Whooping cranes passing through Kansas

It is that time of year when the whooping cranes arrive in central Kansas.

Last Thursday, there were three adult whooping cranes observed at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County. Five were seen on Friday, 31 on Saturday and seven on Sunday.

Typically each fall, nearly 60 of the 5-foot-tall birds pass through or stop at Quivira and nearby Cheyenne Bottoms in Barton County. The cranes use the open salt flats and wetlands to feed and rest, and then they move on within a few days. Sightings are not daily and are often scattered throughout the end of October through November.

Refuge officials are encouraging visitors to use some bird etiquette.

If people see the birds, they shouldn’t go near them, Barry Jones, visitor services specialist at the refuge, advised in a news release.

The adult birds are white with dark legs and bill and have a dark red cap. They do not swim or perch in trees. The juvenile birds are similar in size to the adults but are rusty-brown in color. In flight, whooping cranes hold their necks straight out, and their legs extend beyond their tails.

Keep a half-mile between yourself and the birds and do not try to approach them on foot, Jones said.

Take binoculars and long-lens cameras to view the birds from a vehicle on public roads. Record the specific location, date and time and a physical description of the birds and their behavior and send it to Quivira, whose staff helps track the birds’ migration.

The birds travel through Kansas as they migrate from their nesting grounds in northern Canada to their wintering spot at Texas’ Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,500 miles. It typically takes the birds about three weeks to make the journey, according to the Whooping Crane Journey North website.

At Quivira, the best areas to look for them are usually at the south end of the Little Salt Marsh, which offers an observation tower and telescope to scan the marsh, and at the west side of the refuge’s Big Salt Marsh, where another telescope is located.

For updates on the birds and refuge hunting, check http://www.fws.gov/refuge/quivira or call 620-486-2393.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Whooping cranes passing through Kansas."