Quivira NWR on August 16th

 Joseph texted me after church on Sunday and asked if I wanted to go to Quivira with him and Anthony.  It did not take long for me to figure out that I did, and we set about getting plans laid.  
    We got to Quivira at about 3:00 and headed to the Big Salt Marsh right away.  Anthony had just got a new camera, and he was eager to try it out.  When we got to the east side of the marsh, we found it loaded with shorebirds and ducks.  We picked out two Red-necked Phalaropes almost right away, feeding close to the shore.  We tried to get closer and were quite disappointed when they flew.  Luckily though, they circled back around and came right back to the same spot!  The cameramen quickly, although not very quietly, crawled down on to the shore while the rest (Dwight, Franklin, and Michael) stayed up on the road.  Shutters clicked madly as they made their way by us, not more than ten feet away!  When they were past, we got up feeling rather smug and continued on our way.  After our first loop, we came back and manged to get some more pics of one of them.

Red-necked Phalaropes flying in.

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope up close

                           

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

       
     They were loads of peeps, but the most numerous bird was definitely the American Avocet.  Their bold black and white pattern was quite striking when they flew.

Part of an Avocet flock

        
We also managed to pick out this Western Sandpiper out of a small flock of peeps.
     

This Western Sandpiper was horribly backlit

We saw several of these Dragonflies on the Wildlife Loop.  I don't know what kind for sure, but I think Halloween Pennant is close.  Do any of you know?

Halloween Pennant?

At this time of year there are also large numbers of Snowy and Great Egrets.

Great and Snowy Egrets

This female Blue-winged Teal was cooperative.

Blue-winged Teal

As was this Sachem.

Sachem

I hadn't been to Quivira for a while and I am always amazed how many birds are there at this time of year!

Andrew

May 5: Quivira and Elsewhere

We hitched a ride to Quivira today with our birding friends Jay and Verna Miller.  It's Verna's birthday and the excursion was Jay's present to her.  They were kind enough to let us go along, and the birding was amazing.

We arrived at about 6:30 and hit the Big Salt Marsh first.  It yielded its usual suspects.  A total of twenty-two species of shorebirds swarmed the flats. Highlights were three Long-billed Curlews, two Snowy Plovers on their nests, a Piping Plover, a Sanderling, a large flock of Willet, eleven Hudsonian Godwits, and more than a dozen Semipalmated Plovers.  The Snowy Plovers put on a show for us as they tried in vain to lead the van off the road and away from their nests (if you can call them that) with a fake broken wing tactic.  I also spotted a Northern Waterthrush near the hay barn on Hay Barn Road north of the marsh, but it flitted back out of sight before the other members of the party could glimpse it.

A Snowy Plover nest which consists of a shallow depression in the gravel: photo by Bryant

A Snowy Plover incubating its eggs: photo by Andrew

This Solitary Sandpiper sat still long enough for us to stop and snap a few pictures before it flew: photo by Andrew

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This Turkey Vulture, if not a gorgeous bird, was considerate enough to let us get decent pictures of it: photo by Andrew

We spotted this Long-billed Curlew along the Wildlife Drive: photo by Bryant

Apparently the Snowy Plover (flying) was somewhat annoyed by the presence of its close relative, the Piping Plover: photo by Bryant

I managed to capture this photo of an active Sanderling as it scurried back and forth along the shoreline: photo by Bryant

As we worked our way toward the south end of the refuge,  we picked up a few more notable birds, including a Black Tern and vibrant male Rose-breasted Grosbeak- both year birds for Andrew and me.  I also snapped a few pics of this beautiful Forster's Tern as it flew past.  By the time we left Quivira, we had tallied 104 species.

Forster's Tern: photo by Bryant

On our way home, we stopped at a few places along the way and picked up a few birds for our day list, as well as two for our year list: Blue Grosbeak and Western Sandpiper.  

Western Sandpiper: photo by Andrew

This Eastern Kingbird posed on the fence, giving us great picture opportunities: photo by Bryant

When we got home, Andrew and I birded around our place and in Irish Creek to add a few species to our day lists.  We found an excellent variety of migrants, most notably Blackpoll and Wilson's Warblers (which were year birds).  My final day bird, a White-throated Sparrow, put me at 129 species.  That's my third day over 100 within a span of three weeks!  This is certainly the time of year to be out!

Bryant