Bird Watch
BY DAN REINKING
Sunday, December 30, 2012
12/30/12 at 6:15 AM
Among the numerous waterfowl found in
Oklahoma each winter, lesser
scaup are commonly seen
on lakes and ponds together
with other species of ducks.
Males are easy to identify
from a distance, appearing
black on the ends and white
in the middle. A closer look
in good light reveals a bluish
iridescence to the head, while
females are mostly brown
with a white patch at the base
of the bill.
Being diving ducks, they forage underwater for
invertebrates during brief but frequent feeding
sessions throughout the day.
This week in eastern Oklahoma
ARRIVALS
None listed
DEPARTURES
Sprague’s Pipit, Blue-winged teal, Eared Grebe
Dan Reinking is a senior biologist at the Sutton
Avian Research Center in Bartlesville. Contact
him at dreinking@ou.edu or see tulsaworld.com/suttoncenter.
The Bird Watch list is excerpted from the Date
Guide to the Occurrences of Birds in Oklahoma,
which lists normal dates of occurrences for bird
species by seven geographic regions of the state.
It is a publication of the Oklahoma Bird Records
Committee of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society.
For full information about the guide and how
to report unusual bird sightings at unusual times of year go to tulsaworld.com/okbirds.
Associated Images:
A pair of lesser scaup in spring plumage on Sooner Lake. STEVE METZ/Courtesy
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