spoiled with multiple Lesser Black-backed Gulls (6).

Eastern Phoebe numbers were down as were wrens but a big factor likely was the uncomfortable birding conditions for the morning. American White Pelicans (171) were also significantly lower this year.

The Crissup team found two Smith’s Longspurs and a Ross’s Goose. The Mays team found a White-winged Scoter for the second year in a row and the Garrison team managed to get two uncommon American Tree Sparrows.

Additional count week birds include American Pipit, Orange-crowned Warbler and a Lapland Longspur.

As always, please check our Club’s webpage at https://okc-audubon.org for any updates to the CBC list. Thank you for everyone that braved the inclement weather this year!

Participants include John Cleal, Marion Homier; Steve Davis, Mary Lane, Terri Underhill; Bill Diffin; Neil Garrison; Mark Howery, Sharon Henthorn; Patti Muzny, Nancy Brian Munzy, Esther Key; Hal Yocum; Cheryl Allen; Brian Marra, Grace Huffman, Steve Stone; Betz Hacker, Robert Holbrook; John Sterling; Larry Mays, Aaron Mechem; Morton Payne, Matthew Payne, Johnson Hightower, Steve Parker; Warren Harden, Nancy Vicars; Jimmy Woodard, Mark Delgrosso, Emily Muns; Patricia Velte; Nathan Kuhnert, Susan Prescott, Allison Jones, Allison Jones, Nathan Jones, Kaye Jones; Kathleen Tucker; Jacob Crissup, Katie Crissup; and Jerry and Marilyn Taylor.

—Nathan Kuhnert, Compiler

2021 Species Number   Cooper’s Hawk 5   Golden-crowned Kinglet 7
Cackling Goose 33   Red-shouldered Hawk 6   Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17
Canada Goose 808   Red-tailed Hawk 27   Eastern Bluebird 24
Ross’s Goose 1   White-tailed Hawk 4   Mountain Bluebird 15
Wood Duck 10   American Kestrel 10   Hermit Thrush 1
Gadwall 173   American Coot 307   American Robin 971
American Wigeon 197   Killdeer 10   Northern Mockingbird 29
Mallard 647   Least Sandpiper 7   Brown Thrasher 2
Blue-winged Teal 1   Wilson’s Snipe 6   European Starling 2547
Northern Shoveler 240   Bonaparte’s Gull 171   American Pipit CW
Northern Pintail 2   Franklin’s Gull 1   Cedar Waxwing 33
American Green-winged Teal 24   Ring-billed Gull 2994   Orange-crowned Warbler CW
duck sp. 2   Herring Gull 29   Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 33
Canvasback 23   Lesser Black-backed Gull 6   Spotted Towhee 3
Redhead 41   Forster’s Tern 6   American Tree Sparrow 2
Ring-necked Duck 44   Rock Pigeon 323   Field Sparrow 3
Greater Scaup 26   Eurasian Collared-Dove 69   Savannah Sparrow 10
Lesser Scaup 399   White-winged Dove 10   Fox Sparrow 11
Bufflehead 96   Mourning Dove 123   Song Sparrow 40
Common Goldeneye 225   Great Horned Owl 1   Lincoln Sparrow 1
Hooded Merganser 208   Belted Kingfisher 6   Swamp Sparrow 4
Common Merganser 17   Red-bellied Woodpecker 29   White-throated Sparrow 40
Red-breasted Merganser 535   Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2   Harris’s Sparrow 204
Ruddy Duck 49   Downy Woodpecker 32   White-crowned Sparrow 25
White-winged Scoter 1   Hairy Woodpecker 3   Dark-eyed Junco 310
Wild Turkey 9   Northern Flicker 26   Lapland Longspur CW
Common Loon 12   Eastern Phoebe 1   Smith’s Longspur 2
Pied-billed Grebe 78   Northern Shrike CW   Northern Cardinal 156
Horned Grebe 37   Blue Jay 69   Red-winged Blackbird 2309
American White Pelican 171   American Crow 207   Eastern Meadowlark 15
Double-crested Cormorant 700   Horned Lark 28   Western Meadowlark 12
Great Blue Heron (blue form) 61   Carolina Chickadee 105   Common Grackle 183
Great Egret 3   Tufted Titmouse 19   Great-tailed Grackle 81
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1   White-breasted Nuthatch 3   Brown-headed Cowbird 59
Turkey Vulture 1   Brown Creeper 1   House Finch 42
Bald Eagle 1   Carolina Wren 27   American Goldfinch 97
Northern Harrier 2   Bewick’s Wren 3   House Sparrow 71
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4   Winter Wren 2