Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing eating berries
Location: JD Metcalfe Recreation Area - Tulsa, OK
Map: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=36.142016,-95.871425&spn=0.002105,0.003439&t=h&z=18&msid=211656245233415273419.00049b2ccc922201ae071
Observation date: 1/29/11
Number of species: 8
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis 1
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 15
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon 1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata 1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 9
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 11
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 3
Dark-eyed Junco - Junco hyemalis 8
I rode my bike over to the JD Metcalfe Recreation Area on Saturday (1/29). It was around 70 degrees (!), a perfect day for a bike ride (though today, two days later, we are slated to have 2-18 inches of snow, 25 mph winds, and negative temperatures).
JDMRA is a nice urban area for bicycling; it has a long paved bike path that stretches from 11th Street to 21st Street and connects with the Mingo Valley Trail that extends down to 41st Street (and will eventually reach all the way to around 101st where it will connect with another of the city's bike trails). A small drainage ditch runs through the area (maybe Mill Creek, I can't recall) and extends south along highway 169. I have seen a decent amount of birds along the trail; Kingfishers are common, as are mallards, Great Blue Heron, Canada Geese and I have even seen a Green Heron near Hicks Park (31st/Mingo).
The Cedar Waxwings I saw on 1/29 were the first I have seen this season. Last year, I saw quite a few since the berry bushes near where I work attracted swarms of them. This year I the bushes must not have had as many berries since I didn't see the Cedar Waxwings.
Top Photo courtesy of Ken Thomas, via Wikipedia.org
Bottom Photo courtesy of John Harrison (http://flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/), via Wikipedia.org
-SQP 1/31/2011
