This winter has remained relatively mild.  Although there have been a couple nights of single-digit to teen temperatures, those periods have been short-lived.  Therefore, the bird community at Cheyenne Bottoms has remained quite active. Typical years would have seen at least one total freezeup of the wetlands.  Although there has been some occasional ice formation, at least some open water has persisted.  Consequently, waterfowl numbers and diversity have remained high and several other species that we would not expect to see at this time of year have stuck around.  During the recent Cheyenne Bottoms Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 21, 21 species of waterfowl, including 16 species of ducks were observed.  A large flock of Snow Geese are typically gathering in Pool 1a or 1b during most afternoons.  Flocks of Sandhill Cranes have continually been seen in and around Cheyenne Bottoms this winter, which is not common.  Several Ibis, quite a few Wilson’s Snipe, and even a Greater Yellowlegs have been reported consistently at Cheyenne Bottoms over the last few weeks.  Herons, Hawks, Eagles, Coots, Gulls, and Grebes can be seen on most trips.

Good water levels persist in all pools of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and the permanent marshes of the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.

The Cheyenne Bottoms Christmas Bird Count was held Dec. 21, including Cheyenne Bottoms and rural areas around Cheyenne Bottoms.  97 species of birds were documented during this count, which is an all-time high species count for this count.

Duck seasons are now closed at Cheyenne Bottoms, but goose seasons remain open through mid-February.  Upland bird hunting is also open statewide. 

Birding at Quivira NWR has remained excellent as well.  The area around the Wildlife Driving Loop (Big Salt Marsh) 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:

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