Recorders Report
by Esther Key
Quite a few birders celebrated the start of the New Year by going birding. On the 1st at Mitch Park Chad Ellis, Jimmy Woodward, Larry Mays and Zach Poland located Northern Harrier, Great Horned Owl, and LeConte’s Sparrow; and at Lake Hefner Parkway Ponds Chad, Jimmy and Larry reported Lesser Black-backed Gull and Forster’s Tern. At Lake Hefner five birders saw both the White-winged Scoter and Black Scoter; in Bethany Brian Marra and Bill Diffin confirmed Lapland Longspur. At Northeast/Zoo Lake Sharon Henthorn identified Canvasback, and Black-crowned Night-Heron; in Norman John Tharp and Joe Grzybowski had Ross’s Goose; and in Edmond Hal Yocum witnessed a 12-13 minute “hunting episode” by a Cooper’s Hawk. At Martin Park Nature Center Dustin Lynch added American Goldfinch and Eastern Bluebird; and in Logan County at Liberty Lake Gadwall and Dark-eyed Juncos.
On the 2nd Jimmy Lovett found Hooded Merganser, Herring Gull and American Kestrel at Lake Carl Blackwell; Carol Enwall encountered Orange-crowned Warbler and Pine Warbler in southwest Norman; and Elizabeth and Tim Pratt photographed a Yellow-billed Loon at Lake Hefner. On the 3rd Chad Ellis recorded Merlin at Lake Hefner, and John Tharp had Smith’s Longspur in Norman. On the 4th Zach Poland discovered Ross’s Goose at Bell Cow Lake in Lincoln County; and at Lake Hefner Larry Mays initially spotted the Red-throated Loon. On the 5th Zach Poland counted Winter Wren, Brown Thrasher, and American Pipit at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County.
On the 6th Brian Marra photographed Snow Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose and Prairie Falcon north of El Reno on Britton Road and at Lake Overholser Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, and Swamp Sparrow. Zach Roy detected Greater Roadrunner, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Brown Creeper at The Botanic Garden at OSU; and Grace Huffman recognized American Woodcock at Arcadia Lake. On the 7th Bill Diffin documented Long-tailed Duck and Horned Grebe at Lake Hefner Dam. On the 8th Joe Grzybowski came across Horned Lark along Ten Mile Flat in Cleveland County; Jimmy Woodward noticed Rusty Blackbird near the dentist office in Midwest City; and Feodora Steward watched a Belted Kingfisher at a pond in Bethany. On the 9th Joe Grzybowski verified Eared Grebe at Lake Hefner.
On the 10th in Logan County Roy McGraw viewed at Mineral Wells Park White-breasted Nuthatch and Song Sparrow and at Guthrie Lake American White Pelicans. On the 12th Chase Moxley tallied Barred Owl and American Kestrel along South Jenkins in Norman. On the 13th Jason Shaw has Great Blue Heron at Shannon Springs Park in Chickasha; Rachel Wrenn last observed the Lesser Goldfinch at their feeder in Norman; and Bill Carrell documented California Gull at Lake Hefner. On the 15th Larry Mays located Brewer’s Blackbird at Lindsay Prairie Dog Town in McClain County; Bridger Arrington counted Northern Flicker at Horse Thief Canyon in Logan County; and Roy McGraw found Virginia Rail at Route 66 Park in Canadian County.
On the 17th Deb Hit detected Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Duck at Boomer Lake Park—Heron Cove; and Joe Grzybowski had Prairie Falcon along Ten Mile Flat in Cleveland County. On the 18th Ben Sandstrom spotted Wild Turkey beside a pond near Paul’s Valley Lake, and Black Vulture and Song Sparrow in eastern Garvin County. Zach Poland reported Eastern Towhee and Yellow-rumped Warbler at Wes Watkins Lake and American Wigeon at Tecumseh Lake in Pottawatomie County; Dusty Swedberg watched Red-headed Woodpecker and White-throated Sparrow at The Botanic Garden at OSU; and Calvin Rees saw Northern Flicker at Lake Stanley Draper.
On the 20th in Canadian County south of Piedmont Joe Grzybowski discovered Ross’s Goose in a flock of about 400 Cackling and Canada Geese and at Lake Overholser 1st and 2nd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eared Grebe, and Red-breasted Merganser; while at Arcadia Lake Brian Marra added Eastern Towhee. On the 21st Steve Davis recorded Greater White-fronted Goose at Lake El Reno; and at Boomer Lake Park Scott Loss confirmed Lesser Black-backed Gull and Bonaparte’s Gull. On the 22nd Christie Stoops viewed Hairy Woodpecker and Brown Creeper at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County.
On the 23rd at Newcastle in McClain County Larry Mays had a busy morning around his feeders with Red-breasted Nuthatch, Harris’s Sparrow, Pine Siskin, and Hairy Woodpecker. On the 24th Jimmy Woodard came across Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck and Bonaparte’s Gull at Taylor Lake in Grady County, Emily Hjalmarson identified Red-shouldered Hawk, Bewick’s Wren and Harris’s Sparrow along Ten Mile Flats in Cleveland County; and Steve Davis observed Pine Warbler in Choctaw. On the 25th Zach Poland verified Hooded Merganser, Great Egret, and Lincoln Sparrow at Bell Cow Lake in Lincoln County; D&D Norris got Hermit Thrush at Kairworks Garden in Logan County; John Tharp noticed LeConte’s Sparrow in southeast Norman; and recognized Long-tailed Duck and Spotted Sandpiper at Thunderbird State Park North Sentinel Campground.
On the 26th on a field trip at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County Larry Mays turned up Pied-billed Grebe and Brown Creeper, Steve Davis reported Wilson’s Snipe and Eastern Towhee and John Hurd recorded Greater White-fronted Goose and Northern Pintail. At Shawnee Reservoir—Upper Section in Pottawatomie County Jake Rowland located Bald Eagle; at Meeker Lake in Lincoln County Jimmy Woodward found Golden-crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, and Fox Sparrow; and along South Jenkins in Norman Zach DuFran encountered Great Blue Heron and Chipping Sparrow.
On the 27th Ben Sandstrom noticed Cedar Waxwing, White-throated Sparrow and Spotted Towhee at Lake Louis Burtschi in Grady County; Calvin Rees counted Eastern Phoebe in Newcastle; Zach DuFran discovered Pileated Woodpecker at Cherry Creek Park in Norman; and Joe Grzybowski identified Redhead and Pied-billed Grebe at Lake Thunderbird State Park—Alameda Drive. On the 29th D&D Norris observed Red-breasted Nuthatch at Kairworks Garden; and Scott Loss documented Iceland Gull at Meridian Technology Center Pond.
During January of 2019 in the Central Oklahoma area 142 species were reported. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds. Information is accessed at: ebird. 2018 eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org/subnational1/US-OK/region. (Accessed: January 30, 2019). And occasionally from Facebook and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Jan
77 Seminole 000 000
56 Garvin 005 019
30 Grady 001 046
27 McClain 034 051
26 Pottawatomie 049 054
24 Lincoln 027 057
17 Kingfisher 043 073
14 Logan 067 078
07 Canadian 081 089
05 Payne 091 103
04 Cleveland 087 111
01 Oklahoma 120 125
Number of bird species reported in 2019 according to eBird. Current year, region. www.ebird.org