Despite many windy days, the past couple weeks have produced some excellent birding!

Several “first of season birds” have been reported in the last couple weeks, including Eared Grebe, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, White-faced Ibis, Piping Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Franklin’s Gull, Tree Swallow, and Barn Swallow. 

Another highlight of this past weekend, were 10 Whooping cranes observed in Pool 1C the evening of April 8 and continued through the morning of April 9, when they all flew north at about 8:30am. 

Duck numbers and diversity remain excellent at Cheyenne Bottoms.  American White Pelican numbers also remain high.

Water levels continue to recede in most pools of Cheyenne Bottoms.  Many mudflats are available for hungry shorebirds, especially in Pools 1a and 1c.  We hope that water will remain available as we reach peak shorebird migration in the next few weeks.  

Give us your reports.  We rely heavily on other birders to know what is being seen at Cheyenne Bottoms.  Submit reports to Ebird, or email your observations to wetlandscenter@fhsu.edu.

Here is a list birds that have been reported over the last couple weeks:

• Greater White-fronted Goose–a few were spotted in a green wheat food plot in Pool 5 south of the outlet canal road.
• Snow Goose–a few individual birds in the area.  Some may be wounded birds
• Canada Goose–quite a few pairs area-wide, especially on the S-shaped island in Pool 4b
• Wood Duck
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Blue-winged Teal–probably 2nd most abundant duck species
• Northern Shoveler–probably most abundant duck species
• Northern Pintail–Just a few pairs still hanging around
• Green-winged Teal–probably the most numerous duck species right now
• Canvasback-one reported on 4/8
• Redhead
• Lesser Scaup–just a couple.  Not great diving duck habitat right now
• Bufflehead–a couple pairs still being seen most in Pool 4a and 4b
• Ruddy Ducks–increasing numbers
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey–Quite a few seen along the surrounding treed areas
• Eared Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant–increasing numbers.  Mostly in Pool 4a
• American White Pelican–huge numbers in large flocks area-wide this week 
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret–just 1 or 2 seen so far; more on the way
• Snowy Egret–just 1 or 2 seen so far; more on the way
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• White-faced Ibis–a couple groups of 5-10 birds seen in Pool 4a on 4/11
• Sandhill Crane–None reported this past week, but a few birds could still be in the area or flying over
• Whooping Crane-10 reported in Pool 1c on 4/8-4/9
• American Coot–Increasing in number
• American Golden Plover
• Piping Plover–1 reported on 4/9
• Killdeer–Many area-wide
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Greater Yellowlegs–Many on most shorelines
• Lesser Yellowlegs–check shorelines.  mixed nicely with Greater Yellowlegs for nice comparisons
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Western Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper-Probably the 2nd most abundant shorebird
• Baird’s Sandpiper–by far the most abundant shorebird
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Northern Harrier
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Mourning Dove
• Great Horned Owl
• Northern Flicker   
• American Kestrel
• Tree Swallow
• Barn Swallow–first of season at KWEC on 4/12 
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Western Meadowlark 
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Great-tailed Grackle