Forster's Tern, non-breeding
Forster's Tern, nonbreeding 2
Forster's Tern, nonbreeding 3
Franklin's Gulls
Franklin's Gulls 2
Black Tern (Left) and Franklin's Gull (Right)
Black Tern
Black Tern 2
Franklin's Gull
072819
1300-1700/ partly cloudy/windy, 25-30 mph
After lunchtime was interesting, as there was a lot of water in the marshes, as well as large numbers of birds. Since it was so windy, it appeared that many of the birds would be lying low, which the normal ones were. However, when it came to Barn and Cliff Swallows, they were taking everything in stride from the air, of course.
Much of the sun was in the wrong direction when we drove toward the first bird-filled marshes, making them difficult to identify due to glare. Most of the seasonal birds, including White-faced Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and Snowy Egret were there, as well as both Long- and Short-billed Dowitchers, and many of the other usual shorebird suspects.
We also saw the head of a young male buck with short fuzzy antlers in the water, swimming toward shore, then deviating in our direction to follow the shoreline. It almost seemed that he was unable to gain land purchase, but it didn't make sense that he could not. It appeared that he was doing his best to keep his head up, and through observation, he may have been walking on the bottom, as well as swimming. He finally passed us in the water, as we stopped the car to not make him fearful of us.
There were good representations of American Avocets and White-faced Ibis, where we could actually clearly see the white faces. One ibis found a prize, which may have been a frog, and he was doing his best to keep the other birds from stealing it. He dropped it several times, and finally managed to eat it.
Passing other ponds, we observed Pied-billed Grebes, Mallards, and Blue-winged Teal. It was almost like certain species had their own ponds, but it most likely had to do with water depth.
We'd also see a few groups of Franklin's Gulls, an occasional Black Tern, as well as Forster's Terns. The further along we got, we discovered that more representatives of these birds were caught in a wind tunnel. They were flapping their wings, yet not going anywhere, staying fairly stationary. Unless these birds managed to deviate to the right, they stayed within this odd cycle of events. There were eventually Great White Pelicans in the area who were in the water, as well as a few of the Franklin's Gulls and an occasional Ring-billed Gull. A Black-Crowned Night-Heron was also discovered on the tail end of this melee, but it managed to break free of the wind prison.
Many, many more ponds were observed and the wind seemed to lessen in the central part of the refuge. Large numbers of the previously mentioned herons were seen, as well as the White-faced Ibis. It was a most remarkable collection of birds. The further inland we were, a few songbirds turned up, as well as Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks.
We held out hopes for an American Bittern but we could have missed it, though there was some good habitat.
for more on the adventure:
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2019/08/birding-on-shoestring-cheyenne-bottoms.html
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2019/08/birding-on-shoestring-quivira-national.html
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