Birding Kansas
and (1 day each) OK and AR
April 21-29, 2008
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Trip Report and Trip List
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Northern Shoveler
American Avocet
Long-billed Dowitcher
American White Pelican
Snowy Egret
Wilson's Phalarope
White-faced Ibis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Meadowlark
Greater Prairie Chicken
Bobolink
Brown-headed Cowbird
Dickcissel
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Lark Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Other Perspectives on Species Already Showcased Above (in the order of the pictures):
A Sampling of Other Bird Species Sighted (in taxonomic order):
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Cormorants, some with double crests evident;
Study of a Cormorant's feet on takeoff.
- Great Blue Heron in flight from below;
from above (Bushnell).
- Turkey Vulture taking off;
perched; Two perched together.
- Osprey
- Kestrel
- Prairie Falcon
- Wood Duck; a pair.
- Blue-winged Teal in flight, coot not quite;
synchronized swimming; This
preening Teal shows a spot of blue,
usually only visible in flight.
- Ruddy Duck pair;
Four Ruddy Ducks.
- It was not unusual to spot a Ring-necked Pheasant (Canon).
Compare the photo quality with this Pheasant
taken with the camera built into my Bushnell binoculars.
- We sighted Wild Turkeys every day.
- Killdeer
- Solitary Sandpipers have white spectacles.
- Upland Sandpiper. A couple of times, as I drove through rural Kansas,
Herman said, "Stop! Backup. Upland Sandpiper."
- We pulled over on a wide shoulder just outside Great Bend, KS to watch
Franklin's Gulls in a field.
Herman exclaimed, "They're pink!"
After awhile a policecar, lights aflashing, stopped to see if anything was wrong; Here's a
flight of Franklins near Wakefield, KS.
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Tree Swallow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallows
- Barn Swallow
- Bluebird (Bushnell); another;
and yet another
- Athletic Northern Mockingbird
- Harris's Sparrows were common in Kansas;
from the front;
Harris's has an unmarked rump
as does the Lark Sparrow.
- White-crowned sparrow;
two White-crowned sparrows in a tree.
- Indigo Bunting; another;
Indigo Bunting (Bushnell);
Tree full of Indigo Buntings (Detail, Bushnell) at La Cynge Lake.
- Goldfinch
Multiple Avian Species in the Same Frame:
- Franklin's Gull,
Red-winged, and Yellow-headed blackbirds at Quivera.
- First summer Red-winged Blackbird with Common Grackles,
taken with my Bushnell binocular camera. Compare with this shot of the
same site.
(but looks like a different Redwing individual) taken with my Canon.
- Willet and Lesser Yellowlegs. Republican River bottoms, Wakefield, KS.
- Blue Grossbeak and Lark Sparrow, Holla Bend, AR
- Size comparison of Coots and Long-billed Dowitchers at Cheyenne Bottoms.
- Male Blue-winged teal, and a Shoveler pair, respectively the first and second most common ducks of the trip.
- Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalaropes, and a pair of Blue-winged Teal at the sewage pits, Wakefield KS.
Butterflies:
Other Wildlife:
- Bobcat; from behind. Notice the bobbed tail.
We saw the bobcat at 8:30 a.m. between Stillwell Oklahoma and the Arkansas state line while traveling a country road.
The only pictures I got were these two taken with the camera built into my Bushnell binoculars.
- Deer. Herman noticed this. I would have missed it.
- Armadillo
People:
Things:
- View from Massey's porch to the lek.
- This was our ride between the farm BnB and the Prairie Chicken blind.
- Windmill. Did you notice the Meadowlark I accidentally picked up?
- I was surprised at the many Oil Wells in Kansas.
We were told a lot of them were dormant until the recent surge in oil prices. I'm sure you noticed the Turkey.
- I like nice signs.
- Steer sign.
I, Eva, the author of this page, am not a birder. My husband Herman is a birder. I personally saw
(as opposed to heard) about 129 avian species on this trip. There were quite a few times Herman identified a bird
that I missed. Herman got (saw or heard and identified) 154 species over 8.2 days (The .2 being driving Wichita to
Great Bend 5-7pm. Monday April 21) on the ground. I got recognizable photographs of about 90 avian species,
53 of which are represented on this page. So I photographed about 70% of what I personally saw, and 41% are on this page.
Return to:
Trip List
Trip Report
Greater Prairie Chickens
Birding Massachusetts 2018
Birding Massachusetts 2015-2017
Birding Massachusetts 2014
Birding Massachusetts 2013
Birding Massachusetts 2012
Birding Massachusetts 2011
Birding Massachusetts 2010
Birding France 2019
Birding Phoenix 2018
Birding Ireland 2016
Birding Yellowstone and northern Utah 2015
Birding Hawaii 2011
Birding Arizona 2010
Birding Utah 2009
Birding Guatemala 2008
Birding Mexico 2007
Birding South Florida 2006
Birding Texas 2005
Birding Nantucket, annually, at New Year's
Birding Panama 2005
Birding Belize 2002
Birding Colorado 2001
Birding Ecuador 1999
Birding Trinidad 1998
Birding Peru June 1995
Herman's Birding Page
Wildlife sketches made at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Herman's Home Page
Eva's Home Page
Feedback may be sent to eva@theworld.com
Most of the photos on this page were taken with my Canon Digital Camera w/ 12X zoom lens.
This page has been accessed
times since June 22, 2008
Last revised: August 8, 2019