Fall migration is happening now at Cheyenne Bottoms.  Although the peak of migration is not with the same intensity as the Spring migration which happens all at once, the peak of Fall migration for shorebirds at Cheyenne Bottoms is here in the middle of August.  From now through the fall, we will see new arrivals with every weather front that comes through.  Most Summer resident birds are also still quite plentiful, so there is no shortage of birds to observe during your trip through the Bottoms.

Cheyenne Bottoms pools remain quite full; however, KDWPT staff have drained down 2 pools (Pools 3a and 4b).  These 2 pools have the best shorebird habitat and seem to be holding a lot of birds.  All roads are currently open and in good shape.

Typical summer resident birds include wading birds, such as herons, egrets, ibis, avocets, and stilts; gulls, terns, grebes, coots, killdeer, pelicans, and cormorants.  Ducks are also relatively plentiful.  There are also a lot of songbirds in the area, especially in the wooded areas on the periphery of Cheyenne Bottoms.  Migrant birds being seen right now include several sandpiper species.

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:

• Canada Goose
• Wood Duck
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Blue-winged Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Redhead
• Lesser Scaup
• Northern Bobwhite
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• American White Pelican
• American Bittern
• Least Bittern
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Tricolored Heron
• Cattle Egret
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• White-faced/Glossy Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Harrier
• Red-tailed Hawk
• American Kestrel
• Virginia Rail
• Common Gallinule
• American Coot
• Black-bellied Plover
• Snowy Plover
• Killdeer
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Solitary Sandpiper
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Upland Sandpiper
• Marbled Godwit
• Sanderling
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Least Tern
• Black Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• Mourning Dove
• Great Horned Owl
• Common Nighthawk
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Western Kingbird
• Eastern Kingbird
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Blue Jay
• Horned Lark
• Tree Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• House Wren
• American Robin
• Northern Mockingbird
• Brown Thrasher
• European Starling
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Lark Sparrow
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Northern Cardinal
• Dickcissel
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Western Meadowlark
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Orchard Oriole
• Baltimore Oriole
• House Sparrow