Date: 4/11/25 5:16 pm From: <sselt...> Subject: CB and Q on 10 April
Diane and I made a loop through Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira's Big Salt Marsh on 10 April. Both refuges are short on water, especially Cheyenne Bottoms, but they also both have enough good habitat to keep spring birding interesting.
We did not see many birds of note and only had about six species of the most common shorebirds. A WESTERN KINGBIRD at the campground west of the Cheyenne Bottoms HQ was likely the earliest I've ever seen in Kansas. Overall, the birding was very slow with just a handful of year birds added to my list. A stiff wind didn't help, but hasn't that been the way this spring? I've cancelled several bird outings due to high winds.
There were 40 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at Ellinwood's 'Wolf Pond'. This remains the easiest place in Kansas to see BBWDs and with the 65 seen at Great Bend Zoo by Rob Graham today, it seems like Barton is the Kansas county where they are most abundant. I have NOT seen any in Larned yet this year, but I'm sure some are around.
Our resident Greater Roadrunner was last seen in our yard on 9 March. It was a fun 5 months!
