A Mini Road Trip up to Squaw Creek

Saturday I had a really great trip up north to Squaw Creek NWR. I was fully loaded with binocular in one hand, and camera in the other (plus Off bug spray and a water bottle!).

It was a fabulous day for it. The sky was clear blue and the temperature in the morning hours was still pretty cool. I spent about an hour and a half making the 12 mile loop around the refuge. I only ran into a very few people. I talked to an older gentleman from Nebraska who was wondering about eagles. I told him he'd have to come back in January or February for that. Told him I was hoping to see some migrating ducks. I did see one diving duck that I couldn't identify yet. Here are some of the pictures.

First we have an Eastern Wood Pewee. Isn't he cute? On the last leg of the 12 mile loop, the drive takes one through a wooded area. I heard some bird chirping noises, so I just stopped the car and turned off the motor to listen. Couldn't see anything with my binocular though. This little fellow, after about 10 minutes of just sitting there, decided he had to find out more. He flitted to a few different trees near my car to get a closer look. Or maybe he was just posing for me!


I was so amazed to see Great Egrets on our Louisiana trip in August and guess what! There were a few at Squaw Creek. I saw 3 for sure. Their summer range extends all the way up the plains. These are probably the last few around though. I am sure they wil be heading back south very soon!

Here we have an American Coot and some unidentified diving birds.

These are my favorite shots of the day. They are both of a Great Blue Heron I was observing from the loop. The second shot shows him taking off and I love the picture of the wings outstretched. What a gorgeous pattern.

So, all-in-all it was a very nice trip. I have to go up again in a week or two and see if there are more migrating birds. The Pewee and the Egret are summer birds, so I think the migrations are yet to come. I am looking forward to a trip out to Quivira NWR in October to hopefully catch sight of a whooping crane. At least the sandhill cranes if not the other.