Quivira National Wildlife Refuge – A Thousand Acres of Silphiums

2022 Kansas Trip – Black-necked Stilt

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

2022 Kansas Trip – Baird’s Sandpiper

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

A pleasant surprise of this spring trip to Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms was finally getting nice close looks and some respectable photos of the tundra breeding Baird’s Sandpiper.

2022 Kansas Trip – Semipalmated Sandpiper

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

I can’t believe it’s been more than a year since this trip and I still have quite a few photos to share. Not much time or gumption to post much lately. Here are some photos of one of the more abundant shorebirds we had on this particular visit – the Semipalmated Sandpiper. It was fun and interesting to see so many individuals up close. You can really see variations in individual plumages at this time of year, as I hope this collection shows

2022 Kansas Trip – American Coot

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

2022 Kansas Trip – Long-billed Dowitcher

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

We didn’t have a great deal of diversity in the shorebirds during this early season trip to the “central coast,” but, we had great numbers in the early migrating species like the Long-billed Dowitcher. There may have been some Short-billed Dowitchers mixed in here but none that we could confirm identity. The LBDO uses the central flyway predominantly while the SBDO primarily moves along the coasts during spring migration.

2022 Kansas Trip – American Bittern

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

Found near the road at Quivira NWR, this American Bittern cooperated a bit until it slinked back into the grasses.

2022 Kansas Trip – Blue-winged Teal

birds, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife, wildlife photography

It’s about time I begin posting more from our Kansas trip from last April. The Blue-winged Teal is one species that is easy to find at Quivera NWR and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area. Dave and I had some great light on this evening. We set up low and waited for the Teal and Shovelers to drift by.

Birds of Quivira – Blue-winged Teal

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife photography

Blue-winged Teal - Quivira NWR, Kansas — Blue-winged Teal – Quivira NWR, Kansas

The Blue-winged Teal is the most common nesting duck at Quivira NWR.

Blue-winged Teal - 6A1A8856 — Blue-winged Teal – Quivira NWR, Kansas

Blue-winged Teal - 6A1A8844 — Blue-winged Teal – Quivira NWR, Kansas

Return to the Kingdom of Quivira

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife

I have previously discussed and shared a number of our photos from previous trips to Quivira NWR. Steve and I recently returned from a short trip to central Kansas and I wanted to share a quick photo. Last year we had sure looks and photos of Hudsonian Godwits. This year one of the highlights of the trip was finding a group of 23 Marbled Godwits.

We were a bit earlier this year than last and this combined with a longer, cooler spring, bird species diversity and overall numbers were a tad lower. Constant abusing winds made the cool temperatures nearly unbearable to sustain for long, especially with two dudes who dressed for spring. But, we just worked a little harder and made the best use of good light, higher temps and calmer winds when we could find them. Another unforgettable trip.