Summer is definitely here, and with it, brings a whole new season of birding at Cheyenne Bottoms.  The “dog days” of Summer do not provide an abundance of bird sightings; however, birders can still find some excellent sightings if they pay attention to the weather and time of day.  

During the Summer months, Cheyenne Bottoms is dominated by wading birds (herons, egrets, ibis, avocets, and stilts) as well as pelicans, cormorants, and a few ducks.  Grassland nesting birds can also be fun to observe especially in the surrounding upland prairie habitats.

Much like humans, wetland birds (and other wildlife) are not very active in the heat of the day, so plan to come out to the wetlands early in the morning and late in the evening.

With the very wet May we had, water levels in the pools of Cheyenne Bottoms are very good.  KDWPT staff have been attempting to de-water several pools to promote vegetation growth and habitat management in preparation for the Fall migration.  Cattails are coming in quite thick in some places, as well as the alkali bulrush and other native wetland plants.  In some places, the vegetation is so thick it is hard to view some of the birds, but take your time and scan these areas and you will see many of the hidden birds make an appearance eventually.

Here is a list of common Summer birds:

• Canada Goose–several nesting pairs around.  There have been several broods of young geese spotted 
• Gadwall–just a couple spotted ever now and then
• Mallard–numerous nesting pairs
• Blue-winged Teal–quite a few
• Redhead
• Ruddy Duck 
• Ring-necked Pheasant 
• American White Pelican 
• Double-crested Cormorant 
• American Bittern
• Great Blue Heron 
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Cattle Egret
• Little Blue Heron-one spotted near KWEC on 6/24/15
• Green Heron
• Black-crowned Night Heron–numerous birds spotted most mornings and evenings
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• White-faced Ibis
• American Coot
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Turkey Vulture 
• Northern Harrier 
• Red-tailed Hawk 
• American Kestrel
• Great-horned Owl 
• Snowy Plover 
• Killdeer
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Greater Yellowlegs 
• Lesser Yellowlegs 
• Franklin’s Gull 
• Ring-billed Gull 
• Black Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• Mourning Dove 
• Common Nighthawk
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Western Kingbird
• Eastern Kingbird
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Tree Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Eastern Bluebird
• Brown Thrasher
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Dickcissel
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Western Meadowlark
• Red-winged Blackbird 
• Yellow-headed Blackbird–still many hanging around
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Orchard Oriole–several can be seen around the KWEC Nature Trail
• Baltimore Oriole–KWEC Nature Trail