We are at the peak of Spring migration!  Bird numbers and diversity have been excellent over the past couple weeks and should continue to be great for the next couple weeks.  However, several birders have noticed that bird numbers have varied quite a bit day to day.  We suspect that many birds have not been staying at the wetlands very long and are quickly moving through for some reason.  Duck numbers have declined, but diversity is still good.  Shorebird numbers and diversity have been quite good most days.  Wading bird numbers have been great as well.  Songbirds have arrived in large numbers in the last week.  Many “first of season” were noted, such as orioles, kingbirds, thrashers, house wrens, and hummingbirds.  Other common sightings at the wetlands include Canada geese, herons, egrets, gulls, terns, 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.

Several pools of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area have been drawn down, and a couple of them appear mostly dry.  Look for the small pockets and puddles of water in these pools to find great shorebird activity.  Other pools are quite full and are where wading birds and ducks can be found.  There is a wide variety of water depths throughout the area, creating some diversity of great habitat for many different species of water birds.  Be sure to also check out The Nature Conservancy’s Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.  Their permanent marshes have held many birds of all kinds and the grassland areas have produced some excellent birds as well.

Birding at Quivira NWR has remained very good as well.  The most activity has been on the north end of the refuge around NE 170^th St and the Wildlife Driving Loop.  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
• Canada Goose
• Cackling Goose
• Blue-winged Teal
• Cinnamon Teal
• Northern Shoveler
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Redhead
• Bufflehead
• Ruddy Duck
• Northern Bobwhite
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Horned Grebe
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• Mourning Dove
• Virginia Rail
• Sora
• American Coot
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Black-bellied Plover
• American Golden-Plover
• Snowy Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• Piping Plover
• Killdeer
• Upland Sandpiper
• Whimbrel
• Hudsonian Godwit
• Marbled Godwit
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Sanderling
• Dunlin
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• White-rumped Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Western Sandpiper
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Wilson’s Snipe
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Red-necked Phalarope
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Solitary Sandpiper
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Bonaparte’s Gull
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Herring Gull
• Black Tern
• Forster’s Tern
• Neotropic Cormorant
• Double-crested Cormorant
• American White Pelican
• American Bittern
• Least Bittern
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Cattle Egret
• Green Heron
• Black-crowned Night-Heron
• Glossy Ibis
• White-faced Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Osprey
• Northern Harrier
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Bald Eagle
• Swainson’s Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Barn Owl
• Great Horned Owl
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• American Kestrel
• Peregrine Falcon
• Least Flycatcher
• Eastern Phoebe
• Say’s Phoebe
• Great Crested Flycatcher
• Western Kingbird
• Eastern Kingbird
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Warbling Vireo
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Blue Jay
• Horned Lark
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Purple Martin
• Tree Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• House Wren
• Marsh Wren
• European Starling
• Gray Catbird
• Brown Thrasher
• Northern Mockingbird
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• House Finch
• American Goldfinch
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Chipping Sparrow
• Clay-colored Sparrow
• Lark Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Harris’s Sparrow
• Vesper Sparrow
• Savannah Sparrow
• Spotted Towhee
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Bobolink
• Western Meadowlark
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Orchard Oriole
• Baltimore Oriole
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Brewer’s Blackbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• Dickcissel