February 2011 Totals

American White Pelican

Bald Eagle

                                                                    1 male & 2 female Common Mergansers

It is was pretty difficult to get out and bird this month. There was an epic blizzard (25-40 inches over a 10 day period) that hit the region the first two week of February.

That being said, the individual bird totals were pretty good (1400+), helped by the first day I went birding after the blizzard when I spotted over 900 gulls on Lake Yahola in Mohawk Park.

I was very pleased to get to see some neat birds this month - most notable the Hooded and Common Mergansers on Lake Yahola.

It was good to see a Bald Eagle. I haven't birded around the Arkansas River much this winter so I don't get to see them as often as I would like. I suppose that Bald Eagles aren't too uncommon to see at Oxley, the lake provides for a good source of food, but I haven't seen many this season.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)      43

Gadwall (Anas strepera)    23

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)    24

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)    57

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 15

Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)    20

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)   30

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)    40

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)    9

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)    18

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)    12

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)    1

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)    6

American Coot (Fulica americana)    70

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)    1020

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)    2

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)   17

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)    3

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)    1

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)    2

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)    5

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)    1

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)    7

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)    8

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)    20

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)    5

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)    1

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)   1

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)   7

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)    2

Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)    3

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)   4

Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)   1

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)    9

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)   13


American White Pelican Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:American_White_Pelican.jpg)

Bald Eagle Photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service, via Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haliaeetus_leucocephalus2.jpg)

Common Merganser Photo courtesy of Rolandzh, via Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jona_-_Jona_(SG)_-_Mergus_merganser_IMG_9145.JPG)


-SPQ 2/28/2011

Oxley Nature Center, North Woods (Oxbow Lake/ Sierra Club/ North Woods Trails) - February 27, 2011 - Tulsa, OK

Carolina Chickadee

Location: Oxley Nature Center (North Woods) - Tulsa, OK

Map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=211656245233415273419.00049d5b78d600e197556&t=h&z=16
Observation date: 2/27/11

Number of species: 11



Gadwall - Anas strepera    12

American Coot - Fulica americana    55

Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon    1

Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus    6

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus    1

Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens    1

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata    2

American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos    2

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis    6

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata    1

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis    5
 
 
Carolina Chickadee Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carolina_on_my_Mind.jpg)
 
-SPQ 2/28/2011

Oxley Nature Center, North Woods (Sierra Club/ Oxbow Lake/ North Woods Trails) - February 21, 2011 - Tulsa, OK

                                                             Red-shouldered Hawk


Location: Oxley Nature Center (North Woods) - Tulsa, OK


Map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=211656245233415273419.00049d0ba19ec50079941&ll=36.223798,-95.925965&spn=0.008309,0.013754&t=h&z=16
Observation date: 2/21/11

Number of species: 16



Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos    9

Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata    17

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus    3

American Coot - Fulica americana    4

Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis    120

Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus    9

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus    1

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus    3

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata    1

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis    6

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor    2

American Robin - Turdus migratorius    5

Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum    1

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata    2

White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis    7

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis    2
 
 
Red-shouldered Hawk Photo courtesy of Yyyikes, via Wikipedia.org
 
-SPQ 2/24/2011

Mohawk Park/ Oxley Nature Center - February 19, 2011 - Tulsa, OK

Brown Creeper


Location: Mohawk Park--Oxley Nature Center


Map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=211656245233415273419.00049ce3ec97b6e786ecd&ll=36.226844,-95.900216&spn=0.008309,0.013754&t=h&z=16
Observation date: 2/19/11

Number of species: 23



Canada Goose - Branta canadensis    21

Gadwall - Anas strepera    9

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos    5

Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata    15

Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps    1

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias    1

Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus    3

American Coot - Fulica americana    3

Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon    1

Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus    2

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus    1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius    1

Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens    1

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus    1

Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus    1

Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata    4

American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos    3

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis    7

Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor    3

Brown Creeper - Certhia americana    1

Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus    1

American Robin - Turdus migratorius    2

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis    3
 
 
Brown Creeper Photo courtesy of Mdf, via Wikipedia.org
 
-SPQ 2/24/2011

Oxley Nature Center, North Woods & Lake Yahola Reservoir (East/South Sections) - February 13, 2011 - Tulsa, OK

Common Merganser, Male

Location: Oxley Nature Center (North Woods) - Tulsa, OK


Map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=36.219089,-95.92721&spn=0.008413,0.021887&t=h&z=16&msid=211656245233415273419.00049c579af0dba3a0a90
Observation date: 2/13/11

Number of species: 22



Canada Goose - Branta canadensis    22

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos    10

Northern Shoveler - Anas clypeata    25

Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola    15

Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula    20

Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus    30

Common Merganser - Mergus merganser    40

Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps    8

American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos    18

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias    11

Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus    1

American Coot - Fulica americana    8

Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis    900

Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus    1

American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos    3

Carolina Chickadee - Poecile carolinensis    1

Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos    2

Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum    2

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Dendroica coronata    1

Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus    1

White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis    2

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis    3
 
    I visited Oxley Nature Center on Sunday, February 13th in hopes of seeing some waterfowl. During the past two the region received around 20-25 inches of snow from two large snow storms (one was deemed a blizzard). I was curious to see how Oxley fared and if the recent warmer weather had melted much of the snow.
 
    All of the smaller ponds were completely frozen, hence there were no waterfowl on these bodies of water. When I walked up to the reservoir from the North Woods section I could see that even the reservoir was still iced over ( I broke the ice and estimated is was still about 1.5 inches thick). A pair of Northern Shovelers were picking at the edges of the ice, looking for a spot that wasn't frozen. I could hear an amazing din of sound coming from the southern section of the reservoir - it almost sounded like a crowd of people. I setup my scope on the side of the reservoir and peered to the south, I could see hundreds of gulls on the ice and in the few melted sections of the water. I decided to drive down to the parking areas south of the North Woods.
 
    From the parking area due just south of the North Woods I could see some Pied-billed Grebes, American Coot, and plenty of Ring-billed Gulls. The sun was in the western part of the sky, so many of the birds were "silhouetted", making it difficult to identify them. I decided to head to the parking lots to located along the south shore of the reservoir (an area where I generally see fishers).
 
    From the south shore I could clearly see all of the birds on the reservoir. There were several groups of Common Goldeneye ( a new species for me as of last month), Hooded Mergansers (a neat-looking diving duck), Common Mergansers (previously, I had only seen a pair of females, so the bright red-orange bill of the male was neat to see), and American White Pelicans. Only a few Mallards were to be found and most of the Northern Shovelers I saw were all group[ed together on the concrete divider in the center of the reservoir.
 
    The most interesting sight were the huge groups of Ring-billed Gulls gathered both on and off the ice - the din from them was most impressive. I estimated that the toal number was around 900, though I almost positive it was more.
 
    It was very exciting to see so many different ducks on Lake Yahola. Several of the species I have never seen there before (Common Merganser, American White Pelican), so it was a satisfying trip to Oxley.
 
Photo of Common Merganser courtesy of Mdf, via Wikipedia.org
 
-SPQ 2/16/2011