The ducks and winter birds are arriving as the last of the summer birds are leaving. What an exciting time to be birding. As the days become shorter and cooler, remember bugs, i.e. bird food, like to live in leaf litter and garden plants. What plants are in your yard that are being used by pollinators and birds?
New species for our year list from previous months include: on April 6th Joe Grzybowski discovered Long-billed Curlew at Lake Thunderbird Alameda Bridges in Cleveland County; and on May 21st Jared Elmore noticed Ring-necked Pheasant in a field on the south side of McElroy in Payne County.
On the 1st Bridger Arrington located Prothonotary Warbler and Warbling Vireo at South Muhall in Logan County. On the 2nd Caleb McKinney spotted Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk and Indigo Bunting on 90 acres of hunting land in Grady County; Aaron Milligan tallied Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Tern, Upland Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper south of Hwy 33 in Kingfisher County; and Mike Yough encountered Buff-breasted Sandpiper near the Botanical Garden at OSU Stillwater. On the 3rd Jared Elmore got Peregrine Falcon in Stillwater.
On the 4th Deb Hirt identified Alder Flycatcher and Yellow Warbler at Boomer Lake Park – Heron Cove. On the 6th Braden Farris counted Stilt Sandpiper at Howard Farms in Oklahoma County. On the 7th Shane Clark viewed Greater Roadrunner near Chandler in Lincoln County; Roy McGraw reported Yellow Warbler and Barn Swallow at Rose Lake in Canadian County; and Deb Hirt recognized Willow Flycatcher at Boomer Lake Park. On the 11th D&D Norris observed Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and Black Vulture at Kairworks Garden in Logan County.
On the 13th Scott Loss and Caleb McKinney confirmed Common Tern at Lake Carl Blackwell; Joe Grzybowski detected Swainson’s Hawk and Lark Sparrow along Ladd Road in McClain County; and Brian Stufflebeam came across Snowy Egret, and Blue-winged Teal at Lake Overholser. On the 14th Blue-headed Vireo and American Redstart were reported at Lake Thunderbird – Alameda Drive; and Larry Mays saw Orchard and Baltimore Oriole at Lake Hefner – Hobie Point. On the 15th Brian Marra verified Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax Flycatcher, and Red-eyed Vireo at Arcadia Lake. In Norman Nu Perera with John Muller and Luis Cueto found Inca Dove and White-breasted Nuthatch at 48th Avenue, and Zach DuFran documented Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Blue Grosbeak along South Jenkins.
On the 18th John Muller had Ovenbird, Chimney Swift, Bell’s Vireo, American Redstart and Yellow-throated Warbler along South Jenkins in Norman; in McClain County Larry Mays added Northern Bobwhite, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Black-and-white Warbler; at Lake Hefner – Stars and Stripes Park Roy McGraw recorded Yellow-billed Cuckoo. In Payne County Scott Loss identified Pine Warbler and Yellow-throated Warbler at Lake Carl Blackwell, and Anna Nesterovich heard Sedge Wren at the OSU – Cross Country Course. On the 20th Brian Marra observed Eastern Screech-Owl, Osprey, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Wilson’s Warbler and Pine Siskin at Bell Cow Lake in Lincoln County. On the 21st Caspian Tern was reported at Lake Thunderbird East Sentinel. On the 22nd Daniel Martin found Canada Goose and Mallard in Seminole County.
On the 24th Joe Grzybowski viewed American Avocet, Long-billed Dowitcher, White-faced Ibis, and Stilt Sandpiper at Morgan Road east of Rose Lake, and along 10 Mile Flats in Cleveland County about 270 Killdeer, 150 Cattle Egret, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Wilson’s Snipe. At Lake Hefner – South Marina Bill Diffin confirmed Red-headed Woodpecker, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Warbling Vireo; and at Sanborn Lake Caleb McKinney discovered Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo and Warbling Vireo, and Gray Catbird. On the 25th Landon Neumann noticed Magnolia Warbler at Couch Park; John Tharp detected Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, Yellow Warbler and Indigo Bunting in Norman. On the 26th in Norman John Moyer documented Black-throated Green Warbler; and Joe Grzybowski had Broad-winged Hawk; while in Stillwater at Sanborn Lake Caleb McKinney got Mourning Warbler.
On the 27th Braden Farris recognized Turkey Vulture in Garvin County, Black Vulture in McClain County, and south of Lake Hefner House Wren, and Olive-sided Flycatcher. On the 28th Tammy Lee located American Bittern at Lake Hefner. At Lake Thunderbird East Sentinel Peregrine Falcon, American Avocet, Common Tern and Black Tern were reported. In Payne County Zach Roy encountered Hairy Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Lincoln’s Sparrow and Eastern Wood-Pewee at Lake Carl Blackwell; in Stillwater Landon Neumann spotted Black-and-white Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler and Wilson’s Warbler; and at Couch Park Mike Yough added Northern Parula and Summer Tanager.
On the 29th in Norman John Muller tallied Inca Dove on 48th Avenue in Norman; and Tricia Brown saw Summer Tanager at Deer Creek Road. At USAO Habitat Area near Chickasaw Jason Shaw counted Scissor-tailed Flycatcher; Brian Stufflebeam spotted Osprey and Mississippi Kite at Lake Hefner; and John Hurd noticed Common Yellowthroat, Green Heron and Belted Kingfisher at Dolese Lake. As the final killing frost approaches, it is time to plan for winter birds and their needs. What plant can you add to your yard this year?
In the Central Oklahoma area during the summer of 2019, 164 species were reported with 6 new species bringing the total for the year to 275. 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: September 30, 2019). And occasionally from Facebook and the OKBIRDS List. I can be contacted by e-mail at emkok@earthlink.net. Esther M. Key, Editor.
275 – 269 = 6
Sept Aug May April Mar Feb Jan
Seminole 081 081 074 059 047 036 000
Garvin 093 092 079 063 060 020 019
Pottawatomie 116 116 104 100 076 071 054
Grady 117 116 116 098 074 058 046
McClain 137 135 130 109 075 064 051
Lincoln 140 135 131 113 089 068 057
Kingfisher 144 142 139 116 095 079 073
Logan 161 159 156 140 110 089 078
Canadian 202 202 199 183 126 110 089
Cleveland 219 209 205 186 131 115 111
Oklahoma 236 233 228 205 147 137 125
Payne 247 243 239 206 142 119 103
Number of bird species reported in 2019 according to eBird. Current year, region. www.ebird.org