Trip West: from Ohio through Kansas

Hello! I know some of you have been waiting for a post about my western roadtrip, so here we go! We set off on Saturday, June 4th from Columbus. We got out bright and early, at 6AM and jumped onto I-70. By lunchtime, we were in St. Louis! We stopped at the Gateway arch for a picture, and then found a spot to make lunch.

The Gateway to the West!

Our lunch stop was a little city park in suburban St. Louis, but it had picnic tables and bathrooms, which was all we really needed. While we made a quick meal, I found my first new bird of the trip!

A pair of Eurasian Tree Sparrows, my first new bird of the trip

 If you're thinking that you've seen these birds before, but you don't live in the Mississippi River Valley, then you're probably thinking of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow's more widespread cousin, the House Sparrow. They're very similar, with the biggest difference being the gray cap of the House Sparrow instead of the brown cap of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. They are both introduced species from the Old World, but have established permanent colonies in many places. At any rate, one stop and one new bird wasn't bad for being only a few hours from Ohio!

We continued on through Missouri, and then into Kansas. Our end-of-day destination was the Cimarron National Grassland in the southwest corner of the state. It was a ton of driving, but my brothers and I were able to split it up to keep it from getting too overwhelming. We got in a little after dark to a surprisingly crowded campground, but weren't concerned as we wouldn't be there for long.

Early the next morning we awoke on another planet. The grassland stretched as far as the eye could see, which was really, really far! The air was filled with the songs of Western Meadowlarks and Cassin's Sparrows, the latter being a new bird for me.

Western Meadowlark and a whole lot of grassland

 I was hoping to find Lesser Prairie Chickens, a bird whose population is in steep decline. It's late in the year to find them in their normal courtship locations though, and there weren't any at the established blinds. It wasn't a total loss though: the stop was saved by the Burrowing Owls! These tiny owls were hunting all around us, hovering in the air until locating prey and then dropping like stones onto unseen mice or voles. My brothers and I were all excited to see these little predators in action, and I was able to tally them as another life bird!

We needed ice and gas, so we stopped in Elkhart. While we were there, I wanted to check the ponds of the water treatment plant, as many good birds have been found there over the years. We were not disappointed; as soon as we stopped, a Swainson's Hawk flew over us!

My first Swainson's Hawk!

The real draw at this location are the large pools of water, and around these pools we found American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts, two very sharp birds. There were a few ducks hanging around too, which made it very different from the nearby grassland.

An American Avocet, deciding he doesn't like my camera much

On our way back to the highway, Daniel asked if I'd seen the gray birds over the road. I hadn't seen them, so we stopped for another look. I'm glad he said something, because they turned out to be Mississippi Kites!

Mississippi Kite, wondering what I'm looking at

 There were three birds in all. We got to see them perched and in flight! These tiny raptors eat mostly insects, and are very graceful on the wing. To make it even better, I'd never seen one before! I found the reason they were hanging around: A big Bald Eagle that was making them nervous. They were actually flying in little loops to try driving him off.

A young Bald Eagle being harassed by the smaller kites

Taking flight, a very sharp bird!

I headed out of Kansas with some great birds, and we all got to see some unique scenery. My brothers were able to appreciate the owls, the eagle, and the kites. We were on to New Mexico!