The following are examples, and results, of surveys conducted at Quivira.

Refuge-wide estimates of waterfowl (geese, ducks, swans, etc.) are conducted from September through April.  These surveys are not on a set schedule but are held on average once every two weeks.  Counts of Sandhill Cranes, White Pelicans, and Bald Eagles are usually included on these surveys. 

 

Waterfowl Survey, most recent (last until fall):  Tuesday, 19 March 2013

                          

Species	Count (estimate)
Gr. White-fronted Goose	0
Snow/Ross' Goose	0
Cackling Goose	0
Canada Goose	612
Wood Duck	1
Gadwall	1,004
American Wigeon	500
Mallard	3,018
Blue-winged Teal	72
Green-winged Teal	1,382
Cinnamon Teal	0
Northern Shoveler	1,142
Northern Pintail	3,008
Canvasback	0
Redhead	20
Ring-necked Duck	0
Lesser Scaup	12
Bufflehead	2
Common Goldeneye	0
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser	3
Ruddy Duck	102
ducks, sp.	100
TOTAL GEESE	612
TOTAL DUCKS	10,363
Other Birds
White Pelican	30
American Coot	50
Tundra Swan	5
Double-crested Cormorant	0
Sandhill Crane	1,250
Bald Eagle	2 (2A)

Shorebird Surveys 

Refuge-wide surveys of shorebirds are conducted from mid-March through early June, and again from late June through October.   Depending on water conditions, shorebirds can occur throughout the Refuge, but are particularly abundant in and near Big Salt Marsh.

Species	Count
Black-bellied Plover	20
American Golden Plover	0
pluvialis, sp. plover	0
Snowy Plover	31
Semipalmated Plover	6
Piping Plover	0
Killdeer	50
Black-necked Stilt	51
American Avocet	35
Greater Yellowlegs	1
Lesser Yellowlegs	14
yellowlegs, sp.	0
Solitary Sandpiper	1
Willet	0
Spotted Sandpiper	12
Upland Sandpiper	0
Marbled Godwit	0
Hudsonian Godwit	2
Sanderling	0
Semipalmated Sandpiper	145
Western Sandpiper	1
Least Sandpiper	0
White-rumped Sandpiper	28
Baird's Sandpiper	24
Pectoral Sandpiper	2
Dunlin	2
Stilt Sandpiper	64
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	0
Short-billed Dowitcher	0
Long-billed Dowitcher	0
Dowitcher, sp.	6
Wilson's Snipe	0
Wilson's Phalarope	7550
Red-necked Phalarope	0
Peep, sp.	60
Ruddy Turnstone	0
Whimbrel	9
unidentified shorebirds	0
Number of Species	21
Number of Individuals	8,114

 

North American Migration Count (NAMC) 

A county-by-county survey conducted the second Saturday each May, the NAMC is a volunteer-run count.  Typically, the count covers Quivira, but additional areas in the county (such as area towns) are frequently checked.  Check back here in 2013 for the latest results.

 

Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

An all-day count held annually in mid-December, this is a group effort to find as many birds as possible within a 15-mile diameter circle, centered in the middle of Quivira.  As many as a hundred species (and several million birds) have been recorded in past years.  Quivira's first CBC was held in 1959, and the count has been conducted annually since except for 1966 and 1982.

Christmas Bird Count, Quivira, 14 December 2012

Species	Number
Greater White-fronted Goose	110
Snow Goose	445
Ross' Goose	85
Cackling Goose	6
Canada Goose	1
swan, sp.	CW
Gadwall	10
American Wigeon	81
Mallard	3,150
Northern Shoveler	1
Northern Pintail	750
Green-winged Teal	4
Common Merganser	CW
Northern Bobwhite	CW
Ring-necked Pheasant	6
Wild Turkey	240
American White Pelican	21
Great Blue Heron	CW
Bald Eagle	19
Northern Harrier	41
Sharp-shinned Hawk	2
Red-tailed Hawk	46
Red-tailed (Harlan's) Hawk	2
Rough-legged Hawk	12
buteo, sp.	1
Golden Eagle	CW
American Kestrel	24
Merlin	1
Prairie Falcon	6
Virginia Rail	4
Sandhill Crane	CW
Killdeer	CW
Wilson's Snipe	1
Ring-billed Gull	19
Rock Pigeon	2
Eurasian Collared Dove	7
Mourning Dove	118
Eastern Screech Owl	11
Great Horned Owl	16
Barred Owl	2
Short-eared Owl	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	22
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1
Downy Woodpecker	26
Hairy Woodpecker	12
Northern Flicker	123
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)	7
Loggerhead Shrike	10
Northern Shrike	2
Blue Jay	4
American Crow	16
Horned Lark	287
Black-capped Chickadee	2
Red-breasted Nuthatch	3
White-breasted Nuthatch	8
Rock Wren	1
Carolina Wren	1
Sedge Wren	CW
Marsh Wren	2
Golden-crowned Kinglet	5
Eastern Bluebird	117
Hermit Thrush	1
American Robin	1,867
Northern Mockingbird	1
European Starling	590
Cedar Waxwing	21
Lapland Longspur	443
Snow Bunting	1
Yellow-rumped Warbler	10
American Tree Sparrow	920
Savannah Sparrow	6
Fox Sparrow	15
Song Sparrow	58
Swamp Sparrow	CW
White-throated Sparrow	1
Harris' Sparrow	975
White-crowned Sparrow	296
Dark-eyed Junco	445
Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco	3
Northern Cardinal	48
Red-winged Blackbird	560
Eastern Meadowlark	8
Western Meadowlark	236
meadowlark, sp.	293
Brewer's Blackbird	7
Brown-headed Cowbird	CW
blackbird, sp.	125
House Finch	38
Pine Siskin	4
American Goldfinch	120
House Sparrow	45
Total Species	76
Additional Count Week Species	10

 

 

Breeding Bird Surveys

Most years, a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) route is conducted twice during early summer (usually June).  This is done along a 25-mile route, with stops every half mile, where all birds seen and heard are recorded.