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Recorders Report March 2006 came with a spring surprise, which I have never seen before and may not ever again. It started the first day of March when the temperature was the warmest this year at 91*F; however, a cold front the next day dropped the temperature but still left it warmer the normal. On the 3rd I heard an Eastern Phoebe at the cattail swamp on Portland and Lakeshore Drive just south of the Stars and Stripes Park. On the 5th Kim Wiar last saw the Brown Creeper in her Norman yard. Donald and Karen Winslow went to Lake Arcadia on the 5th and found several species including Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebes, Carolina and Bewick’s Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and American Goldfinch. On the 5th Cynthia Whittier saw her first Purple Martin in Norman, and Patti Muzny saw one on the 6th in south Oklahoma City. On the 6th Richard Gunn and Greg Overall also saw Purple Martins in Norman plus American Pipits, Wilson’s Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs and lots of Green Wing Teal. Meanwhile near the Village in Oklahoma City Terri Savage saw 6 Cedar Waxwings in her backyard, and on the 7th Brian Muzny saw a Green Heron fly across the road in south OKC. Late winter migration had begun. During this week I looked out the office window and noticed the redbud (Cercis canadensis) tree across the street was blooming while the jonquils in my backyard hadn’t bloomed yet, a total turnaround in the spring blooming sequence. By March 10th John Key saw about 200 Sandhill Cranes flying overhead at the Surrey Hills Golf Course. On the 11th Nancy Vicars reported a couple of Barn Swallows flew in front of her as she crossed the North Canadian River bridge at NE 36th street. Sunday, March 12th we woke up to the smell of smoke. While driving down the roads I noticed the Chickasaw plum thickets (Prunus augustifolia) were ending their spring bloom, some of the previously burned areas were starting to turn green, the first wildflowers were blooming, including Spring Beauty as well as dandelions, and east of OKC a few dogwoods were blooming. During the day the warm, dry, windy weather spawned multiple fires including a huge, fierce one in Texas that burned thousands of acres and was unstoppably heading towards the Oklahoma panhandle. Further south at Byars, Patti heard Black and White Warblers and Lark Sparrows on March 12th. On the 12th in Newcastle Larry Mays saw American Pipits, and early Lark Sparrows along with mixed flocks of blackbirds and singing Field Sparrows. In Norman Joe Grzybowski heard a Brown Thrasher about 14-18 days ahead of schedule. On the 11th Debby Kaspari heard a Black and White Warbler east of Lake Thunderbird in the Little Axe area. On the 13th Larry Mays heard a flock of 37 Sandhill Cranes beating north against the wind. Finally on the 18th, a cold front brought rain. Nancy Vicars and Ed Rhoades went on the Lake Overholser field trip and found Blue-winged Teal and Turkey Vultures. American Golden Plover and 100’s of American Pipits were in a field along 50th and Morgan Road. Eastern Phoebe, Purple Martins and Northern Rough-winged Swallow were seen over the canal near NW 23rd and Eastern Overholser Drive. The first day of Spring, March 20th warmed back up to 61*F while the eastern redbud continued to bloom and look beautiful. On the 21st, the great egret migration arrived in OKC with about 50 egrets in various locations on the west side of Lake Hefner. On the south golf course pond, the canal was lined with Great Egrets, American White Pelicans swam in the pond, the northwest bank was filled with black Double Crested Cormorants and Ring-billed Gulls were on the green above. It was the most awesome return of the egrets I have experienced. On the evening of the 22 Pat Velte spent the afternoon photographing a Snowy Plover at Hobie Beach on Lake Hefner. It started to snow right after she left the beach area . Pat thought this was an interesting way to mark the arrival of spring migrants. The snow continued to fall as she made her way to the southwest side of the lake and the scene across the cove at the inlet canal was quite stunning. There were about 50 pelicans, over 20 Great Egrets and a dozen Great Blue Herons. The Merlin remained a very faithful late afternoon fixture on Prairie Dog Point. On Thursday, the 23rd the morning sun rose on a winter wonderland as I drove to work; and the redbuds branches were a fantastic mosaic of purple and white along Portland south of Lake Hefner. I have seen snow on jonquils, but never on redbuds. It was beautiful, if only for a short time. On March 24th Ernie Wilson reports a good number of shorebirds on the Canadian Valley Sod farm located at North Midwest Boulevard and Wilshire the last couple of days. Turn east on the gravel road and check the puddles. He reports Wilson’s Snipe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer and Pectoral Sandpiper. While Nancy Vicars was returning from her afternoon walk, she heard and spotted a White-winged Dove in Midwest City. Jimmy Woodward saw a Greater Roadrunner perched in a tree on the west side of the Kilpatrick Turnpike at NW 10th and a Loggerhead Shrike perched on the fence just south of the Xerox Plant at Mustang Road and I-40 on the 25th. He has never seen a shrike anywhere near this location before and thinks it may be a ‘city shrike’. Later that afternoon, he saw a pair of roadrunners on the I-40 right-of-way about two miles west of Yukon about 4:30 pm. They seemed oblivious to the traffic whizzing close by. March 26th Sandi McDonald saw the first Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Moore at the intersection of Indian Hills Road and I-35 about 6:00 pm. On the 27th she spotted 3 Whimbrels at the northwest corner of west Stanley Draper and SE 104th, and I picked my first Jonquils in Piedmont. It wasn’t until March 29th Carl and Dora Webb spotted the first Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Edmond just west of Bryant sitting on the chainlink fence on the Kilpatrick turnpike. On the 29th I visited Lake Hefner and found a lot of neat birds. The American White Pelican count was up to about 500. There was a small flock of Ruddy Ducks, some in summer plumage, many not; a group of Red-breasted Mergansers; Franklin gulls with and without black heads. New on the scene were about 10 Eared Grebes mixed in with some Pied-billed Grebes; and a possible Glaucous Gull on the dam at the Ranger Station. Pat Velte counted 78 Great Egrets, 2 Snowy Egrets and 2 Little Blue Herons with the large groups of pelicans on the point east of the inlet canal. It was a stunning sight. Later she found a pair of Redheads in the cove next to the fire station. Because of the prolonged drought, Oklahoma City brought in extra water from Canton Lake, and I wonder if it also increased the number of fish in the lake which is attracting a larger number of birds. On March 31st Nancy Vicars tried to find the 3 Whimbrels reported at Lake Stanley Draper earlier that week but didn’t find them. She did find a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Baird’s Sandpiper, Inca Dove, Chipping Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, and Savannah Sparrows. A flock of Vesper sparrows flew from our yard to the field across the street, and White Crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos continue to come to the thistle bags in Piedmont. The redbuds are beginning to leaf out and the blooms fading. They were so beautiful this spring for such a long time. 91 bird species were reported for Oklahoma and Canadian counties during the month of March and several other species for Cleveland County. 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 and 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. Monthly backyard reports are welcome. Esther M. Key Added by editor: On Sunday, April 9, Jim Arterburn located and photographed a Red-throated Loon on Lake Hefner.
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