Recorders Report
by Esther Key
The year ended with quite a few interesting species arriving to spend the winter bringing individual county counts up. Four counties ended the year with over 200 species recorded, seven counties had over 100 species reported and only one county had less than 100 species. This is a great report for the year and thanks to the birders that ventured out to explore new areas.
On the 1st Scott Loss confirmed Glaucous Gull at Boomer Lake Park in Payne County; and Zach Poland found Red-headed Woodpecker, Hooded Merganser and Swamp Sparrow at Wes Watkins Lake in Pottawatomie County. On the 2nd John Tharp located Smith’s Longspur in Norman; Zach Poland observed Loggerhead Shrike and White-throated Sparrow at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County; and Deanne McKinney spotted Marsh Wren and Lincoln’s Sparrow at Rose Lake. On the 5th Bridger Arrington added Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at South Muhall in Logan County. On the 8th Emily Hjalmarson had Ruddy Duck at Kevin Gottshall Memorial Park in Norman; and Deb Hirt detected Smith’s Longspur at Boomer Lake Park.
On the 12th Caleb Frome – CC came across Fox Sparrow and American White Pelican at Wiley Post Memorial Lake in McClain County; and Jimmy Woodward encountered American Woodcock and Purple Finch at Soldier Creek Industrial Park Recreational Trail in Midwest City. On the 15th Bill Diffin discovered Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and Eastern Towhee at Stinchcomb WR Gate 3 in Canadian County; Natalie Hamilton counted Orange-crowned Warbler at Lake Stanley Draper; and Sharon Henthorn got White-breasted Nuthatch and Marsh Wren at Northwest Zoo Lake Park.
On the 16th Roy McGraw saw Spotted Towhee at Mineral Wells Park in Guthrie; Garrett H had Wilson’s Snipe at Teal Ridge Wetland; and Brian Marra had Wood Duck at Northeast Zoo Lake. On the 17th Roy McGraw viewed Brown Creeper and Red-headed Woodpecker at Prague Lake City Park in Lincoln County. On the 21st Chad Ellis recognized Long-tailed Duck at Lake Hefner – Prairie Dog Point. On the 22nd Zach Poland noticed Hermit Thrush, Greater Yellowlegs and Pileated Woodpecker at Liberty Lake in Logan County.
On the 23rd Ben Sandstrom verified Common Loon at Lake Overholser; and Zach Poland detected Winter Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Northern Bobwhite at Lake Elmer. On the 24th Dustin Lynch had Greater Roadrunner at Dover Marsh in Kingfisher County. On the 25th Zach Poland observed Bald Eagle and Canvasback at Guthrie Lake in Logan County. On the 27th Mike Hudson found Green-winged Teal at NW 63rd and Kilpatrick Turnpike in Canadian County. On the 29th John Tharp and Rachel Wrenn documented Lesser Goldfinch in Norman; and Corey Riding spotted Least Sandpiper and Northern Bobwhite at Lake Carl Blackwell.
On the 30th Brian Marra added in McClain County at Wiley Post Memorial Lake Wild Turkey, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Swamp Sparrow; in Garvin County at Paul’s Valley Lake Swamp Sparrow and Hermit Thrush; and at Elmore City Lake Savannah Sparrow and Hairy Woodpecker. In Logan County Dustin Lynch confirmed American Tree Sparrow; and in Norman at Summit Lake John Tharp discovered Common Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser. On the 31st at Lake Hefner Bill Diffin counted White-winged Scoter, Grace Huffman reported Black Scoter, and Dustin Lynch came across Horned Grebe and Common Loon. In Newcastle Larry Mays located Greater Roadrunner, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Bewick’s Wren; and at Meridian Technology Center Pond Scott Loss identified Common Merganser. And now it is time to start a new year and a new list. Can we improve our reports in areas less birded?
During December of 2018 in the Central Oklahoma area 135 species were reported with 2 new species bringing the total for the year to 284. 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. (Accessed: January 1, 5 & 8, 2019). And occasionally from Facebook and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Dec Nov Oct Sept Sum May April Mar Feb Jan
Kingfisher 073 063 060 037 037 032 032 032 032 000
Garvin 105 100 091 090 087 079 061 052 045 039
Pottawatomie 108 093 091 091 089 081 072 033 032 000
Seminole 108 096 096 095 090 090 042 024 014 000
Lincoln 116 112 110 107 106 080 071 062 058 043
McClain 134 124 118 116 112 105 082 056 048 035
Grady 148 148 146 144 143 141 125 094 069 060
Logan 177 174 172 170 166 165 139 098 087 080
Canadian 206 203 201 200 197 194 167 109 085 074
Payne 239 238 237 236 235 233 215 138 121 115
Cleveland 240 242 240 237 219 221 191 138 117 110
Oklahoma 252 250 246 241 239 233 211 143 125 118
Number of bird species reported in 2018 according to eBird www.ebird.org
1 Inca Dove
1 Black-necked Stilt
1 Semipalmated Sandpiper
1 White-rumped Sandpiper
1 Buff-breasted Sandpiper
1 Pectoral Sandpiper
1 Wilson’s Sandpiper
1 Eastern Screech-Owl
1 Short-eared Owl
1 Prairie Falcon
1 Horned Lark
1 Smith’s Longspur
1 Eastern Towhee
1 Yellow-headed Blackbird