Recorders Report
by Esther Key
On the 3rd Cale Corley found Gray Catbird at Sanborn Lake in Payne County. On the 4th Caleb McKinney noticed Carolina Wren at Shannon Springs in Grady County. On the 6th Roy McGraw spotted White-faced Ibis at Rose Lake; Rachel Wrenn tallied Sandhill Crane in Norman; and Scott Loss determined Broad-winged Hawk at the Botanic Garden at OSU. On the 7th Russell Goodin discovered Palm Warbler at the Myriad Botanical Garden in downtown OKC; Emily Hjalmarson viewed Yellow Warbler and Indigo Bunting at Northeast Lions Park in Norman; Scott Loss had Pine Warbler and Summer Tanager at Lake Carl Blackwell. On the 8th Brian Marra came across Osprey and Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Sportsman Lake in Seminole County.
On the 10th Jimmy and Nadine hosted a Big Sit in Midwest City that was attended by 14 people and recorded 45 species. Between 0900 and 1200 there was a big flight of Turkey Vultures in groups of 50-100 birds and Swainson’s Hawks in groups of 25-50 birds moving rapidly from NNE to SSW and groups of 17, 52, and 57 of American White Pelicans. After 1030 there was a good movement of Monarch and other butterfly species. Brian Muzny saw several birds on his walkabouts including Winter Wren, Wilson’s Warbler, and Eastern Towhee. Meanwhile, at Dolese Youth Park John Hurd watched Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawk and at the Myriad Botanical Garden Larry Mays documented Canada Warbler and Russell Goodin observed Grasshopper Sparrow.
On the 11th John Hurd recognized a Field Sparrow at Historic Fort Reno in Canadian County. On the 13th Hal Yocum counted Eastern Wood Pee-wee, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, and Black-throated Green Warbler at Stinchcomb WMA East (Gate 1). Zach Poland located Blue-headed Vireo at his home in Logan County; Pat Velte identified Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Hefner; John Tharp reported Pine Warbler at Geronimo Drive in Norman; Rachel Wrenn verified American Avocet and Long-billed Dowitcher at Lake Thunderbird’s Alameda Drive Twin Bridges. On the 14th Scott Loss got Palm Warbler in Payne County. On the 15th Deb Hirt added Solitary Sandpiper at Boomer Lake Park; and Brian Marra confirmed Least Bittern at Lake Overholser, a first report in many years.
On the 16th Chris Butler detected Barred Owl and Orange-crowned Warbler at Meeker Lake in Lincoln County; and Corey Riding noticed American Pipit at Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater. On the 17th Jason Shaw discovered Swainson’s Hawk at USAO Habitat Area in Grady County; and Donna Kinney came across Red-headed Woodpecker at Arcadia Lake. On the 18th Scott Loss found LeConte’s Sparrow at OSU- Research Range Headquarters in Payne County; Lindi Langman saw Double-crested Cormorant at Taylor Lake; Calvin Rees had Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Rose Lake; and Emily Hjalmarson determined Hermit Thrush and Brown Creeper at 24th Ave NE Ponds in Norman. On the 19th Ben Sandstrom spotted Blue-headed Vireo and Gray Catbird at the Northeast Zoo Lake Park; and Scott Loss tallied Common Loon at Lake Carl Blackwell.
From the 19th to the 21st the Fall OOS Meeting was held at UCO in OKC and recorded 50 species including at Myriad Botanical Garden Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco and at John Marshall School Pond Eared Grebe and Forester’s Tern. On the 21st Zach Poland documented House Wren, American Pipit, White-throated Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark at Lake Elmer in Kingfisher County and Eastern Towhee at his home in Logan County. On the 23rd on the Tuesday morning OCAS field trip led by Bob Holbrook and Bill Diffin, Grace Huffman photographed Sora Rail and had a glimpse of an unconfirmed Black Rail; and at Goldsby Sod Farm in McClain County Ben Sandstrom observed Ferruginous Hawk.
On the 24th Bill Diffin detected Virginia Rail at Lake Overholser’s Coffer Dam. On the 25th Brian Marra verified the Least Bittern again at Lake Overholser. On the 26th Joe Grzybowski located Pine Siskin at Goldby Sod Farm in McClain County; Brian Marra verified Sora Rail and Swamp Sparrow at Lake Overholser; and Zach Poland counted Pleated Woodpecker, Brown Creeper and White-throated Sparrow at Couch Park in Stillwater. On the 27th Brian Marra identified Sora Rail at the N2890 Road Marsh in Kingfisher County; Christie Stoops got Redhead Duck and Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Cottonwood Creek in Logan County; and Nathan Kuhnert confirmed Winter Wren, Marsh Wren and American Pipit at the Coffer Dam on Lake Overholser.
On the 28th Zach Poland added Horned Lark, Fox Sparrow and Franklin’s Gull at Lake Elmer; and Joe Grzybowski reported Red-breasted Nuthatch in Norman. On the 29th Chris Butler recognized Brown Creeper and Vesper Sparrow at Purcell Lake in McClain County; and Nathan Kuhnert located Ovenbird at Myriad Botanical Gardens. On the 30th Bill Diffin observed Greater Scaup at Lake Hefner Prairie Dog Point. On the 31st Larry Mays counted White-crowned Sparrow and Harris’s Sparrow at his home in McClain County; and Brian Marra located Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Martin Park Nature Center.
During October of 2018 in the Central Oklahoma area 166 species were reported with 1 new species bringing the total for the year to 278. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by making reports at http://ebird.org (an online database of bird distribution and abundance from Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.) Data for this report was accessed in eBird on November 1st, 2018 and at various times on Facebook and the OKBIRDS List. I can also be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
Oct Sept Sum May April Mar Feb Jan
Kingfisher 060 037 037 032 032 032 032 000
Garvin 091 090 087 079 061 052 045 039
Pottawatomie 091 091 089 081 072 033 032 000
Seminole 096 095 090 090 042 024 014 000
Lincoln 110 107 106 080 071 062 058 043
McClain 118 116 112 105 082 056 048 035
Grady 146 144 143 141 125 094 069 060
Logan 172 170 166 165 139 098 087 080
Canadian 201 200 197 194 167 109 085 074
Payne 237 236 235 233 215 138 121 115
Cleveland 226x 237 219 221 191 138 117 110
Oklahoma 246 241 239 233 211 143 125 118
Number of bird species reported in 2018 according to eBird www.ebird.org