By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The precipitation around Kansas has helped, but so has a little engineering. Cheyenne Bottoms will naturally capture some of the local rains, but the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks projects also help bring water in. Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf said KDWP staff last week was able to put water into pools that have been dry for the last three years.
"Every time this happens, it really amazes me how quickly birds respond," Wolf said. "Last Tuesday, I think, is when (Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner) and his crews started opening the gates and allowing that water to flood some of these pools that have been dry. Immediately, the birds are just there. They're out, active, feeding."
Some of the predatory birds, like blue herons, hang around the Bottoms for much of the year. Those birds are able to feast with the influx of water and life it brings, but Wolf said more birds are on the way.
"Migration is definitely happening, so things are coming through," he said. "The little cool weather bout we had definitely drove some things in, and that's what fall migration is all about - waiting for the next weather pattern to draw birds in. Cheyenne Bottoms is able to provide a little bit this year."
Wolf said some of the first migratory birds began arriving in mid-July. Much of the travel depends on the weather up north. As it begins cooling there, birds will begin to travel south. The fall migration around Cheyenne Bottoms will last into November and December.