Wildlife of OG&E's
Konawa Reservoir and Recreation Area

OG&E's Konawa Reservoir is located near Konawa, between Ada and Seminole, in south-central Oklahoma. It is accessible from Highways 39 and 3/99. Konawa Reservoir was constructed to provide cooling water for OG&E's Seminole Power Plant. While the primary purpose of the facility is the production of electricity, two additional important and much needed resources are provided. The reservoir and surrounding area furnish a place for public recreation and habitat for numerous species of wildlife.

When OG&E decided to build Seminole Poser Plant and Konawa Reservoir, it also decided to open large portions of its property to the public for recreation. This dual use of land and water is helping prove that industry and recreation and harmoniously exist side by side, even on a common piece of property.

The following text was developed by Michael F. Carter and the sketches provided by Jim Lish. Both men are with the Department of Zoology at Oklahoma State University. Their work was produced in cooperation with the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company.

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The purpose of this pamphlet is to provide a brief introduction to the wildlife found at Konawa Reservoir. Each section contains a drawing and a paragraph about a common or well known animal found in the area. A checklist for each group is provided for you to check off the animals you see. More detailed information may be obtained from field guides which may be purchased at bookstores or borrowed from libraries.

If you decide to become serious about watching wildlife take along a pair of binoculars, a field guide, a pencil and notebook to record accurately what you see.

Konawa Reservoir is located in the Cross Timbers, an area once covered by dense forests. Today, the area is characterized by a mosaic of hills and ridges mixed with flat regions. Predominant vegetation includes prairie grasses on flat areas and trees (post oak and blackjack oak) in low areas. Immediately surrounding the lake are remnant tall grass prairies, oak woodlands and cattail marshes.

Many species of resident mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians may be found a Konawa Reservoir. In addition to the resident birds, each new season brings an influx of migratory birds. These include many ducks, geese and occasional bald eagles that spend the winter.

As you are in the area, keep your eyes open for a look at wildlife at Konawa Reservoir. You'll enjoy what you see.

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White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis)

The white crappie is a very common sport fish often introduced to lakes and ponds. Although not a common species an Konawa, the white crappie should increase with continued stocking efforts at the reservoir.

This species is often confused with the black crappie. White crappie have 5Ð6 stiff spines in the anal and dorsal fins while black crappie have 7Ð8 spines; white crappie tend to have faint vertical bars on their sides while black crappie have a smattering of small blotches.

Most adult crappie weigh 2-3 pounds and eat small fish. Crappie congregate in brush piles and around submerged trees, and are usually caught by fishermen using live bait (minnows) and jigs.

Konawa Reservoir Fish
____ Northern largemouth bass
____ Channel catfish
____ Bluegill
____ Flathead catfish
____ Blue catfish
____ Florida largemouth bass
____ Inland silversides
____ Threadfin shad
____ Hybrid largemouth
____ Striped /white bass (hybrid)
____ White crappie
____ Black crappie
____ Gizzard shad
____ Carp
____ River carpsucker
____ Freshwater drum
____ Smallmouth buffalo
____ Tilapia
____ Red shiner
____ Flathead minnow
____ Green sunfish

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One of the most familiar mammals is the raccoon. These mammals are distributed in most of the U.S. except the northern Rocky Mountains, and locally are found in areas with trees and water. Although common, the raccoon is rarely seen during the day due to its nocturnal habits. Many types of food are consumed by raccoons, including fruits (persimmons, grapes, plums), nuts (pecans, acorns), and animals (crawfish, clams, fish, insects). The peculiar habit of "washing" food is actually how the raccoon softens and finds edible parts of the food about to be eaten.

Most female raccoons weigh 8-25 pounds while male weigh 7-18 pounds. Record size raccoons weigh in excess of 40 pounds.

Konawa Reservoir Mammals
____ Opossum
____ Short-tailed shrew
____ Eastern mole
____ Little brown myotis
____ Big brown bat
____ Mexican freetail bat
____ Raccoon
____ Long-tailed weasel
____ Mink
____ Striped skunk
____ Coyote
____ Red fox
____ Bobcat
____ Thirteen-lined ground squirrel
____ Eastern fox squirrel
____ Plains pocket gopher
____ Hispid pocket mouse
____ Beaver
____ White-footed mouse
____ Deer mouse
____ Eastern woodrat
____ Hispid cotton rat
____ Muskrat
____ Black-tailed jackrabbit
____ Eastern cottontail
____ White-tailed deer
____ Armadillo

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This popular game bird is found in wooded areas with sufficient food such as acorns, fruits and seeds. This species should not be confused with the domestic or barnyard turkey, which has white-tipped tail feathers. The wild turkey has iridescent bronze feathers with rusty-tipped tail feathers.

Turkeys do not fly well and prefer to run from danger. At night, they roost in trees to escape predators. The male wild turkey gobbles during the mating season, attracting his harem of hens. Most of the ens will have a nest on the ground containing 8-15 eggs.

Resident Birds at Konawa
____ Great horned owl
____ Northern bobwhite
____ Wild turkey
____ Red-bellied woodpecker
____ Downy woodpecker
____ Blue jay
____ American crow
____ Carolina chickadee
____ Tufted titmouse
____ Eastern bluebird
____ American robin
____ European starling
____ Northern cardinal
____ Eastern meadowlark
____ Red-winged blackbird
____ Brown-headed cowbird
____ House sparrow

Migratory Birds at Konawa
____ Canada goose
____ Lesser scaup
____ Mallard
____ Green-winged teal
____ Northern pintail
____ Blue-winged teal
____ Gadwall
____ American Wigeon
____ Canvasback
____ Redhead
____ Hooded merganser
____ Osprey
____ Greater yellowlegs
____ Lesser yellowlegs
____ Willet
____ Ring-billed gull
____ Many species of warblers

Winter Birds at Konawa
____ Pied-billed grebe
____ Bald eagle
____ Northern harrier
____ Red-tailed hawk
____ American kestrel
____ American coot
____ Horned lark
____ Yellow-rumped warbler
____ Cedar waxwing
____ Dark-eyed junco
____ American tree sparrow
____ Harris' sparrow
____ Pine siskin
____ American goldfinch

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficata) 13"

One of the migratory summer residents of the Konawa Reservoir area is the scissor-tailed flycatcher, the state bird of Oklahoma. Scissor-tails migrate to Oklahoma and Texas for the spring and summer from their wintering grounds ranging from southern Mexico to Panama. This flycatcher has a pale gray back, white belly and pink sides. Coloration is the same for both males and females.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is a common roadside bird, often seen perching on wires and posts hunting for its main food, flying insects. Bristles approximately 1/4 inch long around the bird's bill help guide insects into the mouth.

Summer Birds at Konawa
____ Great blue heron
____ Great egret
____ Snowy egret
____ Green-backed heron
____ Wood duck
____ Turkey vulture
____ Swainson's hawk
____ Killdeer
____ Mourning dove
____ Yellow-billed cuckoo
____ Common nighthawk
____ Chimney swift
____ Ruby-throated hummingbird
____ Belted kingfisher
____ Great crested flycatcher
____ Eastern kingbird
____ Western kingbird
____ Scissor-tailed flycatcher
____ Barn swallow
____ Indigo bunting
____ Dickcissel
____ Northern oriole

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 18"

The red-tailed hawk is a common winter resident of Oklahoma, although the species also breeds here in the summer. Most often, red-tails are seen perched atop utility poles surveying the countryside for food. These raptors (birds of prey) eat mostly rodents and rabbits but will take anything small enough to capture.

Because coloration of red-tailed hawks is variable, and the immature hawks lack a red tail, identification of the species can be difficult. However, other markings can help identify this bird. Coloring is nondescript except for a dark belly band and dark areas on the underside of the wing area close to the neck.

Red-tailed hawks usually mate for life and often use the same nest year after year.

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The bullsnake is a large yellowish snake with large brown, reddish-brown or black-brown blotches on the back and smaller, paler blotches on the side. Bullsnakes are not poisonous but should be handled with care. When cornered, these snakes will coil and rise up, strike ferociously and hiss loudly. Adult bullsnakes range in length from 50 to 72 inches, with record lengths exceeding 8 feet.

Bullsnakes are active during the day and can be found around clumps of vegetation and in mammal burrows. From these hiding spots they ambush their prey which consists mostly of rodents.

Konawa Reservoir Reptiles
____ Common snapping turtle
____ Ouachita map turtle
____ Red-eared pond slider
____ Tree-toed box turtle
____ Ornate box turtle
____ Spiny softshell turtle
____ Collared lizard
____ Texas horned lizard
____ Five-lined skink
____ Great Plains skink
____ Prairie racerunner
____ Blotched water snake
____ Diamondback water snake
____ Red-sided garter snake
____ Rough earth snake
____ Eastern hognose snake
____ Ringneck snake
____ Rough green snake
____ Eastern yellow-bellied racer
____ Eastern coachwhip snake
____ Bullsnake
____ Black rat snake
____ Prairie king snake
____ Speckled kingsnake
____ Broad-banded copperhead
____ Timber rattlesnake
____ Western diamondback rattlesnake


Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor chrysoscelis) 1-2"

The gray treefrog is a small frog found mostly on small trees near or standing in water. Color is highly variable, ranging from green to brown to gray. These frogs have 2 dark bands on the legs and an irregular star-shaped blotch on the back. Underneath, they are light-colored with orange in the folds of skin around the legs.

Although this frog may be hard to find, it certainly can be heard during the nighttime when it is most active. The treefrog's call is a musical high-pitched trill lasting about 2 seconds and repeated regularly.

Konawa Reservoir Amphibians
____ Eastern tiger salamander
____ Plains spadefoot toad
____ Hurter's spadefoot toad
____ Great Plains narrow-mouthed toad
____ Woodhouse's toad
____ American toad
____ Gray treefrog
____ Strecker's treefrog
____ Upland chorus frog
____ Blanchard's cricket frog
____ Bullfrog
____ Leopard frog

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