Fall migration is underway bringing birds and birdwatchers to central Kansas

In the coming weeks, massive numbers of birds will arrive at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge for their annual fall migration, which peaks in mid-August through September.

“It’s almost a sensory overload sometimes,” said Robert Penner, the Kansas Avian Programs Manager for The Nature Conservancy. “All of a sudden, you see thousands of shorebirds.”

Quivira, along with neighboring Cheyenne Bottoms, is designated as a Wetland of International Importance and is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. The refuge’s unique habitats, including freshwater and saltwater wetlands, make it a hotspot of bird diversity.

“We truly are a migratory bird paradise when conditions are right,” Penner said.

In addition to thousands of shorebirds, ducks, and geese, the refuge is frequented by iconic avians like the bald eagle, and the rare and endangered whooping crane.

Quivira also has been the center of an ongoing water rights controversy. In 2013, the federal government, which manages the refuge, filed a notice that local farmers were drawing more than their share of water. According to the notice, insufficient water was delivered to the wetlands from Rattlesnake Creek, violating the refuge’s senior water rights. After more than seven years of conflict, an agreement between the federal refuge and local communities was signed on July 25 of this year.

Epic migrations

Quivira, about 85 miles northwest of Wichita, is a popular stopover for many bird species during their long-distance journeys.

In the spring, migrating shorebirds, waterfowl, and cranes stop at Quivira en route to their northern nesting grounds. The migratory populations return to the refuge in the fall as they travel to warmer southern climates to spend the winter.

This pathway taken by birds passing over Kansas is referred to as the Central Flyway. The route covers over one million square miles of land, roughly between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.

The designation of the flyway is an administrative tool to facilitate managing habitat for migratory birds. As far as the birds themselves are concerned, they’re just following their instincts.

“Individual migration paths…vary quite a bit within those flyway boundaries,” said Rachel Laubhan, a biologist at the US Fish & Wildlife Services who is based at Quivira Refuge.

Some birds will fly thousands of miles between their breeding and wintering grounds. Each year, buff-breasted sandpipers migrate back and forth between the Arctic and South America. Other species, like the American avocet, limit their journey to a few hundred miles across North America.

Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms are in the middle of this migration superhighway. Each year, up to 60,000 shorebirds and 150,000 sandhill cranes make their way to Quivira. About a third of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo whooping cranes, the largest remaining population of the endangered species, come to the refuge each year on their journey between the Northwest Territories and Texas.

“We’ve got that joke about Kansas being a flyover state,” said Penner. “Well, not if you’re a bird! They want to stop here.”

Some shorebird species, such as the state-threatened snowy plover and the endangered Interior Least Tern, also use Quivira as their nesting grounds and will remain throughout the summer to hatch their chicks.

About 500,000 waterfowl, a category of birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans, also come to the refuge each year. Waterfowl have a wider migration period than shorebirds, and are commonly spotted on the refuge between September and May. Many geese and ducks will even spend winter in Quivira if the wetlands don’t freeze over.

The abundance of waterfowl during migrations attracts bald eagles, who hunt smaller water birds like mallard ducks and the American coot.

The refuge also has its fair share of year-round residents, including red-tailed hawks and ring-necked pheasants.

The diversity and sheer number of birds makes Quivira a birdwatchers’ paradise. Over 300 species of birds can be spotted at the refuge. Migratory shorebird numbers peak in the fall between mid-August and September, and in the spring between late April and early May.

Unique habitats

Quivira’s abundant wetlands are an essential haven for migratory birds to rest and refuel during their journey over the otherwise dry Great Plains. More than half of the fifty shorebird species found in North America are spotted at Quivira each year.

“There’s a lot more [plant] cover in the refuge than you might find in surrounding areas, which make it special,” said Laubhan.

That plant cover helps birds hide from predators, keep their bodies at the right temperature, and build nests during breeding season.

The refuge also provides critical food resources. Most shorebirds have short legs, and hunt for aquatic invertebrates like aquatic worms and fly larvae in the shallow waters and mud flats of Quivira’s wetlands. Longer-legged herons and egrets also hunt for prey in the shallow wetland waters.

Other species use clever swimming strategies to hunt for food in the deeper waters. Wilson’s phalaropes spin to create whirlpools that churn up their invertebrate prey from below.

The refuge’s landscape, a patchwork of freshwater marsh, saltwater, and prairie habitats, supports a wealth of bird species.

Large salt marshes are rare away from the coast, and are a unique feature at Quivira due to salt deposits in the underlying bedrock. The mosaic of saltwater and freshwater marshes creates a wide range in the salinity of the water throughout the refuge.

Different aquatic invertebrates, the birds’ main food source, thrive at different salt levels. The resulting smorgasbord of dining options across the refuge’s waters provides sustenance for diverse shorebird species, each with their own preferred food source.

While most of the well-known avian visitors at Quivira come for the wetlands, species like sandpipers, long-billed curlews, and prairie chickens make their home in the surrounding rolling prairie.

In North America, total bird numbers have fallen by nearly 30% since 1970. Shorebird populations plummeted by 70% during a similar time period.

The reasons for this massive decline are not well-known, but climate change and habitat loss likely play a role. For bird populations facing mounting pressures, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, and other conserved wetlands along migration routes, provide crucial sanctuary.

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

Where: The 22,135-acre refuge is about 85 miles northwest of Wichita near the town of Stafford. It’s also about 35 miles south of state-owned Cheyenne Bottoms, which has a wetlands education and visitors center.

For more information including directions, visit the refuge website, fws.gov/refuge/Quivira. Information about Cheyenne Bottoms may be found at wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 7:01 AM.