With the burst of freezing temperatures, Cheyenne Bottoms has mostly frozen up and the birds have mostly moved out except for a few ducks, geese, and eagles.
The bald eagles typically follow the large waterfowl migrations looking for easy prey, but as Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf tells us there are still a few hanging around the area. The bald eagle numbers have made tremendous surges over the years after once considered an endangered species.
Curtis Wolf Audio
Snowy owls are also making a larger appearance this year in Kansas in what Wolf refers to as an “irruption year.” As many as three snowy owls have been observed at the wetlands northeast of Great Bend. The arctic bird typically feasts on lemmings up north and looks for similar rodents while in Kansas.
Curtis Wolf Audio
Wolf says for years it was believed that the food supply for snowy owls was dwindling causing them to move further south to eat. Wolf says now research shows the food supply is doing fine near the Arctic Circle, but the new belief is large reproductive seasons for the bird caused competition for food.