While we have had a couple rains at Cheyenne Bottoms in the last few weeks, the hot temperatures and wind have really dried things out.  Water levels have continued to dwindle at the wetlands.  Currently, Pools 1b and 2 are the only pools with any significant water.  The other pools have mostly dried out.  We will wait in anticipation of the rains someday.  It only takes one good rain to fill things back up. 

Due to the low water levels and hot temperatures, bird activity has been quite slow.  Should we get some additional water, we should start seeing some of the first southbound migrants start returning in the next couple weeks.  We have observed a few Lesser Yellowlegs as well as a couple Sandpipers over the last couple days.  It is possible that these are early fall migrants returning.  There also was a recent report of a possible Mountain Plover spotted in Pool 1c.

We are still mostly in summer birding mode at Cheyenne Bottoms.  Summer resident birds at Cheyenne Bottoms include Great Blue Herons, egrets, gulls, terns, avocets, stilts, ibis, some ducks, a few pelicans, and various other songbirds like Dickcissels, orioles, wrens, etc.

We have not had many bird reports from Quivira NWR lately, but we suspect it is similar activity.  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
• Gadwall
• American Wigeon
• Mallard
• Northern Pintail
• Green-winged Teal
• Northern Bobwhite
• Wild Turkey
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Eurasian Collared-Dove
• Mourning Dove
• Common Nighthawk
• Virginia Rail
• Black-necked Stilt
• American Avocet
• Snowy Plover
• Killdeer
• Mountain Plover
• Upland Sandpiper
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Baird’s Sandpiper
• Least Sandpiper
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Franklin’s Gull
• Ring-billed Gull
• Black Tern
• American White Pelican
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Little Blue Heron
• Cattle Egret
• Green Heron
• Black-crowned Night Heron
• White-faced Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Mississippi Kite
• Northern Harrier
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Belted Kingfisher
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Eastern Kingbird
• Western Kingbird
• Great-crested Flycatcher
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Bell’s Vireo
• Warbling Vireo
• Horned Lark
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Tree Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Cliff Swallow
• House Wren
• European Starling
• Brown Thrasher
• American Robin
• House Sparrow
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Lark Sparrow
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• Eastern Meadowlark
• Orchard Oriole
• Baltimore Oriole
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Common Grackle
• Great-tailed Grackle
• Common Yellowthroat
• Yellow Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• Dickcissel