photo by Dr. Dan Witt
This past Saturday, Curtis Wolf was fortunate to spot a rare migrating bird at Cheyenne Bottoms. Wolf serves as the Kansas Wetlands Education Center Manager and was able to catch a glimpse of a white ibis.
According to Robert Penner’s book, The Birds of Cheyenne Bottoms, there have only been six records of white ibis at the wetlands over the last 40 years. Overall, there are only 14-15 records of seeing a white ibis in Kansas.
Curtis Wolf Audio
Wolf noted most of the records of viewing a white ibis are of juvenile birds, but the bird at Cheyenne Bottoms was an adult. Wolf said the bird was also spotted Sunday morning and yesterday morning. The breeding range for the American white ibis runs along the Atlantic Coast and coast of Mexico and Central America.
Curtis Wolf Audio
Wolf mentioned it is uncertain on how long the white ibis will stay at Cheyenne Bottoms, but research shows more common breeds of the ibis family stay anywhere from a few days up to a couple of weeks.