By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Going back to his first weather predictions in 1887, the many generations of Punxsutawney Phil have accurately predicted the weather just 39 percent of the time. Perhaps the better animal meteorologists are currently flying over Central Kansas. The birds that visit Cheyenne Bottoms need fresh water and moved out as the big freeze in January hit. Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf said many have already returned, including several bald eagles.
"Last week, there were several afternoons I'd take a little trip through," he said. "It was easy to see 20 of them out there. You still need binoculars because, a lot of times, they're not going to be close to the road. But they're going to be out there. They're easy to spot. You'll see juveniles that are all dark, and you'll see the adult with the nice white head we think of."
Several thousand snow geese following the freeze line have returned, and on Jan. 28, a brant was spotted at the Bottoms for the first time since 2009.
"It's smaller than a Canada goose, but it's all dark and has some white on it," Wolf said. "They're an interesting bird, much more of like a sea-type bird than on the inland. They'll get in with a group of geese and somehow make their way here every once in a while."
More water is also visible at the Bottoms. After a hot summer dried out most of the pools, the January precipitation has resulted in shallow sheet water in several of the pools.