Love was in the air on Saturday, which was Valentine’s Day. The staff at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center took the opportunity to offer a winter kids’ program titled “‘Love’ Birds.”
The birds weren’t caged pets or one of the lovebird species from Madagascar, however. Instead, the program focused on the winter birds that nature lovers can see at Cheyenne Bottoms. Pam Martin, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism educator at the Wetlands Center, helped children learn how to recognize different species, then they headed outside for live bird watching.
Martin had recently commented that she hadn’t seen either a White-crowned sparrow or a Harris’s sparrow at the wetlands this winter. But she told the children how to tell the species apart: The White-crowned sparrow has a white “crown” marking on its head, while the Harris’s sparrow has a black crown mark, and black on its breast.
Everyone headed outside, and Martin was pleased to see examples of both sparrow species, as well as several red-winged blackbirds and many snow geese. The children also participated in the 2015 Great Backyard Bird Count, a global citizen science event that runs from Feb. 13-16.
When they came back inside, the children made edible birdhouse feeders. They were given wooden birdhouses and allowed to decorate them with things birds like to eat, such as millet and seeds. Even the glue was edible, Martin said.
Upcoming programs
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center, located at 592 NE K-156, northeast of Great Bend, periodically offers free programs for children 6-12 years old. The next program, “Making Tracks,” will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 7. Children can follow the tracks of some of Cheyenne Bottoms’ animals. They will learn how to identify animals by their tracks and make a plaster cast. Registration deadline is March 4. To register or for more information, call 877-243-9268.
There are other free programs for all ages. The new Cheyenne Bottoms Naturalists group will next meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, and the program will be “Hear the Lively Songs.” The subject will be frogs instead of birds. Participants can learn how to identify local amphibians, and what the Kansas Wetlands Education Center is doing to help support frog and toad research. They can sign up for a field trip later in the year to help out with the KWEC’s annual Frog Watch.
Recent sightings
Some signs of spring have shown up in the last week or so, with loads of geese and ducks showing up at Cheyenne Bottoms, according to the KWEC’s website, wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu. Sandhill cranes have also been regular sights flying over the Bottoms.
A surprise visitor was a Snowy Owl observed at Cheyenne Bottoms last Wednesday and Thursday. The bird was located on the dike between Pool 4a and 4b.
Robert Penner from The Nature Conservancy reported a second Snowy Owl on the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve on Thursday.
The Snowy Owl is one of about 30 bird species seen in recent days. A complete list is on the KWEC website.
