February 2018

Recorders Report – February 2018

Backyards and Playgrounds

While February is a quiet month with a continuation of winter birds, an exciting late winter species appeared in several places.  And one never knows what special bird will show up at the neighborhood playground.  With the Great Back-yard Bird Count, reports were received from all counties this month including three counties with over 100 species and two other counties close behind. Can all 12 counties pass the 100 species mark?

On the 1st Christie Stoops found Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County; Bill Diffin had Ruddy Duck and Horned Grebe at Lake Overholser in Canadian County; and Austin Jones identified Red-necked Grebe at Lake Hefner.  On the 3rd John Hurd saw Belted Kingfisher and Bald Eagle at Tecumseh Lake in Pottawatomie County; Zach Poland observed American Wigeon and Ring-necked Duck at the N2890 Rd Marsh in Kingfisher County; and Tim O’Connell turned up Hermit Thrush at Sanborn Lake. 

On the 4th Roy McGraw spotted Pileated Woodpecker and White-breasted Nuthatch at Mineral Wells Park in Guthrie; and Brian Marra discovered Winter Wren, and American Pipit at West Stinchcomb WR. On the 5th Steve Davis reported Snow and Ross’s Goose at Lake El Reno; and John Hurd recognized American Pipit at Prairie Dog Point. On the 7th Jimmy Woodward counted American Goldfinch at Meeker Lake and Hairy Woodpecker at Prague Lake City Park in Lincoln County.  On the 8th Steve Davis noticed Wild Turkey at Wes Watkins Lake; Eastern Phoebe at Shawnee Reservoir in Pottawatomie Country; and Eastern Bluebird at Meeker Lake.

On the 9th John Tharp added Bufflehead at Little River State Park, Least Sandpiper at Lake Thunderbird North Sentinel; and Steve Davis detected American Tree Sparrow at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County.  On the 10th William Oakley verified Pine Warbler in Norman.  On the 11th Jerid Patterson located a Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck at Taylor Lake in Grady County; and Josh Anderson viewed Least Sandpiper at Boomer Lake Park.  On the 12th Mary & Lou Truex encountered Lincoln’s Sparrow and Green Wing Teal at Taylor Lake in Grady County.  On the 14th Scott Loss got Winter Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglet at Babcock Park; and Jimmy Woodard and Nadine Varner documented Surf Scoter and Pacific Loon at Lake Hefner.  On the 15th Roy McGraw tallied American Wigeon at Bluff Creek Trails. 

On the 16th Jason Shaw noticed Barred Owl at USAO Habitat Area; Marissa Buschow recorded Fox Sparrow at Lake Louis Burtschi in Grady County; Robert Karges came across Great Horned Owl at Triple Heart West Ranch in Cleveland County; Zach Roy determined Blue-winged Teal, Prairie Falcon and Ross’s Goose at Meridian Technology Center Pond in Stillwater; and Elaine Stebler added Greater Roadrunner and White-throated Sparrow in Ripley.  On the 17th Phil Floyd had Savannah Sparrow and Double-crested Cormorant at Purcell in McClain County and Purple Finch at Edge of the Earth Road in Cleveland County; Esther Key watched White-breasted Nuthatch at Sportsman Lake in Seminole County; Ben Sandstrom found Red-billed Woodpecker at Taylor Lake; Joe Grzybowski confirmed American Tree Sparrow along Wagner Road in Yukon; Roy McGraw discovered Orange Crowned Warbler along South Jenkins; Zach DuFran saw Sharp-shinned Hawk in Norman; and Mike Yough counted Northern Bobwhite at his home in Payne County;

On the 18th Jason Shaw located a Northern Shoveler at Shannon Springs Park in Grady County; Laura Madden viewed White-throated Sparrow at Spring Haven in McClain County; Jeff Dosser detected Red-headed Woodpecker at Bindbole Wood in Norman; Mark Howery verified Red-breasted Nuthatch in Norman; Deb Hirt got Great Horned Owl along North Husband Street in Stillwater; Hutch Todd observed White-crowned Sparrow at The Botanic Garden at OSU; and Jimmy and Nadine confirmed American Woodcock near the SCIP Recreational Trail in Midwest City.  On the 19th Bridger Arrington reported Prairie Falcon at South Mulhall in Logan County; Doug Wood identified Common Loon and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Prairie Dog Point Lake Hefner; Marion Homier tallied Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Choctaw; and at Boomer Lake Park Heidi Vicker encountered Field Sparrow; Jessi Parsons recorded Snow Goose; and Madysen Jefferies recognized Sandhill Crane.

On the 21st Larry Mays determined Pine Siskin at his home in McClain County; Jim Malcom turned up Common Loon and Greater Scaup at Boomer Lake Park; and Robert Harding came across Purple Finch at Harrah in Oklahoma County. On the 23rd John Hurd had Greater White-fronted Goose at SW 149th St Sod Farm in Cleveland County; Brian Stuffebeam documented Black-crowned Night-Heron at Lake Hefner.  On the 24th Brian Stufflebeam confirmed Red-breasted Merganser and Herring Gull at Lake Overholser Canadian County; Emily Hjalmarson discovered Common Yellowthroat along South Jenkins in Norman; and John Hurd reported Bewick’s Wren and Sharp-shinned Hawk at Crystal Lake. 

On the 25th Michael Kane added Ruddy Duck and Canvasback at the Northeast Zoo Lake; Esther Key photographed American Pipit and Cedar Waxwing at the Elmore City Lake in Garvin County; Deanne McKinney located Greater Yellowlegs along Morgan Road in Yukon; David Hoekman reported American White Pelican and White-winged Dove at Yukon City Park; Robert Harding found Western Meadowlark and Common Merganser at Arcadia Conservation Education Area; and Patti Muzny watched 4 Spotted and 1 Eastern Towhee at their feeder near Byres in McClain County.  Brian Muzny heard two American Woodcocks doing their display at Byres; and Scott Loss confirmed Woodcocks displaying over his yard near Whittenberg Park in Stillwater. 

On the 26th Rachel Wrenn watched American Woodcock in Norman; Zach Poland noticed Wood Duck, Eastern Phoebe and Greater White-fronted Goose at his home in Logan County; Brian Marra encountered Merlin at Tinker AF Hope Gate. On the 27th Roy McGraw got Northern Shoveler at Rose Lake in Canadian County; Cale Corley had Lincoln’s Sparrow at Teal Ridge Wetland in Stillwater; and Chris Butler spotted Fox Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark at Mitch Park in Edmond.  While watching her children at the Chitwood Park playground in Edmond, Karen Stefansen came across Red Crossbills. Since then numerous people have seen and sometimes photographed them.

On the 28th Roy McGraw identified Cedar Waxwings at Guthrie Lake, Great Blue Heron at Liberty Lake and Fox Sparrow at Mineral Wells Park in Guthrie; Tricia Brown observed Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser at Farmer Olive’s Pond in Cleveland County; Corban Hemphill viewed Brewer’s Blackbird in Northern Stillwater; David Hoekman found Great Egret at Lake Hefner; John Hurd detected Field Sparrow at Lake Stanley Draper; Zack Poland counted White-throated Sparrow at Myriad Botanical Gardens in OKC; and Jimmy Woodward located Wood Duck, Barred Owl, Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet during the Field Trip at Soldier Creek Industrial Park in Midwest City. 

During February 2018 in the Central Oklahoma area 129 species were reported with 6 new species bringing the total for the year to 145.  I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by making reports at http://ebird.org.  I can also be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net .  Esther M. Key, Editor.