Recorders Report – April 2007

Fire to Freeze to Flood

After months and months of drought and weather reports of high fire danger, it began to rain and at the end of March a tornado hit eastern Oklahoma City with some damage near Rose Lake.  Jimmy Woodard reports Rose Lake is almost full of water and a mixed flock of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs flew over along with a flock of six Little Blue Herons.  Lake Overholser has no more mudflats on the north end.  Water is pouring in from the swollen North Canadian River and rapidly filling up the lake.  He has never seen the intake canal on the east side so full of water.  At the OCAS clean up day at Prairie Dog Point on Lake Hefner, he noted several Forster’s Terns, several Franklin’s Gulls in breeding plumage and a few Bonaparte’s Gulls.  Just before they ended the cleanup a Scissortail Flycatcher flew over. 

On March 30th Tim O’ Connell reports his first local Scissortail Flycatcher sitting drenched and disheveled in the pouring rain on a barbed wire fence at the Stillwater airport Friday evening, and a White-fronted Goose at Boomer Lake, hanging out with resident Canada Geese.  He and Jason Heinen visited a couple of local oak forest patches and found numerous Black and White Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, at least 2 singing Male Louisiana Waterthrushes, 10 Wood Ducks and a Great Egret.  On March 31st Ernie Wilson reported Little Blue Herons and a Tree Swallow near the bridge on North Midwest Blvd just south of NE 63rd. 

On April 3rd Nancy Vicars and the Tuesday morning birders found a gorgeous drake Cinnamon Teal at a small pond north of Lake Overholser with a group of Blue-winged Teal.  Some other species seen were Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Forster’s Tern, Franklin’s Gull, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Swainson’s Hawk, Barn and Cliff Swallows.

On April 4th Max Fuller found several Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Rose Lake.  Jimmy checked for them the next day, but only found a group of 36 Little Blue Herons flying in.  The water has risen and there is evidence that it was over Sara Road at some point.  Jan Dolph noted that the egrets had started arriving at Council Road and 10th Street on the west side of the road, and are starting to build their nests again in the rookery. 

We went to the Oklahoma Trails at the Zoo on the 5th, and the Grizzly Bears had been released in their new pen. They kept pulling on the grate, trying to figure out a way to escape. When that failed, they went swimming in the ‘river’.  In the aviary the Eastern Bluebirds are starting to nest, and the Red-bellied Woodpecker is drilling a hole at the top of the back door. 

On April 6th it is snowing a light, barely noticeable, smattering of small, round flakes.  Just before Easter on the 7th a frost hit the Central Oklahoma area.  In many places it was a hard freeze, now known as the Easter Freeze of 2007, which caused plant damage and a slowing down of spring plant succession.  On the 8th Jimmy found a Marbled Godwit, Bank Swallow, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Rose Lake.

On April 10th the Tuesday morning birders found some Upland Sandpipers in the short grass pasture on the north side of 50th between Mustang and Sara Road.  Nearby were Savannah Sparrows, a Spotted Towhee and a flock of Harris Sparrows. They found a pair of Wood Ducks and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron along the edge of the Lake Overholser Marsh.  An American Bittern was flushed on the south side of the marsh.  The Cinnamon Teal has moved to Mustang Road north of 50th, along with numerous Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitchers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Killdeer and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  Later that day Mathew Jung found about 16 Marbled Godwits in this area, and nearby was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and an Osprey flew overhead with a fish. At Lake Hefner he found American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants.

On April 12th Matt checked the south side of the Coffer Dam area and found Eastern Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and Cedar Waxwings.  In the Rose Lake area  Ernie Wilson found American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Semipalmated Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Marbled and Hudsonian Godwits, Common Tern, Common Yellowthroat, and House Wren.

On April 14th Jimmy checked the east side of Oklahoma City from Lake Arcadia to Lake Stanley Draper.  He found over 300 Cliff Swallows at the Arcadia dam, 50 Upland Sandpipers at the sod farms at Wilshire and Midwest Blvd, over 500 Franklin’s Gulls flying along the Canadian River near the sod farms, 20 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the sod farm and 1 Yellow-throated Warbler at the North Canadian River crossing on Britton Road east of Midwest Blvd.  At Draper Lake the roads were muddy and needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to navigate them.  He hit a little fallout of birds at a corner near SW119th and Lake Draper Drive.  There were several HUNDRED birds just in the trees within a small area.  These included at least a dozen Scissortail Flycatchers in one tree and several more nearby, 2 Eastern Kingbirds, 3 White-eyed Vireos, 40-50 Cedar Waxwings, many Yellow-rumped Warblers and an assortment of wrens, Northern Cardinals, sparrows, Black and White Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, etc…. Even though it was cold and windy, he couldn’t resist watching them for about 30 minutes until most had filtered on.  Near SW104th and Lakeshore Drive he found a Prothonotary Warbler.  In Norman Cynthia Whittier had a nice Chimney Swift flying around.

On the 15th Joe Grzybowski had over 100 hawks pass over his house, near the Sam Noble Museum in Norman.  They included 6 Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s Hawk, 1 Red-shouldered, 6 Broad-winged, 116 Swainson’s, 4 Osprey and 1 Northern Harrier.  He still has a Northern Junco, White-throated Sparrows, Orange Crowned Warblers, and a Hermit Thrush.  Nancy checked Lake Draper and relocated most of the birds Jimmy had seen plus 2 Broad-winged Hawks and 2 Black Vultures.  In his area Larry Mays found an amazing number of butterflies: red-banded hairstreak, juniper hairstreak, red admiral, monarch, pearl crescent and silver-spotted skipper.  Four Eastern Bluebirds look to fledge in about 4-5 days, the Northern Mockingbird is sitting on 4 eggs, a Brown Thrasher is carrying nest material, the Bewick’s Wren nest is complete, but no eggs; however, the Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadee’s are hiding their nests from Larry.

On the 14th Nancy visited Rose Lake and found Wilson’s Phalarope, White-faced Ibis, Osprey, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Marbled Godwit and Sprague’s Pipit.  Jeremiah Ables saw his first Yellow-headed Blackbirds with the Llamas.  At Byars on the 15th the Muzny’s had their first Broad-winged Hawks.

On the 15th Max and Jimmy covered Rose Lake, Lake Overholser, Foreman Road from Yukon to El Reno and the El Reno Prison Sewage Ponds.  The Cinnamon Teal and 3 Stilt Sandpipers were on Mustang Road, Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers, and a House Wren were at Rose Lake, an Osprey was at Lake Overholser, a Hudsonian Godwit, Peregrine Falcon and 3 Virginia Rails were at El Reno Prison Sewage Ponds, at the Dogtown two miles west of Fort Reno were 2 Burrowing Owls, and 2 Barn Owls were at the nearby barn.  They watched the Peregrine strike and knock down a male Blue-winged Teal on a mudflat.  It perched on the duck which struggled and actually carried the falcon about a foot.  Suddenly, the falcon abandoned the prey when a Swainson’s Hawk flew in, perched over the duck and spread its wings over it.  After a minute the hawk flew away.  The injured duck made its way into the water but died a few minutes later. They never observed either predator come back and reclaim the kill.  All of this action happened about 50 yards from them.  Jimmy thinks it was definitely a “Planet Earth” type moment! 

On the 16th Brian Muzny heard their first Chimney Swifts in south Oklahoma City.  They have returned to nest in the Muzny swift-friendly fireplace chimney for 20 years.  Olen and Teresa Thomas in Payne County had a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the 16th, and 15 Swainson’s Hawks flew over their yard during a 2 minute period. On the 17th they had a Black-chinned Hummingbird visit briefly.  Cynthia had 2 Eastern Kingbirds in Norman. Terri Underhill found a Summer Tanager at the heron rookery on NW 10th just west of Council Road.

On the 17th the OCAS Tuesday morning birders found the American Bittern, Chipping, Swamp, White-throated, Lincoln’s and Song Sparrows, Chimney Swifts, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a fly-by male Wood Duck, Forster’s Terns, Carolina Wrens and lots of displaying Red-winged Blackbirds at Lake Overholser’s Coffer Dam.  At Rose Lake they had Warbling Vireo, lots of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, American Avocets, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Swainson’s and Cooper Hawks.  The playa on Morgan Road remains a hot spot with the male Cinnamon Teal along with Blue-winged Teal, Long-billed Dowitchers, Pectoral, Baird’s, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.

To see the difference in water levels on Channel Five News Rick reports rainfall to date Jan 1- April 18: 2007, 12.34”; 2006, 3.88”; 2005, 5.38”; 2004, 7.39”; 2003, 4.00” and 2002, 8.56”. 

On the 19th Jane Cunningham found 4 Bobwhite Quail in her yard across from the North Lake Hefner Golf Course.  Kim Wiar had her first Scissortail Flycatcher and Chimney Swift in Norman.  Joe reports the water level at Lake Hefner is high but he saw 5-6 Common Loons and 2 Western Grebes from the dam.  He is seeing more and more Western Kingbirds. On the 21st Debby Kaspari in Norman found a Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Buntings and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.  Richard Gunn had Indigo Buntings and a Blue Grosbeak at the Lexington Public Hunting Area just north of the Correction Center.

Jimmy birded the city park in Yukon on the 22nd and found a Green Heron, House Wren, Great Crested Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Bell’s Vireo, Black & White Warbler, 4 Nashville Warblers, Baltimore Oriole and Lincoln’s Sparrow.  He also saw several butterflies including Silver Spotted Skipper, Monarch, Goatweed Leafwing and many more he didn’t identify.   On the 22nd Laurie McIvor Gillum spotted a Piping Plover behind the police station on NW 122nd Street.

On the 24th the OCAS Tuesday morning birders walked along the Coffer Dam Road on the west side of Lake Overholser and found an Indigo Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Brown Thrasher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Swainson’s Hawk and Northern Harrier.  A Western and Eastern Kingbird sat side by side on the fence along county line road.  At Morgan Road they added Grasshopper Sparrow and a Dickcissel.  Rose Lake was rather sparse that morning.  They did find a Spotted Sandpiper, Warbling Vireos and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  At a puddle on Sara Road near 50th they found one Solitary Sandpiper and one Lesser Yellowlegs along with several Baird’s Sandpipers.  A flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds rounded out the species list for the day at 57.  Once again the rain held off until noon for the morning outing. 

On the 27th in Norman Debby had a Wood Thrush singing out in the woods behind her house.  After the storm she had lots of migrants.  There was a Tennessee Warbler singing in one tree while an Orange-crowned Warbler sang from another.  During the height of the storm a Wood Duck flying low came very close to being hit by a lightning ground-strike, but with some very fast mid-air evasive action, or reaction, on the part of the duck, the lightning missed.

On the 28th Larry Mays got home from work in his rural home and was listening to a Baltimore Oriole when he heard his first neighborhood Eurasian Collared Dove.  The next morning he saw two more near one of the new housing additions.  He still has Harris’s Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows and Clay-colored Sparrows.  He had a Bell’s Vireo singing nearby a few minutes ago, and a mama Eastern Bluebird was seen stuffing wiggly things down the gullet of one of her fledged youngsters.

On April 28th Laurie MacIvor-Gillum reported several shorebirds at the Police Station Lake on 122nd.  They included 9 Marbled Godwit, 12 Wilson’s Phalarope, 14 Semipalmated Plovers, an adult breeding plumage Caspian Tern, 8 Ruddy Ducks, 60 Franklin’s Gulls, Baird or Semipalmated Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, American Coots, Mallards and Northern Shovelers.

On the 29th Jimmy birded a few hours early this pristine morning with perfect weather conditions.  At the Yukon Park he found an adult Cooper’s Hawk bringing sticks to a nest only one tree removed from a Yellow-crowned Night Heron sitting on its nest.  At the playas on Mustang Road there were hundreds (500-600) of birds most of which were Blue-wing Teal, Long-billed Dowitchers and Wilson’s Phalarope.  Others included Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Peeps, Spotted Sandpipers, a few Semipalmated Plovers, one Golden Plover, and lots of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  He heard 3 different Fish Crows and another 2 at Rose Lake.  Rose Lake was fairly quiet except for 2 Black-necked Stilts.  At Lake Overholser’s Coffer Dam Road he heard a Sora Rail and several Yellow Warblers and saw several Forster’s Terns over the lake.

On the 29th in Norman, Cynthia saw 2 Mississippi Kites, and in Edmond Terri counted 18 flying over.  In Norman Debby had her first Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The freeze did damage some trees in the area, and she reports her Post Oaks are being defoliated by caterpillars but not her Blackjack Oaks; however, the birds are arriving for the feast. Patti also reports the same infestation at Byars with feasting birds just in time for migration and hungry baby birds.

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