Date: 4/28/25 11:15 am From: Jeff Calhoun <jeffcalhoun11...> Subject: Birding Your Way to Ulysses
There are a million ways to get to Ulysses for a birder with free time,
traveling on their way to the KOS Spring Meeting this week! KOS Membership
Secretary, Jeff Calhoun, has taken K-156 and US-56 many, many times, and
here are some of his favorite quick birding spots that don’t add too many
extra miles:
*All Paths Lead To…*
-
Barton County - Cheyenne Bottoms - It’s right on the highway and it
seems crazy to drive by it during migration!! But you could spend a whole
day here, so keep an eye on the time. Pros will enter from the Claflin dike
or go on out through the west side to avoid backtracking. If nothing else,
the restrooms at the Kansas Wetland Education Center are top notch, and
right off the highway!
*Highway 56*
-
Pawnee County - Schnack Park in Larned & Downey Park in Garfield -
Literally right off the north sides of Highway 56, there is migrant trap
potential at both of these. Whistling-Ducks can never be ruled out at
Schnack Park and Downey Park is so quick and easy that it’s easy to move
along if it’s a bust!
-
Edwards County - Offerle Woods (37.9274, -99.5645) and Offerle WTP - One
of the best wooded sites in the county isn’t too far from one of the
easiest views of surface water in the county. You gotta love it!
-
Ford County - South Dodge Magic (37.7293, -99.9966) - Impossible to
explain the allure. Maybe it’s only in the eye of the beholder! But just a
quick turn off of the south Dodge bypass onto 112 Rd you could,
potentially, see nesting Black-billed Magpies and a Burrowing Owl that
seems to be settling in.
-
Gray County - Montezuma WTP and Wild Horse Lake (37.67202, -100.5249)-
Montezuma WTP just has a good birding history and it is easy to see. The
“Wild Horse Lake” is a unique sink that was filled with water last fall,
only to have it start to dry up, leaving great exposed mudflats at present.
Phenomenal shorebird conditions exist; a scope is helpful with a long view
to the west (so, evening viewing isn’t great, either).
-
Haskell County - Sublette WTP and Park (37.4765, -100.8455) - The WTP is
viewable and the little park identified here is inexplicably Calhoun’s
favorite of the many Haskell County possible “migrant traps”. Don’t get too
upset when these locations take you off the most direct route..
*Highway 156-50-25*
-
Hodgeman County - Buckner Valley Park - If I was only given one spot to
try to be an opportunistic passerby during early May, while in Hodgeman
County, I think it would be this park. Look for the sign along Highway
K-156!
-
Finney County - Lake Concannon - Speaking of being opportunistic, there
is actually water in this lake at the moment! You never know when you will
be back in in Finney County in May, and then you never know if there will
be water!
-
Kearny County - Deerfield City Park - Some of the finest trees in Kearny
County are within the city park in Deerfield. And, as a bonus, any birds
seen here can be contributed to the KOS Species list and Chuck Otte’s
famous big boards, as Kearny is within the KOS Spring Meeting parameters!
No matter how you get to Ulysses, we hope you drive safe and we look
forward to seeing you for Friday’s social hour, starting at 7:00 PM at
Ulysses High School!
You'll have to get to from Wichita or points east of Salina on your own,
but of course, you can always ask questions... we love to share!
