Day 4 - Cheyenne Bottoms to Denver

We spent our third night in Hays, home of Fort Hays State University in central Kansas. Can't say there is much else there; it's flat and dry, but as one local told us, "at least you can spot the tornadoes coming from a long way." Early the next morning we backtracked through Russell, home of Bob Dole the Viagra pitchman, then 30 miles south to Cheyenne Bottoms.

Cheyenne Bottoms

The Bottoms is a natural depression that creates a wet habitat for migratory waterfowl along the central flyway during spring. Water levels are managed for hunters and wildlife viewers, but drought for the past two years has left little water remaining at this time of year. The only waterfowl we saw were two male Mallards and a number of Killdeer. At the west entrance to the refuge, we were greeted in song by a Western Kingbird and some sex-crazed Killdeer.

Western Kingbird

Just a few yards down the road, we heard Common Yellowthroats and Red-winged Blackbirds singing, then a call new to us. However, it was easy to recognize the "dck-sis-sis" as the voice of a Dicksissel. After seeing only one ever, we soon saw a couple of dozen during the drive. What a beautiful bird with rust on the wings and face markings of gray and yellow.

Dicksissel

At the Kansas Wetland Education Center, a ranger pointed us to a nearby Prairie Dog town. The little mammals were cute, but our real target was a Burrowing Owl, and sure enough one was sitting in the middle of the village. This was a new U.S. bird for Phil, although not for Mary who had seen one in Florida years ago. With conditions so dry, we did not see a lot of species, but the drive still had some nice rewards.

It was a long, hot drive to our next destination: Denver, Colorado. How the pioneers endured it on foot for weeks is beyond us. This Eastern Meadowlark gave us some relief at a rest area, however. I thought it was a Western, since it was in Colorado outside out of Sibley's summer range. The
white malar stripe behind the lower bill indicates otherwise.

Eastern Meadowlark

In Denver, it was great to catch up with our nephew Dan and his wife Rebecca. Their 1910 home is charming and the pop out from the back opened up the beautiful kitchen and dining room so an extra room could be added at the back. We even loved the cute garage! The neighborhood charms, as well, with a park only moments from their front door.

Mary with Dan Amidon

Rebecca rules the kitchen and produced a lovely meal. So lucky for us that their trip East to PA and NJ with the Amidon-Willson crew was scheduled to occur the next day. The last visit with these two was at their wedding in Pittsburgh in May of 2009. Wish we could have visited longer but, new adventures ahead!

Tomorrow, its off to the desert.