Happy Kansas Day!

After a couple snowy, cold days, the wetlands pretty well froze up for the first time this winter.  Until then, the mild weather we have had have allowed many water-birds to remain in the area that would normally have moved south by this time.  As of today (Jan. 29), most of the shallower perimeter pools (Pools 2, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, and 5) are frozen over with no open water.  Besides a few ducks standing out on the ice, hawks floating over the cattails, or sparrows poking around the shorelines, these pools are pretty void of bird life right now.   The open holes in the ice in Pools 1a, 1b, and 1c, have concentrated waterfowl and other birds greatly.

If the weather warms, and opens more water, some birds will return.  However, right now Geese, Ducks, Herons, Hawks, Eagles, Coots, Sparrows, and Gulls are going to be the main birds to be seen during most trips out.

As snow melts, roads in and around Cheyenne Bottoms will become a bit sloppy; but should firm up relatively quickly.  Travel with some caution.

Good water levels persist in all pools of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the permanent marshes of the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.  Conditions should be relatively good for the upcoming spring, but spring rains would be good for the area.

Duck seasons are now closed at Cheyenne Bottoms, but goose seasons remain open statewide through mid-February.

Birding at Quivira NWR has remained excellent as well, but the cold weather has probably reduced the bird activity there too.  Sandhill crane numbers have persisted in the 10’s of thousands.  20-40 Tundra Swans can typically be seen at QNWR as well.  The area around the Wildlife Driving Loop (Big Salt Marsh) has 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 of birds that have been reported over the last couple weeks:

• Snow Goose
• Ross’s Goose
• Greater White-fronted Goose
• Cackling Goose
• Canada Goose
• Blue-winged Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Canvasback
• Redhead
• Ring-necked Duck
• Lesser Scaup
• Bufflehead
• Common Goldeneye
• Common Merganser
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Ruddy Duck
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Mourning Dove
• American Coot
• Ring-billed Gull
• Herring Gull
• American White Pelican
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Harrier
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Bald Eagle
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Rough-legged Hawk
• Great Horned Owl
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• American Kestrel
• Merlin
• Horned Lark
• Marsh Wren
• European Starling
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• Pine Siskin
• American Goldfinch
• American Tree Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Harris’s Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Meadowlark Sp.
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Northern Cardinal