Birding Hot Spots:

LOCATION: Yukon City Park (Yukon, OK)
Contributed by Jimmy Woodard

Description: Yukon City Park, Chisholm Trail Park and Freedom Trail Playground are interconnected recreation facilities on approx. 100 acres in Yukon just north of I-40. The Copeland Nature Trail runs along a heavily wooded creek on the east side of the park. The trail includes tall cottonwoods and several patches of dense trees with heavy undergrowth. There is a gravel trail through the woods on the south end of the park. The north end of Copeland Trail is dirt or grass and follows along the 5-acre Mulvey's Pond. There is also a wide dirt trail along Spring Creek that goes north from the dam. This trail runs north across open fields to Chisholm Trail Park.

Yukon City Park is a 47 acre-facility; covered shelters, playgrounds, restrooms, junior Olympic size pool, kiddy pool, 10-acre pond, nature trails, horseshoe courts, baseball, softball, sand volleyball and football fields, basketball, bank-shot basketball courts – includes award winning handicapped accessible Freedom Trail Playground, designed for all children.

The Park is located on the area in eastern Canadian County where the Chisholm Trail passed during the post-Civil War days of cattle drives from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Mulvey's Pond is the actual site of the last spring-fed watering hole the cowboys and cattle encountered before reaching Abilene.  It was considered the last guaranteed water on the trip through Indian Territory.

Directions:  West of Oklahoma City on I-40. Exit north at Czech Hall Road. Turn west on NW 10th and turn north on S. Holly, the first street you approach.

Recent sightings (fall 2006): Downy, Redhead, Red-bellied, and Flicker woodpeckers. Bewick's Carolina and House Wrens. Great Crested and Least Flycatchers. Warblers included Black & White, Redstart (male and female), Nashville, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Wilson's, and Common Yellowthroat, as well as Blue-headed and Warbling Vireos. Other birds seen were Sharp-shinned Hawk, Osprey (2 migrating together), Robins, Blue Jays, Bullock's Oriole, Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, and several
Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Other birding opportunities: Lake Overholser is located northeast of Yukon City Park. Also located in the area are Rose Lake and Stinchcomb Wildlife Preserve (north of Lake Overholser).

Related links:

• City of Yukon

• The Chisholm Trail