I'm not in Kansas, anymore

I returned LATE last night from a whirlwind trip to Kansas. The expedition was filled with fascinating sites, noteworthy observations, and pixels and pixels of pictures. I'll be sorting, editing, and deleting for a while.

The main focus of the trip was prairie-chickens, and on that score it was phenomenally successful. More on those later. For new, here are a few of the many species of birds that were seen.

The oddly elegant Black-necked Stilts were just beginning to arrive at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area in Kansas. This one was photographed last Saturday.

The clear, ringing whistles of Eastern Meadowlarks provided a tuneful soundscape in Kansas. At this locale, at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, nearly all were Easterns. About an hour to the west, nearly all were Western Meadowlarks.

Some of the male Ruddy Ducks at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge have acquired their resplendent plumage of chestnut. The powder-blue bill is a nice touch, although his white cheeks are marred by some sort of iron oxide staining. This one was imaged last Wednesday.