COLORADO: Dawn on a Kansas Prairie

In pre-dawn darkness, we arrived at the Elkhart East viewing area. The music of the shortgrass prairie was already playing, with the melodious burbling of Horned Larks, sweet notes of meadowlarks and the cackling, bubbling sounds of the Lesser Prairie-chickens. Though we couldn’t yet see them, we knew they were there, engaging in their spring courtship ritual as they have done for millions of years. We felt privileged to be able to share in their world – just us and them – however briefly.

A faint orange glow spread slowly across the eastern horizon behind the lek. Our two vehicles (above) were positioned to maximize viewing through open doors and windows. We were the only ones there, and felt a special joy at being able to experience the birds by ourselves, in kinship and surprising comfort – temperatures were in the mid-40’s, with a slight breeze. The lek was about 80 yards away, twice the distance of the Greater Prairie-chicken lek, and the grasses were considerably taller, which is preferred by the Lesser’s. Dark shadows could be seen lifting off the ground to a height of about four feet and descending a short distance away.

In this habitat, the males incorporate a lot of jumping into their elaborate displays, trying to make themselves more noticeable above tall blades of grass. This was good for us too, as we were only able to see only the tops of pinnae (head) feathers when they were standing away from the main narrow lekking strip. As the sky lightened, we could see more birds in front of us, clustered together at the lek.

Their numbers peaked at about 25 males and 6 females, though there were likely more birds that we couldn’t see. This total was outstanding – the most I’ve seen on a trip by far! Whenever a female would fly into the lek the activity would reach a crescendo as males rose up in unison to let her know that this was where should should land.

For two hours we enjoyed this magical scene of Lesser Prairie-chickens on the lek; larks singing; a Burrowing Owl flying low between its favored mounds, under a lightly-clouded sky whose textures constantly changed.

As the lek activity began to wane, we focused our attention on a Cassin’s Sparrow perched on the distant ridge, occasionally jumping up and fluttering down. Finally we pulled away from the lek, stomachs rumbling and faces smiling. A Grasshopper Sparrow insect-like buzz could be heard, and a flock of White-crowned Sparrows lined up on a gate post. After a delicious buffet breakfast we loaded up for the long journey westward back into Colorado. We drove a few yards into the adjoining state of Oklahoma – a “life state” for some! Back in Kansas, a brief stop at the Elkhart Wastewater Treatment plant  yielded a few waterfowl, close looks at Franklin’s Gulls, a pair of Least Sandpipers and Black-crowned Night-herons for our day list.

Continuing on, we traversed the Comanche National Grasslands, from east to west. Like the day before, we found many Vesper Sparrows, a pair of Mountain Plovers (above) and Swainson’s Hawks. Several longspurs did not show well enough for positive identification. We enjoyed a flock of Lark Buntings, and a perched Loggerhead Shrike.

Some great birds were seen near an abandoned homestead, including Chichuahuan Raven, Great Horned Owl, Barn Owl and Prairie Falcon (above). We found 4 Brown-headed Cowbirds, a surprisingly good species for this area.

The shortgrass plains changed to pinyon juniper, cactus and rocky slopes as we descended into Cottonwood Canyon (above). Bewick’s Wrens serenaded us during our lovely picnic lunches near a babbling creek. Rock Wren and Song Sparrow added to the afternoon chorus.

Several Rock Squirrels scampered on rust-colored boulders, one in particular had his cheeks stuffed (above). A Mountain Bluebird perched brightly on a wire, not far from Wild Turkeys and Mule Deer. 

Woodpeckers abounded with Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Ladder-backed and two Lewis’ Woodpeckers (above). A lifer for many, the Lewis’ showed-off from a high Cottonwood branch, swooping out and back like a flycatcher. We also found one Eastern Phoebe and several Say’s.

After a long afternoon drive, we reached Pueblo West with just enough daylight to find two Curve-billed Thrashers and a bevy of Scaled Quail. Ten minutes later, and it would’ve been too dark to find these birds. Shortly thereafter we reached Canon City, ate dinner and checked into our hotel. Most people were ready for sleep, but a few of us tried for one last species. We found a pair of Western Screech-owls including one that was pensively sitting in the open (above). It was a wonderful ending to the day and we back well before midnight!