Snowy Egret taken at Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend, Kansas. May 25, 2005 

Birding Trip to Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivera NWR

Steve Kinder and I usually try to make a spring trip out to Great Bend, Kansas, to bird two nearby birding locations: Cheyenne Bottoms (CB) and Quivera National Wildlife Refuge. We left from Saint Joseph, Missouri, on May 22, 2005 at approximately 7:15 AM and headed west. Arriving at the east entrance to Cheyenne Bottoms at about 12:15 PM we began looking for birds. Not a whole lot of action in what appeared to be a very dry wetland which had received some (pumped) water recently. We began to hear and see a few species. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds which were to be seen just about everywhere we went were quite vocal with their screechy calls and began popping up in various locations in the flooded, dry vegetation. As we approached the main body of water (which had extensive mudflats we could see hundreds, if not thousands of shorebirds. The only problem was that they were feeding in swallower parts of the lake which were quite a distance from our viewing vantage point on the road. The American Avocets were easily picked out but the "peeps" were a little more difficult. Most of the little peeps proved to be White-rumped Sandpiper. Also seen were some Pectoral, Least, Semipalmated and Stilt Sandpipers. Wilson's Phalarope were quite numerous.

Our list of shorebirds found at both sites included: American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Plover, Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Wilson's Phalarope. A couple of species found only at CB were Upland Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Hudsonian Godwit and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. Semipalmated Plover, Willet and Western Sandpiper were found at Quivera but not at CB.

The only grebe seen this first day was the Pied-billed. As we headed down the "loop" road around the lake we began to see some waders and various flying birds. Some of these were American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret and Black-crowned Night-Heron. An American Bittern was seen at Quivera on day two (May 23) and on day three (May 24) we saw one Least Bittern at CB. Steve and I estimated that during the three days which we were in the area we probably saw about 200 White-faced Ibis. On the 24 of May when we returned to Cheyenne Bottoms for a morning's birding we found one GLOSSY IBIS (a species not on their checklist). The list of geese/ducks that were seen at CB (most of which nest on the refuge) included: Canada Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Wood Duck, Redhead, Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Duck. A couple of additional species seen at Quivera NWR on the 23 of May were Greater White-fronted Goose, Green-winged and Cinnamon Teal and Hooded Merganser. We were hoping to see a Swainson's Hawk but the only raptors which we saw were Mississippi Kite, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier and American Kestrel. Northern Bobwhite and Ring-necked Pheasants were at CB and we saw Wild Turkey at Quivera. American Coot were seen at both locations and we were glad to find a Virginia Rail and a Common Moorhen on our last day at CB.

Least Terns nest at Quivera (as do the Snowy Plovers) and we were able to see two or three of this endangered species on the 23rd of May. These terns usually arrive at the Quivera around May 25, so we caught a couple of early birds. Other gulls/terns which we found were: Ring-billed, Franklin's and Bonaparte's Gulls, Forster's and Black Terns.

We found a Burrowing Owl sitting on a wooden fence post at one of the numerous prairie dog towns at CB. The only other owl we recorded for the trip was a Barn Owl whose home is a nest box attached to one of the out buildings at the CB Headquarters.

There were Common Nighthawks, Chimney Swifts and Eurasian Collared Doves to be seen/heard in Great Bend as well as other expected species

On our list for flycatchers were Eastern and Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed and Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Eastern Phoebe. And although it is considered by some people in the western US to be a pest, the two Black-billed Magpies were a treat for Steve and me to see! Not many warblers were seen/heard. The only ones which we got were Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat. We got all the blackbirds on the area checklist except the Rusty. These included the Bobolink, Eastern and Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed, Red-winged and Brewer's Blackbird, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole, Great-tailed and Common Grackle and Brown-headed Cowbird. We did get a Blue Grosbeak and inexplicably missed the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. We did see a few Grasshopper and Chipping Sparrows. But mostly it was Lark Sparrows which were in the area.

Steve got a WHITE-EYED VIREO at Quivera (I unfortunately missed) for another bird which was not on the area's checklist.

Overall it was a fantastic trip and quite enjoyable. Total species seen was, I believe, 130.