March started with the coldest day this winter on the 4th and continued cold throughout the month. Still birders were out recording the spring migration. Some birds are leaving; some are passing through and some will stay for the summer. How interesting it is to see and hear the changes whether in your backyard or out and about.
On the 1st John Sterling counted Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Fox Sparrow and Pine Siskin east of Paul’s Valley in Garvin County; Scott Loss found Franklin’s Gull at Boomer Lake Park in Payne County; and Bill Diffin detected Lesser Black-backed Gull and Black Scoter at Lake Hefner-Prairie Dog Point. On the 2nd Logan Dickinson heard Western Meadowlark near Tuttle in Grady County; and Zach Poland recognized House Wren, Winter Wren and Fox Sparrow at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County. On the 3rd Ben Sandstrom located Franklin’s Gull and Bald Eagle at the NW 63rd/Kilpatrick Turnpike in Canadian County. On the 4th Steve Davis photographed Cinnamon Teal at the playa area west of Rose Lake.
On the 5th Christie Stoops had Brown Creeper and Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County; Zachary Hemans observed Pied-billed Grebe and Northern Flicker at Liberty Lake in Logan County; and Matt Jung saw 12 Black-crowned Night Herons at the Lake Hefner inlet. On the 6th Bill Diffin spotted Ross’s Goose, White-fronted Goose, and Common Merganser around Dover in Kingfisher County; while Larry Mays and Jimmy Woodward flushed Smith’s Longspurs at the Embassy Suites field in Norman. On the 7th Joe Grzybowski recorded Fish Crow at UCO in Edmond.
On the 8th Jake Rowland added Barred Owl at Shawnee in Pottawatomie County. On the 9th Ben Sandstrom identified Sandhill Crane in SE Kingfisher County; Miles Newman noticed a Great Egret fly over Guthrie; Joe Grzybowski reported Western Meadowlarks at Goldsby Sod Farm and Chestnut-collared Longspurs at McClain County Sod Farm; Zach Poland encountered American Tree Sparrow at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher; and in western Garvin County Phillip Ables watched Barn Swallow checking out the nesting area on his porch. On the 10th Purple Martin were discovered by Zach Poland in Logan County; and by Scott Loss at Boomer Lake Park in Payne County; while Sharon Henthorn came across Hooded, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers around the Rose Lake area in Canadian County.
On the 11th Zach Poland confirmed Sandhill Crane and Barred Owl in Logan County; Larry Mays detected Purple Martin at South Lakes Park in Cleveland County; and Chase Moxley observed Long-tail Duck along the Lake Hefner Dam. On the 12th Matthew Van Den Broeke reported Fish Crow at Couch Park in Payne County. On the 14th Jimmy Woodward tallied in Seminole County at Sportsman Lake Carolina Wren and Spotted Towhee; at Wewoka Lake Bald Eagle and Black Vulture and in Pottawatomie County at Tecumseh Lake Northern Pintail. Scott Loss identified Tree Swallow at Lake Carl Blackwell in Payne County; and watched a flock of Sandhill Crane cross from Logan County into Payne County.
On the 15th Ben Sandstrom counted Pied-billed Grebe, and Purple Martin at Lake R.C. Longmire in Garvin County; Roy McGraw found Song Sparrow and White-breasted Nuthatch at Mineral Wells Park in Logan County; and Patti Muzny noticed Purple Martins in Oklahoma City-Cleveland County. On the 16th Ben Sandstrom recorded Blue-winged Teal and Pileated Woodpecker at Taylor Lake in Grady County; Joe Grzybowski added Tree Swallow at Lake Thunderbird SP-Little Axe Area; Dick Gunn had American Pipits along South Jenkins in Norman; and at Lake Hefner Hal Yocum had Black Scoters and Common Loons while Bill Diffin recognized Yellow-billed Loon. On the 17th Joe Grzybowski encountered Long-billed Dowitcher and Pectoral Sandpipers along Ten Mile Flats in Norman; Brian Marra discovered Tree Swallow at Arcadia Lake in Edmond; and Jimmy Woodward got Pine Warbler in Midwest City.
On the 18th Ben Sandstrom located Red-headed Woodpecker and Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Lake Louis Burtschi in Grady County; and Bryan Zvolanek came across Horned Lark, Brown Creeper and Vesper Sparrow around Dover. On the 19th Ben Sandstrom spotted Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Stinchcomb WR – West; Brandon Alarcon saw Purple Martin at Martin Park Nature Center; at Lake Hefner Joe Grzybowski documented Cinnamon Teal while Bill Diffin and Stephen Lynch turned up Long-tailed Duck. On the 20th Joe Grzybowski confirmed Barn Swallow at Lake Thunderbird SP-Alameda Dr. Bridges. On the 21st Scott Loss recorded Sora Rail at Lake Carl Blackwell. 0n the 22nd Zach Poland found Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, and Rusty Blackbird at Bell Cow Lake in Lincoln County; also Bill Diffin heard Fish Crow at Stinchcomb WMA. On the 23rd Eric Duell located Pectoral Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs at Meridian Tech Ponds in Stillwater; and Brian Marra observed Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Hobie Point at Lake Hefner.
On the 24th Jake Rowland had Field Sparrow at Lake Konawa in Seminole County; Brian Marra confirmed Fish Crow at Chandler Lake in Lincoln County; Zachary Hemans reported Purple Martin in Logan County; and Laura Madden counted three pairs of Purple Finches at her feeders in McClain County. Mike Hudson and Ashley Dudek spotted Lesser Yellowlegs at NW 63rd/Kilpatrick Turnpike; and Tree Swallow at Rose Lake. Scott Loss had Black-and-white Warbler along West Richmond Road in Payne County; Cody Barnes located American Avocet at Meridian Technology Center Pond in Stillwater; and Joe Grzybowski identified Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at the OU campus in Norman.
On the 25th Bill Diffin recognized Wood Duck at Stroud Lake in Lincoln County; while in Canadian County Jack Olson noticed Barn Swallow at Lake Overholser Park and a Black-and-white Warbler along Morgan Road. On the 27th Lindell Dillon had Black-and-white Warbler, Barn Swallow and Fish Crow along South Jenkins in Norman; and Andrea Johnson got Yellow-crowned Night-Heron along South Sooner Road in Oklahoma County. At Boomer Lake Park Makayla Carver detected Cliff Swallow; and Corey Riding encountered Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. On the 28th Ben Sandstrom discovered Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Lake Overholser-String of Pearls Park.
During March of 2019 in the Central Oklahoma area 157 species were reported with 19 new species bringing the total for the year to 167. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds. Information is accessed at: ebird. 2019 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: March 28 & 29, 2019). And occasionally from Facebook and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Mar Feb Jan
Seminole 047 036 000
Garvin 060 020 019
Grady 074 058 046
McClain 075 064 051
Pottawatomie 076 071 054
Lincoln 089 068 057
Kingfisher 095 079 073
Logan 110 089 078
Canadian 126 110 089
Cleveland 131 115 111
Payne 142 119 103
Oklahoma 147 137 125
Number of bird species reported in 2019 according to eBird. Current year, region. www.ebird.org