November was a warm, dry month as the winter birds began arriving. Unusual swimmers were spotted on area lakes and the Longspurs were discovered. As the shorebirds leave, winter gulls are arriving. With the nice weather many birders are out enjoying the changing bird populations.
On October 30th Mike Yough came across Lesser Goldfinch at Cushing WTP in Payne County. On November 2nd Zac Hemans spotted Osprey at Liberty Lake in Logan County; Alex Franzen noticed Barred Owl at Ruby Grant Park in Cleveland County; Scott Loss identified Horned Grebe, Pine Warbler and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Lake Carl Blackwell in Payne County; and Bill Diffin had Prairie Falcon at Bethany-Warr Acres WTP. On the 3rd Steve Davis photographed Least Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe and White-crowned Sparrow at Rose Lake in Canadian County. On the 4th Joe Grzybowski saw Cedar Waxwing in Norman. On the 5th J Braun viewed Black Vulture at Macomb in Seminole County.
On the 6th Amanda Boyle detected Barred Owl at Wewoka in Pottawatomie County; Braden Farris noticed Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Spotted Towhee at Prairie Prime Ranch in Logan County; Brian Marra and Grace Huffman observed Winter Wren, Pine Siskin, American Pipit, and Eastern Towhee at Stinchcomb WR West; Joe Grzybowski recorded Brown Creeper in Norman; and Stephen Ofsthun found Red-breasted Merganser at Lake Thunderbird – Little River Marina. On the 7th Rondi Large discovered Wood Duck at Hickory Hollow in Pottawatomie County; and Trina Arnold had Eared Grebe at Route 66 Park – at Lake Overholser.
On the 8th Megan Migues got Eastern Bluebird at Stroud in Lincoln County. On the 9th Bill Diffin confirmed Sandhill Crane and Greater Scaup at Okarche Ponds in Kingfisher County; and Caleb McKinney added Sandhill Crane at Ninnekah in Grady County. On the 11th Scott Loss documented Black Scoter at Lake Carl Blackwell in Payne County; Megan Migues counted Herring Gull at Boomer Lake Park in Stillwater; and Braden Farris described White-winged Scoter at Lake Hefner. On the 12th Grace Huffman, Brian Marra and Elizabeth Hacker encountered Pied-billed Grebe, Chipping Sparrow and Yellow-rumped Warbler at Taylor Lake in Grady County; and Scott Loss located Lapland Longspur at Boomer Lake Park. On the 13th Mike Yough recognized Prairie Falcon at Orlando in Logan County; and Zac Hemans reported Redhead and Hooded Merganser at Seward Pond in Logan County.
On the 14th Mike Yough tallied Sora Rail and Rusty Blackbird at Cushing WTP in Payne County. On the 15th Grace Huffman and Brian Marra verified Sora Rail at Dover Marsh in Kingfisher County; and Bill Diffin detected Laughing Gull at Lake Hefner. On the 17th Larry Mays counted Greater Roadrunner, Northern Flicker and Bewick’s Wren at Newcastle in McClain County; and Scott Loss re-found what appears to be the same Red-naped Sapsucker at the OSU Botanical Garden. On the 18th Cody Delano came across Ferruginous Hawk at Ten Mile Flats in Cleveland County; Megan Migues spotted Merlin at Cushing in Lincoln County; and Jimmy Woodward led an OKC Audubon filed trip to Eagle Lake in Del City with 13 participants and reported White-throated Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow and Greater Yellowlegs.
On the 19th D&D Norris identified Pine Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch at Kairworks Garden in Logan County; and Sharon Henthorn had Redhead, Bufflehead and Ruddy Duck at the Zoo Lake in OKC. On the 20th Joe Grzybowski saw in Kingfisher County Ross’s Goose at Okarche Pond, Swamp Sparrow at Dover Marsh; and at Canadian County El Reno Sewage Lagoons Rusty Blackbird; while Braden Farris detected Smith’s Longspur and Golden-crowned Kinglet at Prairie Prime Ranch. On the 21st Braden Farris viewed Horned Lark at Cashion in Logan County and in Kingfisher County Brewer’s Blackbird and Common Yellowthroat at Dover Marsh and Virginia Rail and Marsh Wren at N2890 Rd Marsh. On the 22nd Scott Loss noticed Smith’s Longspur along West Richmond Road in Payne County.
On the 23rd Scott Loss observed LeConte’s Sparrow at Lake Carl Blackwell. On the 24th at Lake Hefner Brian Marra recorded California Gull; and Matt Jung found a mixed flock of Lesser Scaup and Horned Grebe at Prairie Dog Point. On the 25th Steve Stone had Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow and Sharp-shinned Hawk at Lindsay in Garvin County; Rosario Douglas encountered Hermit Thrush at George M. Sutton Wilderness Park in Norman; and Nathan Moses had Pacific Loon at Lake Hefner northwest of the lighthouse. On the 26th Trina Arnold got Bald Eagle at Paul’s Valley Lake in Garvin County; Braden Farris discovered Purple Finch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Hairy Woodpecker at Prairie Prime Ranch; while Geoff Butcher confirmed White-winged Scoter at Lake Overholser.
0n the 27th Jason Shaw added Northern Harrier and Belted Kingfisher at USAO Habitat Area in Grady County; Trina Arnold counted Loggerhead Shrike at Bull Foot Park in Hennessey in Kingfisher County; and Bill Diffin located Bonaparte’s Gull at Lake Overholser. On the 28th Grace Huffman and Brian Marra recognized American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and Cackling Goose at a pond at US-77 & E0590 Rd in Logan County; Kate Burger reported Pileated Woodpecker in Norman; Brent Barnes tallied Lesser Goldfinch at his feeder in OKC; and Joe Grzybowski verified Smith’s Longspur at Norman North Base. On the 29th Deanne McKinney’s neighbor alerted her to a male Ring-necked Pheasant in their yards in NW OKC. On the 30th Brian Marra photographed Northern Shrike at Crystal Lake in OKC. Now is the time to start scouting out areas for the December Christmas Bird Counts.
In the Central Oklahoma area during November 153 species were reported with 2 new species which brings the year’s total at 310. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds. Information is accessed at: ebird. 2021 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 November 29 & 30, 2021); occasionally from Facebook, and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Nov Oct Sept Sum May April Mar Feb Jan
Seminole 088 088 088 083 080 073 053 035
Garvin 091 091 091 085 079 066 062 054
Pottawatomie 118 116 115 104 099 085 078 060
Kingfisher 125 127 124 099 096 073 061 016
Grady 144 142 142 136 102 079 068 059
Logan 152 152 151 144 111 098 089 067
McClain 151 151 150 144 121 093 080 068
Lincoln 157 156 154 148 117 101 067 059
Canadian 227 225 220 219 189 147 127 116
Cleveland 247 246 245 242 204 151 128 119
Payne 261 258 254 252 214 159 138 124
Oklahoma 272 265 264 262 220 173 149 138
Number of bird species reported in 2021 according to eBird. www.ebird.org