Keystone WMA - Terlton Road - Terlton, OK (March 15, 2009)

About Keystone WMA - Terlton Road:

The Terlton Road section of the Keystone WMA lies on the edge of the Cimmarron River, adjacent to a small inlet of the river. One can access this section of the WMA by exiting Hwy-48 at Terleton Road (there is a sign for a Boy Scouts' Camp) then proceeding a couple of miles to a small parking area.

March 15th Excursion

I arrived at the Terlton Road section of the Keystone WMA around 1:30 pm after my excursion to Cottonwood Creek WDU.

I began by following the established trail south towards the river inlet. About 75 yards into the WMA I noticed an American Sycamore with 6-8 nest platforms among its branches. This tree was among a grove of sycamores that line a small stream to the east of the parking area. When I looked through my scope I could count over 8 Great Blue Herons perching in the sycamore. I scanned the other nearby sycamores and noticed multiple nests in each, signifying, I think, a colony or rookery of Great Blue Herons.

I was quite excited about my potential discovery of a rookery of Great Blue Herons and the thought crossed my mind to try and move close enough for some good pictures. After more thought I realized it would be disruptive and possibly stressful on the herons if I got too close. Maybe at some point when I have a longer range telephoto lens I will be able to capture some shots of the rookery.

While continuing along the trail I stumbled upon two Pileated Woodpeckers, scaring them into flight. One of the two woodpeckers was no less than 30 feet from me when he called out and flew away.

I reached the end of the trail, a small tributary of the Cimarron. I sat quietly along the banks of another small stream and watched the tributary. A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks could be heard, then later seen gliding over the area in search of prey. Several Ring-billed Gulls floated lazily up and down the small tributary, using the occassional strong gust of wind to hover above the water.

Bird Count:

Location: Keystone - Cimarron WMA ("North Pawnee") - Terleton, OK
Observation date: 3/15/09 Number of species: 14\

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 18

Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura 5

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus 2

Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1

Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 2

Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 1

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 1

Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus 2

American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 4

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis 6

Field Sparrow - Spizella pusilla 4

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2

Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 2

Photo:

A view of one of the tallgrass fields found near the Cimarron River in the Terlton Road section of the Keystone WMA.