May 24th Outing:
A series of storms had rolled through northeast Oklahoma the previous night so the ground at MHP-ONC was noticeably soggy. While walking through MHP to the entrance to Oxley I spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker searching for insects along the trunk of a tree. I could not get a clear look at the RBWP's head, so I was unable to determine it's sex. Males have a red cap that extends to their bill, while females' caps do not extend that far. Hence, it is often easy to identify a RBWP from far away, but determining the sex requires a closer look.
I walked north along Coal Creek and noticed unusually large concentrations of mosquitoes were present, bringing to mind my unfortunate encounter at Tishomingo NWR. Such swarms of insects force me to adopt a "touch-n-go" approach to photography/birding; that is I try and stay moving to keep the 'squitoes from attacking me, stopping occasionally to locate a bird or take a photo.
As I was about to pass Warren Bridge when I noticed a White-tailed doe foraging on the opposite bank of Coal Creek. My first attempt to capture a photo without my tripod was unsuccessful (@ maximum focal length too), but when I used the tripod I took several decent pictures.
I climbed the stairs to the observation deck, deployed my tripod and scope, and watched the Lake Sherry area for avian activity. Strangely, by being 6 feet above the ground on the observation deck I had no problem with the mosquito hordes. 20 yards north of my position a Snowy Egret mucked about in the mud, its jerky strides intended to scare up hiding morsels. When the SE became aware of my presence it took wing and relocated to the other side of the lake. 2 Spotted Sandpipers remained along the banks, probing for food among the mud. The unmistakable rattle call of a Belted Kingfisher could be heard coming from the southeast portion of Lake Sherry, an area out of view for me.
On the surface of the lake I could see a group of ducks foraging in the shallows. Upon closer inspection I could see that there were 3 male Mallards and a single male Green-winged Teal composing the group.
While scanning the lake with my scope I heard a squawking commotion to the west of the platform, near the area where Coal Creek meets Lake Sherry. I saw a 2 wading birds fly from the creek to a large tree on the opposite bank of Lake Sherry, quite a distance from my position, but not out of range for my scope. I zeroed in on the top branches of the tree and identified 2 Little Blue Herons perched atop the tree. 2 more LBHs flew past the observation deck toward the east part of Lake Sherry, possibly to avoid some predator or threat.
Suddenly, I heard another squawk from the same area and spotted a Yellow-crowned Night Heron heading to the east part of Lake Sherry. YBH have a much more stubby bill than other wading birds, an specialization that allows them to eat more shellfish. While watching the YCNH disappear on the other bank, a small buzz and squeak could be heard coming from behind me. As I swung around I saw a small blur fly past my head and land on a branch nearby. I peered through my binoculars at the suspect, a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. He remained perched for 15-20 seconds before blazing off into the canopy.
When I descended the staircase for the observation deck I was greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes. I walked briskly back along Coal Creek to MHP; stopping only to identify a pair of Tufted Titmice and a male Red-winged Blackbird.
Location: Mohawk Park--Oxley Nature Center
Observation date: 5/23/09 Number of species: 16
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 3
Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca 1
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 1
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula 1
Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea 4
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - Nyctanassa violacea 1
Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris 1
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 1
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 4
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea 3
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 3
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea 2
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 3
Photos:
Top: An oak leaf covered in the early morning dew.
Bottom: A photo of the White-tailed Doe I spotted on the west bank of Coal Creek near Warren Bridge.
-SPQ 5/27/2009
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