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Recorders Report – February 2007 Waiting for Spring A White-tailed Kite was found on the east side of Lake Overholser the afternoon of February 06 by Terri Underhill and Dora Webb. On February 5th Jan Dolph found a Bald Eagle in a large tree in a backyard across from Western Heights High School near Council Road and SW 44th, and Rick Ratcliff reports 2 Bald Eagles on the west side of Lake Overholser in late February. Jennifer Kidney in Norman had 2 male and 1 female Purple Finches show up during the Martin Luther King weekend ice storm and she has seen them a couple of times since. A Pine Siskin appeared on December 30, 2006 and again the first weekend in January 2007. A banded female House Finch was at Judy Meyer’s feeder in Norman on January 31st. On February 2nd Dick Gunn found a Marsh Wren and Common Yellowthroat in the sewage treatment plant outlet/creek along the west side of South Jenkins. On the 9th he had an American Pipit on a mud flat in the South Canadian River just off the mouth of the creek. On February 6th Donald Winslow and his ornithology class did a raptor ecology exercise in the fields surrounding St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee. They stirred up a Great Horned Owl which was mobbed by American Crows, Blue Jays, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over to see what was going on. Other interesting birds seen by the class included a Cackling Goose, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Northern Bobwhite, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Brown Thrasher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Smith’s Longspur, and American Goldfinch. On February 6th and 7th on Esther’s Winter Bird Atlas Blocks in Canadian county a Barred Owl sat on a fence post quietly watching the strange people in the car. Some of the other species found on the prairie were Loggerhead Shrikes, Eastern Bluebirds, Savannah Sparrows, Field Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawks, Horned Lark, Carolina Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeckers, American Goldfinch, lots of Eastern Meadowlarks and a small flock of Lesser Scaup. On February 8th Donald Winslow and his class went to Shawnee Twin Lakes, Wes Watkins Reservoir and Lake Stanley Draper. Notable bird species included Horned and Pied-billed Grebes, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-shouldered Hawk, Greater Yellowlegs, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Song Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. On the 10th Joe Grzybowski passed by Lake Hefner in the late afternoon as the light was starting to fade. Most of the gulls were facing north against the wind so he was looking at their backs and could only identify the obvious. There was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and a possible California Gull. On the 11th Donald Winslow met Karen Bays and Jane Cunningham to tour the area south of Stars and Stripes Park. Notable species included Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, a Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Franklin gull, several Herring gulls, 1 Lesser-black Backed Gull, a Belted Kingfisher, Carolina Chickadees, a Fox Sparrow, a Song Sparrow, and an American Goldfinch. At the dam and water treatment pond area Donald and Karen found Horned Grebes, Lesser Scaup, 1 female Greater Scaup, Buffleheads, and Common Goldeneyes. On the 11th at their McClain County property near Byars, Patti Muzny heard three and saw one Woodcock calling and displaying. The area along the creek is damp enough this year to attract them. On the 12th Joe stopped at a foggy Lake Hefner after 5:00. He found the Lesser Black-backed Gull, and noticed a streak-headed adult California Gull next to a second-winter one. There could have been 2 more California Gulls present, but light, fog and density of birds made identification a little too tricky. On the 13th Berlin Heck got antsy and headed for Lawton followed by a visit to Lake Hefner around 11:00am. He found about 300 Common Goldeneyes, 37 Pied-billed Grebes, a fair number of Horned Grebes, Red-breasted and Common Mergansers. He returned around 3:30pm at Stars and Stripes in the fog, mist and bad light to find 2 adult and 1 first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls within 5 feet of each other. On the 14th Karen Bays found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on a couple of her pine trees in South Logan County. On the 16th Pat Velte was able to locate and photograph a Glaucous Gull and a Western Grebe. On the 17th Jimmy Woodard stopped at Lake Hefner in the afternoon and found 2 Lesser-black backed Gulls, an immature at Prairie Dog Point and an adult on the NE corner of the lake. He also found a Glaucous Gull at Prairie Dog Point, a Western Grebe and a Red-Throated Loon. Karen Bays also saw the Red-Throated Loon. Jane, MaryLynne and Mark Cunningham found about 20 to 30 Common Loons near the dam area on Lake Hefner. On the 17th June Ketchum reports a flock of Sandhill Cranes migrating overhead in Blanchard. Dora Webb reports fights in her backyard between the Orange Crowned Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler at the suet feeder. On the 18th Dave and Martha Evans had a female Merlin fly in and scatter the four Eurasian Collared Doves and House Sparrows at their feeder. They also had two Carolina Wrens with one trying to attract the other. During January and February their feeder attracted over a dozen different bird species. Some of the more notable ones include Fox Sparrows, one Orange Crowned Warbler, American Goldfinches and 18 Northern Cardinals. Back in October as Dave was teaching his 8th grade Algebra class around 10:00 in the morning a Greater Roadrunner came walking up the sidewalk. He stopped class and forced the students to go to the window to see it. He was amazed to see one walk between a school building and the houses on the east especially considering that Dave’s school is north of downtown OKC at NW 44th between Shartel and Walker. Lisa Bewley, who also lives near downtown OKC, has a regular Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in her backyard this year along with a Northern Flicker. On the 20th 14 people showed up at Lake Hefner for the OKC Tuesday morning field trip led by Nancy Vicars. Interesting species included a Cackling Goose, a small flock of Green-winged Teal in the SW corner of Lake Hefner next to the golf course, six Greater Scaups among 60 Lesser Scaups, Red-Breasted and Hooded Mergansers, a Western Grebe, an American White Pelican, a Northern Harrier, a Greater Yellowlegs, a small flock of peeps, a Wilson’s Snipe, 20 Bonaparte’s Gulls, Horned Larks, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwings, American Tree Sparrow, and a Fox Sparrow. In the afternoon, Nancy, Pat and Esther met on the north side of the Hefner Middle School to see the Eastern Screech Owl, red phase, staying in a large pipe coming out of the building. In Canadian County there was a Turkey Vulture flying near Piedmont, and in northern Lincoln County Polly O’Malley had their first Purple Finch. On the 25th Patti heard her Eastern Phoebe yelling at them to wake up. She watched one Woodcock do his dance a little after sundown and heard one more farther away. Other species were hormone-crazed White-breasted Nuthatches, as well as, Hermit thrush, Harris’s and Fox Sparrows, and the resident Red-shouldered Hawk. On the 25th Judy Meyer found two Mute Swans at the west end of Robinson in Norman in a new housing addition called Arbor Lake. Are they wild or introduced? On the 27th seven people showed up at Lake Hefner for the OKC Tuesday morning field trip led by Nancy Vicars. A Hairy Woodpecker hid in the trees, but most got to see it. Other species included an Eared Grebe, an American Kestrel, and a Savannah Sparrow for a total of 43 species. Interesting species at Lake Overholser included about 60 American White Pelicans, five Canvasback Ducks, and five Greater Yellowlegs. The drought continues with only half an inch of rain in the whole month of February. A cold spell from the 14 – 16th produced the low for the month of 6 º F and the high was 80º F on the 28th. I appreciate those who help provide the history of central Oklahoma birds by turning in their reports of bird species seen at home and in the field. I can be contacted by email at emkok@earthlink.net, leave a message at 405-373-2738 or mail to PO Box 291, Piedmont, OK 73078. Esther M. Key
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