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Sunday, March 11, 2018

Serene Scenery Sunday

Hello, everyone!  It's me, Cammie.  As we mentioned on our last Serene Scenery Sunday post, last weekend, we all loaded up in the HR-V and headed down to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.  The drive down is beautiful - and the refuge is incredibly scenic and is home to so many birdies! We thought we'd share some of our highlights with you today!

We saw quite a few Snow Geese:

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Snow Geese

I mean ... maybe more than quite a few:

IMG_1639SnowGeese
Oodles of Snow Geese

You get the idea.

Some of the shorebirds are returning to Kansas, like this little Killdeer:

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Killdeer, rocking the Head Tilt

Pretty adorable. Mom should have given him a cookie. Or whatever Killdeer eat -- then she should have given Maggie and me a cookie. Right?

Anyway ...

Mom saw other shorebirds and was trying to photograph them, but this guy kept flying in front of her:

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Ring-Billed Gull

Maybe he's their bodyguard or something? Anyway, once she took a few shots of him, he moved over and she got these guys:

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Greater Yellowlegs
IMG_1741KilldeerAndBaird'sSandpiper
Killdeer in front, Baird's Sandpiper behind him

She's sorry the Baird's Sandpiper isn't clearer. She was shooting in 45-50mph wind gusts, and it was hard for her to keep her bazooka -- I mean 150-600mm lens -- steady. She was pleased she was able to focus on anything.

Moving right along ...

We saw lots of ducks - especially this variety:

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Buffleheads

And although Mom wasn't able to get closer than all the way across the Big Salt Marsh from them, she and Dad did get to see some Sandhill Cranes!

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Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and ducks (maybe Redheads; it's hard to tell)

The Big Salt Marsh is huge - (check out a shot Mom took of it on a previous trip here) - so that made things a bit challenging for her.

We moved on down south a bit to the Little Salt Marsh. They rebuilt the observation tower down there, so Mom braved the winds and climbed to the top. No bird sightings, but she did get a great view:

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Little Salt Marsh from the tower

During the trip, we also saw a few Coots:

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American Coots

And Mallards:

IMG_1863Mallards
"You there!  Stay away from my woman!  Stay away, I say!"

We also saw some beautiful hawks like this one:

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Rough-Legged Hawk

He was very cooperative - several people in one of Mom's bird groups photographed the very same hawk! He must like having his portrait taken.

I think that's a wrap for today - time to head home.

IMG_9553CamMagsHRV
"Maggie, your winter coat is so nice and thick ... mind if I use you for a pillow?"
"Knock yourself out, Cam."

If you'd like to see more of our photos from this trip, please visit our FlickR album at this link.

Cammie!

12 comments:

  1. Your mom sure does take the most beautiful birdie and waterfowl shots!

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  2. Ohhhhh look at all the birdies... Mom loves the Killdeer and they way it acts to protect the eggs.
    thank you for the Bday wishes...OMCs what a weekend..
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  3. Oh I LUFFS seeing your Birdies and wow, there was quite a gaggle of Birdies there, so many, were they having a party???
    Mr Hawk was quite a show off wasn't he...but then his is very handsome
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  4. Buffleheads?? That is such a cute name.

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  5. Your birds inspired Lady to get a feeder. She has yet to get good pictures, that will be the next trick. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Wow, that sure is a lot of snow geese!!! Best not to let them fly over your heads:)

    Your Mom got another round of great photos.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  7. We sure enjoy your mom's bird photos!
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

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  8. That's a lot of birdies! Our peeps went to the coast yesterday and saw big gulls with a red dot on their beaks but again they didn't bring one home. One day maybe.

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  9. OMD...BIRDIES!! Mama really loves the shore birds you have in Kansas!!
    xoxo,
    Rosy, Jakey & Arty

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  10. What great pics! You see so many neat birdies!

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  11. Those pictures are so beautiful! And the fact there are all those shore birds in Kansas? What a wonderful thing!

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  12. We love to come along on your trips birding. We don't get to go with our hu'mum.

    Wooos
    Khumbu

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