The Binocular Site
Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas
Located six miles to the Northeast of Great Bend, Kansas, Cheyenne Bottoms is a marshy lowland area covering 41000 acres.
This refuge lies on the Central Flyway as it sprawls across the great plains of Canada and the United States, then down through to the western edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
Cheyenne Bottoms is bordered by steep bluffs on the north, south, and west, which afford stunning views across the mudflats and wide, shallow pools of water. This is the most important migration point in the Western Hemisphere and as such, a large area of Cheyenne Bottoms has been designated as a Wetland of International Importance.
With approximately 45 percent of all North American shorebirds passing through during the spring migration this is one of the most important inland staging sites. Around 320 species of birds have been accounted for in the area including thousands of sandpipers and Sandhill Cranes as they stop here during their migrations.
The Cheyenne Bottoms area also provides habitat for a number of threatened species including Peregrine Falcons, Whooping Cranes, and Piping Plovers.
The Kansas state bird is the Western Meadowlark and you can find a checklist for birding in Kansas here.
Photo credit to designatednaphour, used with permission under the creative commons license. You can learn more about the birding and wildlife viewing opportunities of Cheyenne Bottoms, and even see a live webcam of the area here.If you've visited Cheyenne Bottoms, please take the time to share your experience and any tips or insight you have about this Kansas birding location below.
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