Recorders Report – September 2008
While the sunflowers brighten up the landscape with their showy display of flowers, Monarch Butterflies migrate through stopping briefly to feed on the nectar which pollinates the flowers allowing them to create seeds for the soon to arrive wintering birds. Nine new species were added to the 2008 Central Oklahoma list for a total of 253, but there are several common birds that haven’t been reported.
In Norman on August 13th Monica Setzer had a Black-chinned Hummingbird at their feeder. On August 31st Cynthia Van Den Broeke saw hundreds of Chimney Swifts. During the night on the 2nd there was a notable movement of shorebirds, which sounded like Upland Sandpipers. On the 3rd huge groups of Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts were moving south. During this time Dick Gunn saw several Olive-sided Flycatchers. On the 5th he had about 20 Blue-winged Teal and 2 Greater Yellowlegs on the Canadian River off South Jenkins. On the 6th he had 4 American Avocets and a Red-necked Phalarope mixed in a group of peeps. On the 5th and 6th Kim Wiar had a Yellow Warbler feeding in her Sweet Gum tree.
In Stillwater on the 6th at the OSU football game Jimmy Woodard saw about two dozen Mississippi Kites enjoying a feast of grasshoppers and katydids before and during the game; additionally, after dusk, Common Nighthawks joined in, plus, at least 3 Sphinx Moths. On the 7th Tim O’Connell, Jason Heinen and Adrian Monroe stopped at Sanborn Lake Park. The best bird was an Olive-sided Flycatcher, which is always a treat. The bird was obliging to sit still and preen, as well as dart out for a snack and return to its perch. They also saw White-eyed, Warbling and Blue-headed Vireos, Empidonax Flycatcher (“Traill’s” in Tim’s estimation), Green Heron, and Gray Catbird. On the 8th Tim heard multiple Upland Sandpipers overhead in downtown Stillwater and on the OSU campus. Josh Engelbert saw a Greater Roadrunner on Perkins Road.
On the 9th at the Myriad Gardens Jim Bates found a Northern Waterthrush, 2 Wilson’s Warblers and a very brief glimpse of a possible Mourning Warbler around a small pool surrounded with dense vegetation. At Lake Hefner on the 11th Nancy Vicars and Pat Velte found a Least Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, and Hairy Woodpecker. Earlier Pat saw a Sora Rail in the cattails next to the west end of the dam. On the 16th the Tuesday Morning Birders found Forester’s and Black Terns, 2 Franklin’s Gulls, a Green Heron and Pied-billed Grebes.
In Norman on the 12th, Joe Grzybowski had a Least and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in his yard. On the 15th Brian Davis had a Philadelphia Vireo hopping around the scrubby elms in his backyard. In Payne County on the 20th at the Teal Ridge Wetland Will Jessie was walking through the southeast unit when he briefly saw a rail with some very obvious yellow streaking on the back as it left, a possible Yellow Rail?
In the Village on the 23rd Lynn had a Willow Flycatcher and a White-winged Dove. The Tuesday Morning Birders discovered Northern Rough-winged Swallows soaring over the playa at the intersection of Garth Brooks and Wagner Roads; a Gray Catbird was heard at Stitchcomb Wildlife Refuge, and a flock of American White Pelicans was swimming on Lake Overholser.
On the 24th around 5:00 pm Jimmy observed an Inca Dove on the road east of the intersection of NW 50th (Wagner Road) and Sara Road in Yukon. The bird flew up, and he lost it behind a large row of sunflowers next to the road. At Route 66 Park he had an Osprey and an Egyptian Goose. At the Garth Brooks and Wagner Road’s playa there were 11 Stilt Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated, Least, and Pectoral Sandpipers.
At the Myriad Gardens on the 26th Dave Woodson found Black & White, Orange-crowned, and Nashville Warblers, Eastern Phoebe and an Eastern Wood Peewee. On the 30th the Tuesday Morning Birdwatchers saw Clay-colored and Lincoln Sparrows, House Wrens, Spotted Towhee, and Common Yellowthroats.
In Stillwater Tim O’Connell had a presumed Pine Siskin high overhead and blacklit. In Little Axe near Norman on the 29th Debby Kaspari had a nice flight of Monarch Butterflies going over with many dozens and even up to a hundred per minute. She also had a flock of 15 American White Pelicans. In Norman Dick Gunn reports the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk has arrived for the 4th year at the pasture at the NW corner of Chatauqua and Bratcher-Miner road.
