(From the Bixby Historical Society Online Website):
Washington Irving Memorial Park and Arboretum, a 32.5 acres public park and arboretum, is located just north of the Arkansas River Bridge between 131st & 141st Streets on South Memorial Drive in Bixby, Oklahoma.
The park is named in honor of American writer, Washington Irving, who camped in the area in October 1832 while participating in a federal expedition to the American West led by Judge Henry L. Ellsworth of Connecticut. The expedition included a 31-day, 350-mile circular tour of central Oklahoma.
The park contains a wooded walking trail, the Laci Dawn Griffin Hill butterfly garden, and memorials to the children of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing and to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also contains a statue of Irving seated on the porch of a replica of his home, Sunnyside at Tarrytown, New York.
Map:
I met my father at the parking area for WIP at around 10:30 am. We began by walking west through the park towards the river, watching for birds on the way.
The first pair of birds we encountered were a pair of male Blue Grosbeaks foraging around the base of several trees. They were somewhat difficult to identify because of how high the surrounding grass was. The best view was available when they both flew to the lower branches of a nearby tree, confirming my Grosbeak suspicion (I suspected at first glance they were Indigo Buntings in molt). Several American Robins were looking for prey among the damp grass nearby as well.
We walked a few yards further to the west, stopping to look for more birds near a picnic pavilion. A dark shape darted from a tree to the pavilion, finding a perch on the handle of the grill. The persistent bobbing tail helped me identify the dark shape as an Eastern Phoebe. As I pointed it out to my father another EP darted into the pavilion and took up a perch on the opposite end of the other.
Our trek lead us to the west, bearing slightly south to walk along the jogging path that encircles WIP. As we searched in vain for a strange trill vocalization a hyperactive trio of Carolina Chickadees called out to each other overhead in the branches. The high-pitched spew of a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers could also be discerned among the forested area. One male and one female Northern Cardinals flushed from the undergrowth, conspicuously relocating to a grove of trees near the edge of the park.
At the southwest corner of the park we followed an informal trail to a small pond that has formed on some of the land owned by the nearby concrete company. This small pond and surrounding land are between the Arkansas River and the park, making for an ideal site for migrating birds. A long-defunct elevated railroad track still runs through the area, the rotting wood trusses making for an interesting ad-hoc structure upon which to hang Wood Duck boxes. Due to the vast amount of rain the area had received during the previous week the small pond was 4-5x larger than usual, an even larger draw for birds.
The first birds we noticed were the pair of Spotted Sandpiper probing the soft banks of the pond for morsels of food. We spooked the pair several times as we walked along the pond, yet when they relocated it was always back to the edge of said pond. All the while we could hear and see the splashing and thrashing of carp spawning along the edge of the water. If one found a advantageous spot to watch the pond they could surely get some stellar photos of a Great Blue Heron or Great Egret capturing fish.
As we were admiring the Wood Duck boxes a pair of Wood Ducks emerged in flight from the forest to the north, possibly coming to nest in one of the boxes. They squawked an alarm call and flew back north, offering very little opportunity to identify them. Small groups of sparrows flew about in the tall grasses found along the pond. When we could get a good look at them we noticed the reddish caps of the Chipping Sparrow, another bird to add to our "Big Day" list. My father spotted a vocal Carolina Wren singing from an exposed perch close the rotting trusses. A lone Turkey Vulture could be seen floating above the banks of the river, possibly zeroing in on a carcass.
A strange shorebird could be seen flying around near the pond, a large black stripe along his head and rufous brown along his back. I had been short-sighted an forgot to bring my Sibley Guide so we had very little to go from identification-wise. Even when we consulted the guide at home, neither of us could find a species that matched the bird we had seen. It was ultimately the "Bird Watch" (http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?subjectid=25&articleid=20090503_25_B9_Anadul101767&archive=yes) column provided by the Tulsa World that helped us identify the suspect, a migrating Ruddy Turnstone!
As we walked back, a single Yellow Warbler was spotted hopping among the branches of a tree in search of a meal. I had heard a thrush vocalization earlier but could not identify the source. Fortunately, as we walked back I caught a quick look at a Swainson's Thrush, most likely the source of the thrush vocalization I heard earlier. At the same time my father pointed out a group of 4 American Goldfinches actively foraging among some low shrubbery.
Near the parking area a bold Northern Mockingbird could be observed patrolling his territory, as well as a group of European Starlings looking for food among the grass. My father called attention to the Baltimore Oriole singing from the top of one of the taller trees, another welcome addition to the "Big Day" list.
Location: Washington Irving Park - Bixby, OK
Observation date: 5/2/09 Number of species: 26
Wood Duck - Aix sponsa 2
Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors 6
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura 1
Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius 2
Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus 2
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 2
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 2
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus 1
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica 5
Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis 3
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea 2
Swainson's Thrush - Catharus ustulatus 1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 2
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 1
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 4
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata 4
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 6
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 3
Blue Grosbeak - Passerina caerulea 2
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea 3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater 1
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula 1
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis 4
New Addition to SPQ's Lifelist
161) Ruddy Turnstone (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Turnstone/id.aspx?spp=Ruddy_Turnstone)
Photos:
Top/Bottom: 2 views of the small pond found south of Washington Irving Park. This is where we spotted the Ruddy Turnstone.
-SPQ 5/5/2009
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