A warm fall
The warm fall weather continued in November which helped delay the winter migrants. Still many interesting shore birds and sparrows were discovered and Red-breasted Nuthatches were popping up in various locations. Will these species still be here for the winter Christmas Bird Counts?
October 30th Jimmy Woodard documented a Cape May Warbler at Meeker Lake in Lincoln County. On the 1st Betz Hacker spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker and Chipping Sparrow in Yukon; in Stillwater Corey Riding came across a late Scissor-tailed Flycatcher; and John Hurd found a Little Gull at Lake Overholser. On the 2nd in Guthrie Roy McGraw located a White-breasted Nuthatch and Cooper’s Hawk at Mineral Wells Park and an Osprey at Guthrie Lake. On the 3rd Larry Mays noticed a Red-breasted Nuthatch at his home in McClain County, and at Lake Carl Blackwell David and Cheryl Hubbard saw a Forster’s Tern. On the 4th at the El Reno sewage lagoons Joe Grzybowski reported an Eared Grebe, American Wigeon, and Jeremy Ross turned up a Song Sparrow.
On the 5th in Lincoln County at Bell Cow Lake Hermit Thrush and Fox Sparrow were recognized; in Logan County near his home Zach Poland turned up a Swamp Sparrow, Brown Creeper, and Northern Bobwhite; along South Jenkins John Tharp had a Marsh Wren; at Lake Thunderbird Dam Caleb Frome added a Merlin; and at Lake Hefner Inlet Bill Diffin detected a Black-bellied Plover. On the 6th Joe Grzybowski identified Chestnut-collared Longspur at the Goldsby Sod Farm in McClain County and a Le Conte’s Sparrow at Ten Mile Flats in Norman. Nathan Kuhnert got an American Woodcock and Grasshopper Sparrow at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City.
On the 7th in Stillwater Scott Loss counted a Vesper Sparrow at The Falls, and C H Hephill saw an Eastern Screech-Owl. On the 8th Ellen McAlister spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk in Shawnee in Pottawatomie County; and Betz Hacker had a House Wren along South Jenkins. On the 9th at Lake Carl Blackwell Scott Loss discovered a Red-breasted Nuthatch and Cattle Egret, while at Sanborn Lake Michael Novak identified a Greater Scaup. On the 10th Laura Madden found a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Blanchard in McClain County, and Caleb Frome noticed a Pine Siskin and Winter Wren at Lake Thunderbird Area #5.
On the 11th Paul Cook recognized an American Pipit and Savannah Sparrow at Washington in McClain County. On the 12th John Hurd reported a Northern Harrier, Brewer’s Blackbirds and Horned Lark at the Goldsby Sod Farm; Mike Yough tallied a Snow Goose at Lake Carl Blackwell; Joe Buck found an Osprey at Arcadia Lake; and Roy McGraw located a Long-billed Dowitcher at Lake Hefner Prairie Dog Point. On the 14th Brian Stufflebeam came across a Dunlin at Lake Hefner South Shore Park near the fire station; and Elizabeth Pratt detected a Hooded Merganser at Lake El Reno. On the 17th Scott Loss ascertained there was a Prairie Falcon at Lake Carl Blackwell.
On the 19th Michael Novak noticed a Virginia Rail at Lake Carl Blackwell; T K had an Eastern Towhee and Orange-crowned Warbler at Lake Thunderbird Little River Marina; and Tim O’Connell had Northern Bobwhite and Hermit Thrush in Stillwater. On the 20th Mike Yough spotted Northern Shoveler at Liberty Lake south of Guthrie; and Caitlin Laughlin recorded a Cooper’s Hawk at the Teal Ridge Wetland. On the 21st Roy McGraw located a Fox Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow at Meeker Lake in Lincoln County. On the 22nd Zach Poland encountered a Peregrine Falcon in downtown Oklahoma City; and Hal Yocum saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch and Fox Sparrow in Mitch Park.
On the 23rd T K identified a Little Gull at Lake Thunderbird Alameda Bridges. On the 24th a Barred Owl was spotted in Garvin County; at Prague Lake City Park in Lincoln County Jimmy Woodard located a Bonaparte’s Gull, Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker; Emily Hjalmarson noticed a Purple Finch at Woodcreek Park in Norman and T K had a Pine Warbler at the Lake Thunderbird Little River Marina. 0n the 25th Cameron Carver discovered Wilson’s Snipe and Lesser Yellowlegs at the Dollar K Cattle in Garvin County and a few miles away a White-breasted Nuthatch and American Goldfinch were found. William Diffin recognized Common Merganser and Common Loon at Lake Hefner; while Chad Gardner saw Pileated Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse at Arcadia Lake Central State Park.
On the 26th Esther Key reported Black Vulture, White-throated Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch and Belted Kingfisher in the Sportsman Lake area in Seminole County; Emily Hjalarson detected a Rudy Duck and Dunlin at Lake Hefner Prairie Dog Point; and William Diffin had Red-breasted Merganser, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Forster’s Tern at Lake Overholser in Canadian County. On the 27th T K identified a Dunlin and Wilson’s Snipe at Lake Thunderbird Alameda Bridges; a Rusty Blackbird was spotted along South Jenkins in Norman; and at Lake Carl Blackwell Scott Loss found a Swamp Sparrow.
On the 28th Christie Stoops noticed Green-winged Teal and American Goldfinch at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County; Deb Hirt saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron at Boomer Lake Park; and Deanne McKinney came across American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, and Bufflehead at the AT&T Pond in Oklahoma City. On the 29th Joe Fitzgibbon located a Red-tailed Hawk in Stroud in Lincoln County. And now as winter approaches it is time to gear up for the annual Christmas Bird Counts.
In the Central Oklahoma area during November 145 species were reported with 1 first of the year report bringing the year’s total to 283. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by making reports at http://ebird.org and can also be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net . Esther M. Key, Editor.