by Bill Diffin
Note: the field near the Embassy Suites hotel is on private property. Please abide by all restrictions, signs and notices.
A field north of the Embassy Suites hotel in Norman is a popular location to bird during the winter months. To visit the Embassy Suites field, you travel south on I-35 to the Tecumseh Rd exit, take the exit and turn east on Tecumseh Rd, go to the first traffic light on 24th Ave, turn south and watch to the left for a dirt road to the east along a chain link fence. The road is divided at this point, so you will need to continue south to a crossover through the median and then go back to the north and park on the dirt road.
You can see the Embassy Suites in the distance to the south and the Max Westheimer Airport to the east. The main birds here are Longspurs, but there are also Savannah Sparrows and Sprague’s Pipits.
Most years this field has Smith’s Longspurs and LeConte’s. You just walk the field to the south of the dirt road.