By AMY RICKER
Great Bend Post
With the recent cold temperatures starting last week, Cheyanne Bottoms has, for the most part, frozen up for the first time this winter.
Kansas Wetlands Education Center Site Director Curtis Wolf said while the frozen water usually forces birds to leave the Bottoms, he’s been surprised how many birds have stuck around.
“The number of geese and ducks is still pretty good even though it’s not as high as it was," Wolf said. "If you can find some little open water areas, that’s where everything is concentrated. It’s funny to watch them. There will be a little pool of water, and there will be hundreds if not thousands of birds around that open water.”
Wolf reports that approximately 30,000 to 100,000 snow geese have stuck around as well. Although they usually arrive in the afternoon and “hang out.”
“There are a lot of mallards and pintails around. Some things are not affected by the frozen wetlands, like hawks and bald eagles. I counted twelve bald eagles last week that were standing out on the ice. There are a lot of songbirds around to check out.”
Wolf says bald eagles typically hand around in the winter as long as the waterfowl are still around. Bald eagles are scavengers, and as old or sick birds die, bald eagles are what Wolf refers to as “the cleanup crew.”
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm.