Birding Hot Spots:

LOCATION:  Rose Lake - Yukon
Contributed by Patricia Velte

35.53309 N  97.70682 W

Rose Lake is located near Northwest 63rd and Sara Road in Yukon

Editor's Note: This Hot Spot report is under construction and will be updated by more experienced birders as soon as they volunteer.  For now, I'll do my best to provide the basic information about Rose Lake.

Rose Lake is something of a mystery. It is located in eastern Canadian County, on the west side of Sara Road, just south of Northwest 63rd Street.  I don't know who owns the land, I don't know how long the lake has been there, but there will be seasons, and even years, when the area is dry and sometimes planted in crops. The term lake is something of a misnomer, I believe. Rose Lake is very shallow and is really a low area that appears to be prone to flooding when rainwater is abundant. But then again, the landowner seems to have the ability to drain the land for agriculture or fill the lake with rainwater. I've provided a photo of the lake as it appeared in May 2006. There are times when the water reaches closer to the road... and then times when there are only small muddy puddles.  Whatever or whomever is in control of this area, it is certainly an incredible hot spot for migrant birds.

Perhaps its location about 3 miles northwest (as the bird flies) from Lake Overholser is part of its appeal to migrants. I've wondered if they're drawn to Overholser's large water mass but then find Rose Lake's very shallow and marshy areas more to their liking.

Birders frequently report a wide variety of sandpipers at Rose Lake during spring and fall migration. It's very easy to pull over along the gravel road and watch White-faced Ibis; Little Blue Heron; Snowy, Great and Cattle Egrets; Wilson's Snipe; Avocet; Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-Herons; Mississippi Kite; Red-tailed Hawks, Osprey, gulls and terns.

Several birders have located Glossy Ibis and Common Moorhen at Rose Lake. I'm not one of them so they are still on my "wish list."  But I have seen several Yellow-head Blackbirds in the areas around Rose Lake. In fact, if you travel north on Sara Road to 63rd and turn right, you can find quite a few grebes, Canada Geese, Killdeer, and Red-winged Blackbirds along the ponds and ditches.

If you continue east on 63rd Street, you'll find open fields that attract hawks, harriers and kestrel. 63rd Street ends at Morgan Road and it's an easy trip to Lake Overholser if you turn south for two miles and cross 39th Street Expressway (Route 66).

RELATED LINKS:

• City of Yukon

• Lake Overholser