The new year of 2022 begin with birders checking out many of their favorite locations. How many bird species were found in all 12 counties? What unusual species were located in the fields, on the lakes and at backyard feeders?
On the 1st Caleb McKinney found Fox Sparrow and Harris’s Sparrow at Ninnekah in Grady County; D&D Norris had Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-throated Sparrow at Kairworks Garden in Logan County; Joe Grzybowski detected Pine Siskin and Lincoln’s Sparrow along Ten Mile Flat in Norman; Rod Lusey tallied Pied-billed Grebe and Bald Eagle at Arcadia Lake; Steve Stone had Song Sparrow and Spotted Towhee at Crystal Lake; Rachael & Dean Winstead added Hairy Woodpecker in Midwest City; Michael McCoy verified American Tree Sparrow in Edmond; Jacob Kirkland came across Northern Shoveler and Ruddy Duck at the Zoo Lake Park; and Tim O’Connell spotted Harris’s Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow in Stillwater.
On the 2nd Caleb McKinney recognized Hooded Merganser and Bonaparte’s Gull at Taylor Lake and LeConte’s Sparrow and Loggerhead Shrike at Grady County WMA in Grady County; Trina Arnold counted Eared Grebe, Common Goldeneye and Savannah Sparrow at Lake Overholser; in Norman Zach DuFran got Northern Shoveler and Ring-necked Duck at Summit Lake and Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Golden-crowned Kinglet at John H. Saxon Park; Steve Stone identified Common Goldeneye at Kids Lake Park at Lake Hefner; Landon Neumann located Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Couch Park and Smith’s Longspur in Stillwater.
On the 3rd Emily Grossman observed American Robin at Stroud in Lincoln County; and Joe Grzybowski recorded Rock Wren at Lake Thunderbird Dam. On the 4th Azir Serinus saw Eurasian Collared-Dove at Paul’s Valley in Garvin County; Dustin Lynch observed Gadwall at Liberty Lake and Great Blue Heron at Guthrie Lake in Logan County; Brian Marra had Snow Goose, Ross’s Goose, and Winter Wren at Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge East; and Scott Loss viewed Northern Harrier at Airport Road in Stillwater. On the 5th Megan Migues confirmed Northern Pintail at Bell Cow Lake in Lincoln County; Brian Marra discovered Eastern Phoebe and Brown Creeper at Martin Park Nature Center; Don Maas encountered Wilson’s Snipe at 10 Acre Park in Choctaw; and Jim Tomasek noticed Hermit Thrush at Stinchcomb WR East.
On the 6th Cody Delano reported Pine Warbler in Norman; Scott Loss photographed Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Carl Blackwell; and Bill Diffin described California Gull at Lake Hefner. On the 7th Christie Stoops witnessed Red-shouldered Hawk at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County; B Turner came across Orange-crowned Warbler in Yukon; Mike Yough detected Chestnut-collared Longspur at Orlando in Payne County; Scott Loss watched Iceland Gull at Meridian Technology Center Pond in Stillwater; and documented Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Shrike at McElroy and Logan Road in Payne County. On the 8th Braden Farris found LeConte’s Sparrow, Spotted Towhee and Pileated Woodpecker at Prairie Prime Ranch in Logan County; in Payne County at Lake Carl Blackwell Kevin Wilson photographed Black Scoter and Clay Billman photographed Pine Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler.
On the 9th Michael Nicodemus tallied a Red-tailed Hawk along I-40 near Seminole; Jacob Crissup spotted Lapland Longspur at Deer Creek in Oklahoma County; Mike Yough verified Wilson’s Snipe at Cushing WTP in Payne County; Brian Marra added Marsh Wren at Lake Overholser- Coffer Dam; Joe Grzybowski recognized Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull at Lake Hefner; and Eared Grebe, Common Merganser, and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Overholser. On the 10th Joe Grzybowski observed Long-tailed Duck at Lake Overholser. On the 12th Jerry Vanbebber recorded Eared Grebe at Lake Hefner; Brian McLaughlin located White-breasted Nuthatch and American Pipit at Bluff Creek Trails; and Aaron Mechem saw a Bald Eagle fly over Grove Avenue in Warr Acres. On the 14th Scott Dirks identified Smith’s Longspur at Orlando in Logan County; and Grace Huffman counted Barred Owl and Hairy Woodpecker at Stinchcomb WR West. On the 15th Bala Chennupati counted American Tree Sparrow at Lake Overholser West.
On the 16th Braden Farris got Savannah Sparrow and Spotted Towhee at Wes Watkins Lake in Pottawatomie County, and Bald Eagle and Common Merganser at Meeker Lake in Lincoln County; Nancy Reed viewed Orange-crowned Warbler near Norman; Abdul Dominguez had Spotted Towhee and Cedar Waxwing at Pebblebrook Park in Cleveland County; and Jerry Vanbebber located Long-tailed Duck at Lake Overholser-Dam. On the 19th Michelle Townsley saw Ring-necked Duck at McLoud in Lincoln County. On the 20th Gretl Landes confirmed Orange-crowned Warbler and Pine Warbler at her peanut feeder in Norman. On the 21st Jason McCurdy discovered Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, and Hooded Merganser at Purcell Lake in McClain County; and Scott Loss photographed Iceland Gull at Meridian Technology Center Pond.
On the 22nd Ory Schultheis encountered Great Egret at Martin Park Nature Center; and Mike Yough noticed Common Yellowthroat at Cushing WTP. On the 23rd Cody Delano reported Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser and Bonaparte’s Gull at Lake Stanley Draper in Cleveland County; and Patti Munsey turned up a male Purple Finch at Byers in McClain county. On the 24th Larry Mays witnessed Hairy Woodpecker and Greater Roadrunner while riding his bike around Newcastle in McClain County. On the 25th Scott Loss found Lapland Longspur at Lake Carl Blackwell-Dam. On the 27th Brian Marra photographed California Gull at Lake Hefner-Prairie Dog Point. On the 28th Larry Mays spotted Prairie Falcon at Newcastle Park in McClain County; and Grace Huffman tallied Wood Duck at Lake Hefner-Stars and Stripes Park.
On the 29th Chad Ellis verified Black Vulture along I-40 west of Okemah in Seminole County; Jason Shaw detected Brewer’s Blackbird at USAO Habitat Area in Grady County; Brain Marra had Vesper Sparrow along Logan Road north of Hwy 51; Adrianh Martinez Orozco came across Great Horned Owl along the Northwest Expressway in Piedmont; and Jenna Howery added Yellow-rumped Warbler at John H. Saxon Park. On the 30th Priscilla Crawford counted Brown Creeper along the Nature Center Trail at Lake Thunderbird; and Grace Huffman identified Hermit Thrush at The Botanic Garden at OSU. On the 31st Mattie Phillips located Eastern Phoebe and White-winged Dove at Purcell in McClain County.
Only three counties reported more than 100 species with Payne County at 122. Seminole County only reported 2 species and Garvin County only had 7 species reported so there were no reports of any species seen in all 12 counties. However; Red-tailed Hawk, American Crow and European Starling were seen in 11 counties; while Canada Goose, Ring-billed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, House Sparrow and Harris’s Sparrow were seen in 10 counties.
In the Central Oklahoma area during January 140 species were reported. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds. Information is accessed at: ebird. 2022 eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: https://ebird.org/region/US-OK?yr=all. (Accessed January 30 & 31, 2022); and occasionally from Facebook, and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Jan
Seminole 002
Garvin 007
Pottawatomie 037
Kingfisher 016
Grady 060
Logan 072
McClain 062
Lincoln 061
Canadian 079
Cleveland 107
Payne 122
Oklahoma 119
Number of bird species reported in 2021 according to eBird. www.ebird.org