Lake Overholser
Canadian & Oklahoma
Counties
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From the 1986 edition of A Guide to Birding in
Oklahoma published by the Tulsa Audubon Society, supplemented in
2007 with material from the OKC Audubon Society.
What is said about
Lake Hefner is equally true of Lake
Overholser which is located west of the city just south of Northwest
39th Expressway (US 66-US 270). Overholser is a 1,700 acre, fairly
shallow impoundment of the North Canadian River. A paved road around the
lake offers easy access to the shore. It differs from Lake Hefner in
having an extensive cattail marsh at its north end which extends north
across US 66 for about 0.5 mile. Nesting species have included King
Rails, Common Gallinules, Pied-billed Grebes, and Least Bitterns. The
various herons and egrets feed here in numbers. The marsh attracts
thousands of roosting blackbirds in late summer and fall.
The following, by Jimmy Woodard, is excerpted from the
OKC Audubon Society Lake Olverhoser Page. Please visit their page
their page for a complete account:
Points of Interest: East dam, west
dam, the park below the dam, West Overholser Drive, the new park at
Northwest 23rd (west side), north shore pullouts, coffer dam/rollover
dam, Lake Overholser Park and the "island."
With its variety of habitats, birding can
be good here any season of the year. Obviously, spring and fall
migrations are best with the combination of migrant passerines,
shorebirds and waterfowl producing the largest numbers of birds. Winter
can be productive with large rafts of ducks, gulls and cormorants,
especially during iceover events.
The best vantage points for waterbirds on or over the lake depends on
the time of day. In the morning, the best viewing is from the dam, the
island, the north shore or the coffer dam. In the afternoon, viewing is
better from the west side road, the new park at Northwest 23rd or the
west end of the dam.
For passerines and other landbirds, the best locations are the woods
below the dam, the coffer dam, the north shore pullouts and the
park-like areas on the east side of the lake. Shorebirding is usually
not great unless the lake level is down. When the fields west of the
lake have standing water, shorebirds can be abundant near the new park
at and along Northwest 23rd.
Please see the excellent
OKC Audubon Society Lake Olverhoser Page for complete details on
birding this area and for a bird list. |
