Sightseeing In Our Own Backyard

We don't want our cattle to be tourists at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Several cow-calf pairs are at their summer "vacation" home, munching grass in a pasture that borders the refuge.

However, we hope to leave the tourist excursions for the humans.

The Quivira National Wildlife Refuge really is our neighbor. It consists of 22,135 acres in Stafford, Rice and Reno Counties.

People in Orlando don't go to Disney World. Those in San Antonio don't visit the Alamo until they have out-of-town guests. San Franciscans don't go to the Golden Gate Bridge unless they need to go across it to get where they're going.

Those of us who live in close proximity don't always take advantage of tourist attractions in our own backyards. So, Randy and I decided to take an afternoon drive several weeks ago. It's likely greener now. Sorry I didn't get the photos posted back then. Still, even with a brown backdrop, the refuge is a beautiful place for an afternoon drive.

Though water levels are still lower than normal because of two-plus summers of drought, the marshes are rebounding after the late winter snows and early spring rains.

Near the confluence of  the Rattlesnake Creek and the Arkansas River in central Kansas, water remains the great driver of a diverse complex of salt marsh and unique native sand prairie community that is Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The combination of these productive habitats as well as the refuge's mid-continent location continue to attract millions of birds needing to replenish essential reserves and to find protection in the mosaic of largely open grasses, sedges, rushes and water. 

For visitors, each moment is unique -- the smell of the moist earth and salty air, the primitive call of a crane, the whispering bluestem, the cacophony of geese, the early steps of a snowy plover chick or the discovery of a subtle pattern or design in nature.

From the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan & Environmental Assessment

In May 1955, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved the establishment of the Great Salt Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to recognize two unique, historic salt marsh and salt flat areas, the Big Salt Marsh and the Little Salt Marsh. In 1958, the name was changed to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge after the Spanish term for the area.

The Spanish word "Quivira" is a form of the Native American name, "Kirikuru," which is what local people called themselves when the Spanish explorer Don Francisco Vasquez de Coronado visited the region in 1541 in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. Instead of gold, he found grasslands and wildlife. After his expedition left, only a few trappers and explorers came to the area until the mid-1800s.

The General Land Survey was conducted in the region in 1871, evaluating its suitability for farming and grazing. One surveyor noted:

Section 17, T22S, R11W (2 miles weest of what is now the Migrants' Mile area): "All pure sand without any vegetation. All hills and hollows. Constantly drifting. Worthless."

The first European settlement in Stafford County occurred in the 1860s. By 1876, a few people located near the Big Salt Marsh. A company was organized for the purpose of manufacturing salt, which was soon found to be unprofitable. Homesteaders began using the marshes and grasslands for pastures, hay land and cattle production. Besides agricultural uses, the salt marshes were used for commercial and recreational waterfowl hunting after the turn of the 20th century.**

The Refuge is a stopping point for migratory birds. But you can see lots of other animals during an afternoon drive, including deer.

 

We got an up-close-and-personal look at this turtle who had taken a break along one of the roads at the Big Salt Marsh. It looked like he'd had a rough life, with his shell showing some wear and tear.

For more information about Quivira, visit their website. There's a Visitor's Center located at the south end of the Refuge, overlooking Little Salt Marsh. Normal hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4 PM, but it is sometimes open on weekends during spring and fall.  Call the Refuge, 620-486-2393, during weekly business hours to get any updates on operational hours. Quivira is part of the Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway.

One of my Quivira sunset photos from 2010

** Historical information was taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan & Environmental Assessment, a 263-page document.

Birds of a Feather

Fancy water parks attract lots of visitors as the thermometer tops 100-plus for yet another summer day. We may not have a wave pool or slipper slide, but our backyard water hose attracted a visitor last weekend.

It's so hot and dry that the hawk continued his backyard bath with only a glance over his shoulder as I came out the door to take his photo. I might not be threatening, but the screech and dive-bombing of sparrows had him retreat to the electric line.

It didn't make much sense to me that the big old hawk was scared of some tiny little sparrows. Randy says they were probably protecting their nests and thought the hawk was a threat. So they teamed up to harass the interloper.

But even annoying sparrows couldn't keep him from returning for more enjoyment at the County Line Water Park.

Our yard has been a thoroughfare for a family of turkeys, too. They, however, didn't want to pause for a photo op and scurried away as I returned from a morning walk.

I like the backyard visitors and all. But they can't beat these two for guests at the County Line.

Jill and Kinley - July 22, 2012