Fall migration continues and forecasts are showing the potential for a lot of bird movement in the coming days as some large weather fronts are predicted. Cheyenne Bottoms birds have definitely responded positively to the flooding of most pools this past week.  KDWPT staff continue to flood all pools of the Wildlife Area using stored water reserves.  Early migrant ducks, especially Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, have arrived in droves.  Other ducks species, including Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails have also increased.  Other wetland migrants have also increased, including gulls, egrets, and some shorebirds, although finding easily accessible mud flats for shorebirds is difficult.  More birds are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.  This is a good time of year to plan multiple trips through the wetlands, as things will change weekly or even daily.  Common bird sightings right now include herons, egrets, killdeer, blackbirds, gulls, cormorants, pelicans, coots, swallows, meadowlarks, and increasing numbers of ducks.

After remaining dry for the summer for maintenance and vegetation managment, many of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area’s pools have been newly flooded in the past week. All public pools, Pools 2, 3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b, as well as the refuge pool, Pool 5 and the storage pools 1a, 1b, and 1c, all have water. Water is also being brought in through the inlet canal system from Walnut Creek.  KDWPT has been working on many of the roads throughout the state Wildlife Area and are much improved.  ROAD CLOSURE:  The main road through the Nature Conservancy’s Preserve (“Crooked Road” or NE 90 Rd) is currently closed for repairs.

Reminder: Teal Hunting Season begins statewide Sept. 12 and runs through Sept. 27.

Water levels and waterfowl count reports are updated weekly and can be viewed at: https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Southwest/Cheyenne-Bottoms

There have also been some good reports of many shorebirds and waterfowl at Quivira NWR.  The area north of Big Salt Marsh around the Wildlife Loop and along NE 170^th St. have been very good.  Check out http://fws.gov/refuge/Quivira.

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
• Blue-winged Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Redhead
• Northern Bobwhite
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Mourning Dove
• Common Nighthawk
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Common Gallinule
• American Coot
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Black-bellied Plover
• American Golden Plover
• Snowy Plover
• Killdeer
• Upland Sandpiper
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Black Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• Double-crested Cormorant
• American White Pelican
• Least Bittern
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Cattle Egret
• Green Heron
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron
• White-faced Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Mississippi Kite
• Bald Eagle
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Great Horned Owl
• Belted Kingfisher
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Western Kingbird
• Eastern Kingbird
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Bluejay
• Horned Lark
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Tree Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• House Wren
• Marsh Wren
• European Starling
• Gray Catbird
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• American Goldfinch
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Western Meadowlark
• Baltimore Oriole
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Northern Cardinal