I had a couple of extra days off and decided to volunteer for another CBC (Christmas Bird Count) at the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.
The weather was great. I spent a wonderful day with Mary who is very familiar with the area and the birds. Volunteering for a count is a great way to view birds in a different location and get to know some really great people.
The refuge is located in the southwestern part of the state and is in an ancient mountain range. The website for the refuge is:
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/
The most exciting find was a Merlin that flew right overhead. The bushes seemed to be alive with spotted Towhees and Juncos. Also very abundant were the Blue Jays. The lake was filled with ducks and geese. All in all I added 8 new birds to my life list.
The list of birds we found around our area which included Quanah Parker Lake and the Doris Campground follows:
Species
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Common
Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Merlin
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Rock Wren
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned
Kinglet Eastern
Bluebird American
Robin Northern
Mockingbird Brown
Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Eastern Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincolns Sparrow
Harris Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch
The weather was great. I spent a wonderful day with Mary who is very familiar with the area and the birds. Volunteering for a count is a great way to view birds in a different location and get to know some really great people.
The refuge is located in the southwestern part of the state and is in an ancient mountain range. The website for the refuge is:
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/wichitamountains/
The most exciting find was a Merlin that flew right overhead. The bushes seemed to be alive with spotted Towhees and Juncos. Also very abundant were the Blue Jays. The lake was filled with ducks and geese. All in all I added 8 new birds to my life list.
The list of birds we found around our area which included Quanah Parker Lake and the Doris Campground follows:
Species
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Common
Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Red-shouldered Hawk
Merlin
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Rock Wren
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned
Kinglet Eastern
Bluebird American
Robin Northern
Mockingbird Brown
Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Eastern Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincolns Sparrow
Harris Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Meadowlark
American Goldfinch
