Spring migration continues!  And, typically will hit its peak around the end of April.  Bird activity continues to be excellent at Cheyenne Bottoms, and you never know what you might see, as new arrivals happen frequently this time of year.  Duck numbers and diversity continue to be excellent.  Shorebird numbers and diversity are on the increase, with several “first of season” shorebird species seen in the last weeks.  Other common sightings at the wetlands include herons, gulls, grebes, pelicans, cormorants, and coots.  Check back often for bird updates.

All roads are currently open through Cheyenne Bottoms.  Even after recent rains, the roads in and around the area have held up well. Travel with some caution immediately after spring rains.

Good water levels persist in all pools of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the permanent marshes of the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.  There is a wide variety of water depths throughout the area, creating some a diversity of great habitat for many different species of water birds.  On the State Wildlife Area, water has been drawn down in a couple pools and placed in storage pools to prepare for habitat work and Spring conditions.  Mowed and disced areas on the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve also have filled up with recent rains, providing some excellent shorebird habitat.

Birding at Quivira NWR has remained very good as well.  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:

• Black-bellied Whistling Duck
• Snow Goose
• Canada Goose
• Blue-winged Teal
• Cinnamon Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Canvasback
• Redhead
• Ring-necked Duck
• Lesser Scaup
• Bufflehead
• Common Goldeneye
• Hooded Merganser
• Ruddy Duck
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Greater Prairie-Chicken
• Wild Turkey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Horned Grebe
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Mourning Dove
• American Coot
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Snowy Plover
• Killdeer
• Long-billed Curlew
• Hudsonian Godwit
• Marbled Godwit
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Herring Gull
• Neotropic Cormorant
• Double-crested Cormorant
• American White Pelican
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Cattle Egret
• White-faced Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Northern Harrier
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Bald Eagle
• Swainson’s Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Barn Owl
• Great Horned Owl
• Northern Flicker
• American Kestrel
• Peregrine Falcon
• Eastern Phoebe
• Say’s Phoebe
• Blue Jay
• Horned Lark
• Tree Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• Marsh Wren
• European Starling
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• American Pipit
• Field Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Harris’s Sparrow
• Vesper Sparrow
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Northern Cardinal