Serene Scenery Sunday - Birds At Quivira

Greetings to all!  It's me, Maggie.  Cammie and I couldn't decide who would present the rest of our birding pix, so we settled it the way most Siberians would:

"... Five potatoes, six potatoes, seven potatoes, more.  You're it!"
"YAY!"

OK!  Let's get birding!

Like at Cheyenne Bottoms, we saw lots of Avocets!  Here is one snorkeling for bugs while another does some preening:

American Avocets

There were also a lot of these long-legged birds:

Black-Necked Stilt

Aren't his legs awesome?!?  You can really see how long they are in this next shot:

Black-Necked Stilt with Blue-Winged Teals and a dragonfly buzzing around

They must be like the Great Dane of the birding world!

We also saw a lot of these guys and gals:

Wilson's Phalarope, male, with bug!

Wilson's Phalarope, female

Unlike most other birds, the females are the more colorful!

Mom also saw one her most very favorite birds:

 ❤  THE Snowy Plover!!!  ❤

I have to admit, he's mighty cute!  He had that suave look about him, like he needs a tiny martini glass or something, you know?

"Right up there with the Northern Shoveler, huh, Mom?"

Mom said her bird-heart still belongs to the Northern Shoveler, but the Snowy Plover is a close second.

A relative to the Snowy Plover is this more common bird:

Killdeer!

We saw lots of different kinds of sandpipers:  Least, White-Rumped, Spotted, and mostly this kind:

Stilt Sandpiper, on take-off

We also spotted two birdies we don't see very often with a "lifer" bird, one Mom's never seen before!

Front to back:  Black-Bellied Plover, Willet, and Whimbrel

The Whimbrel is the lifer!

There were Red-Headed Woodpeckers all over Quivira, taking off every time Mom spotted them and tried to fire off a photo.  Finally, when it was almost time to go, she hit upon a very cooperative one!

"Hey, Camera Lady!  Look!  I got a bug!"

What a nice guy!  I hope he enjoyed his snack!

When we got to the Observation Tower, it was getting mighty toasty.  Dad suggested that Mom go up to the top, while he and us girls stayed in the air-conditioned vehicle.  I love the way Dad thinks!

When Mom got over there, we saw her stop suddenly and pull out her iPhone.  She got closer and closer and was firing off photos, then backed off a bit and took some shots with the camera.  Dad said it couldn't have been a bird because she was too close, and he said it couldn't be a snake because Mom would have high-tailed it back to the vehicle.  Ha roo roo roo!  Good one, Dad.  Anyway - this is who was working security at the tower:

Prairie Lizard!

Mom said he tried to charge her 3 crickets to go up there, but I think she may have been joking.

Remember a trip ago, when we said we had left the refuge, but then when we were tooling down the highway, Mom spotted some Sandhill Cranes?  Something similar happened this time!

Dad was driving along the highway and asked Mom, "Did you see that?" 

"No - what?" 

"An Egret!  In with those cows!"

"No!!!!!"

"Do you want me to turn around and go back?"

That was sort of one of those rhetorical questions, I think.  And Mom was able to get the shot she has been wanting for a long time:

Cattle Egret with cattle!

Mom was pretty stoked!

Anyway, thanks for coming along with us on our most recent birding adventure!  If you'd like to see more of Mom's photos, there is an album on FlickR at this link.

Have a great Sunday!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher