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About KDWP » Where We Work » Wildlife Areas
Hunters can check-in / check-out at ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials.
From Great Bend, KS:
From Hoisington, KS:
From Highway K-4:
From Highway K-156
Read a complete list of Public Land Regulations or you can download the regulation summary.
Hunting pressure on the Bottoms can be heavy during waterfowl season, particularly on weekends.
Prior to hunting any species on Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, all hunters are required to check-in here, ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials.
Pools 1, 5 and a portion of Pool 2 are refuge areas and closed to all activities. Exceptions to this occur for some special hunts. Check with wildlife area personnel for more information.
In addition to waterfowl, other game may be legally taken at Cheyenne Bottoms. Pheasant hunting is usually good. Snipe and rail hunting is good along the shallow marsh margins. Quail and deer are also present in fair numbers.
A handicapped accessible hunting/photo blind is available by reservation. Call the office for additional information and reservations.
In the event of whooping crane activity, the pool the birds are in is closed to all hunting and the goose hunting zones are closed to crane and light goose hunting.
Motorized boats are allowed only during an open waterfowl season. All boats must be operated at no wake speeds. Pool 3A is closed to motorized boats. Pool 4A is closed to motorized boats at 1 p.m.
Because Cheyenne Bottoms is such a diverse, large and unique marsh, birdwatching is one of the more popular activities on the area. The spring and fall migration periods offer the best opportunity to view large numbers of different species in this one location. In spring, waterfowl and sandhill cranes can begin arriving as early as February. Wading birds, such as herons and egrets, begin arriving in March and April. Most shorebirds arrive in late April and early May. By late May, the birds that are still present on the area will tend to remain and nest.
The southward migration in fall can be a rewarding and challenging time for the birdwatcher. Most of the birds moving through the area during this time of year have replaced their breeding plumage with a set of feathers that lack much of the color they had just a few months earlier. This can make identification difficult, especially when looking at shorebirds. The fall shorebird migration can begin as early as July and extend well into September and October. Because of this, the bird numbers are not as impressive as the spring movement since the birds do not achieve as great a number at any one time. The peak period for duck viewing in the fall occurs early to mid-October. Most wading birds remain on the area until the marsh freezes. This is especially true for the great blue heron. Whooping cranes are most apt to stop at Cheyenne Bottoms in late October into early November. Bald eagles winter on the area and are present from as early as November to as late as March. A checklist of birds found on the area and the seasons they are present is available at the area office and the information signs at the main entrances. You may also download this list from this web page.
If you go to Interesting Facts, here on the Cheyenne Bottoms web page, you will find the nedian dates of first observation of many different species of birds. These observations are a compilation of data collected at Cheyenne Bottoms over the past 30 years.
For a current idea of birds present on the Area, go to Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area News.
Fishing at Cheyenne Bottoms is limited, for the most part, to carp and bullheads. Occasional catches of channel cat, crappie and bass are made after several continuous years of having water on the area.
Trapping is permitted on the wildlife area. A special permit is required. It is available at the area office free of charge. However, trapping is not permitted at any time in the refuge area nor during the waterfowl season.
Median first observation date of birds with at least 5 observations at Cheyenne Bottoms during 1976-2003
| Species | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mallard | 4-Feb | |||||||||
| Common merganser | 4-Feb | |||||||||
| Hooded merganser | 6-Feb | |||||||||
| Belted kingfisher | 7-Feb | |||||||||
| Northern pintail | 8-Feb | |||||||||
| Common goldeneye | 9-Feb | |||||||||
| Greater white-fronted goose | 10-Feb | 24-Sep | ||||||||
| Green-winged teal | 15-Feb | |||||||||
| Tundra swan | 16-Feb | |||||||||
| Sandhill crane | 17-Feb | 1-Oct | ||||||||
| American wigeon | 19-Feb | |||||||||
| Redhead | 20-Feb | |||||||||
| Gadwall | 21-Feb | |||||||||
| American coot | 22-Feb | |||||||||
| Northern shoveler | 23-Feb | |||||||||
| Bufflehead | 23-Feb | |||||||||
| Snow goose | 24-Feb | |||||||||
| Lesser scaup | 27-Feb | |||||||||
| Canvasback | 28-Feb | |||||||||
| Ring-necked duck | 28-Feb | |||||||||
| Killdeer | 28-Feb | |||||||||
| Ruddy duck | 3-Mar | |||||||||
| Great blue heron | 8-Mar | |||||||||
| Cinnamon teal | 8-Mar | |||||||||
| Blue-winged teal | 9-Mar | |||||||||
| Pied-billed grebe | 10-Mar | |||||||||
| American white pelican | 16-Mar | |||||||||
| Wood duck | 16-Mar | |||||||||
| Greater yellowlegs | 19-Mar | 10-Jul | ||||||||
| Baird's sandpiper | 19-Mar | 18-Jul | ||||||||
| Long-billed dowitcher | 20-Mar | 10-Jul | ||||||||
| Double-crested cormorant | 21-Mar | |||||||||
| Eastern phoebe | 23-Mar | |||||||||
| Lesser yellowlegs | 25-Mar | 2-Jul | ||||||||
| Mourning dove | 25-Mar | |||||||||
| Common snipe | 26-Mar | 6-Sep | ||||||||
| American avocet | 1-Apr | |||||||||
| Semipalmated sandpiper | 4-Apr | 8-Jul | ||||||||
| Least sandpiper | 4-Apr | 10-Jul | ||||||||
| Western sandpiper | 6-Apr | 9-Jul | ||||||||
| Rough-winged swallow | 6-Apr | |||||||||
| Pectoral sandpiper | 7-Apr | 23-Jul | ||||||||
| Eared grebe | 7-Apr | |||||||||
| American bittern | 8-Apr | |||||||||
| Turkey vulture | 8-Apr | |||||||||
| Black-crowned night-heron | 9-Apr | |||||||||
| Swainson's hawk | 9-Apr | |||||||||
| Yellow-headed blackbird | 9-Apr | |||||||||
| Great egret | 10-Apr | |||||||||
| Snowy egret | 10-Apr | |||||||||
| Snowy plover | 10-Apr | |||||||||
| Franklin's gull | 11-Apr | |||||||||
| Wilson's phalarope | 12-Apr | |||||||||
| Hudsonian godwit | 12-Apr | 1-Aug | ||||||||
| Cattle egret | 12-Apr | |||||||||
| Black-necked stilt | 12-Apr | |||||||||
| Burrowing owl | 12-Apr | |||||||||
| Tree swallow | 12-Apr | |||||||||
| Long-billed curlew | 13-Apr | 12-Jul | ||||||||
| White-faced ibis | 13-Apr | |||||||||
| Barn swallow | 13-Apr | |||||||||
| Marbled godwit | 14-Apr | 8-Jul | ||||||||
| Forster's tern | 14-Apr | |||||||||
| Stilt sandpiper | 15-Apr | 12-Jul | ||||||||
| Semipalmated plover | 16-Apr | 27-Jul | ||||||||
| American golden-plover | 16-Apr | 14-Sep | ||||||||
| Horned grebe | 16-Apr | |||||||||
| Little blue heron | 16-Apr | |||||||||
| Dunlin | 17-Apr | 8-Sep | ||||||||
| Western grebe | 17-Apr | |||||||||
| Short-billed dowitcher | 18-Apr | 21-Jul | ||||||||
| Osprey | 18-Apr | |||||||||
| Black-billed magpie | 19-Apr | |||||||||
| House wren | 19-Apr | |||||||||
| Willet | 20-Apr | 17-Jul | ||||||||
| Whimbrel | 21-Apr | 13-Jul | ||||||||
| Brown thrasher | 21-Apr | |||||||||
| Peregrine falcon | 23-Apr | |||||||||
| Common moorhen | 23-Apr | |||||||||
| Virginia rail | 24-Apr | |||||||||
| Sora | 24-Apr | |||||||||
| Cliff swallow | 24-Apr | |||||||||
| Piping plover | 25-Apr | 31-Jul | ||||||||
| Spotted sandpiper | 26-Apr | |||||||||
| Upland sandpiper | 26-Apr | |||||||||
| Black-bellied plover | 27-Apr | 18-Aug | ||||||||
| Western kingbird | 27-Apr | |||||||||
| Common yellowthroat | 27-Apr | |||||||||
| Eastern kingbird | 28-Apr | |||||||||
| Sanderling | 29-Apr | 8-Aug | ||||||||
| Baltimore oriole | 30-Apr | |||||||||
| White-rumped sandpiper | 1-May | 12-Jul | ||||||||
| Solitary sandpiper | 1-May | 23-Jul | ||||||||
| Red knot | 2-May | 7-Aug | ||||||||
| Buff-breasted sandpiper | 3-May | 22-Aug | ||||||||
| Chimney swift | 3-May | |||||||||
| Green heron | 4-May | |||||||||
| Least bittern | 6-May | |||||||||
| Red-headed woodpecker | 7-May | |||||||||
| Gray catbird | 7-May | |||||||||
| Dickcissel | 8-May | |||||||||
| Ruddy turnstone | 9-May | 27-Jul | ||||||||
| Red-necked phalarope | 9-May | |||||||||
| Mississippi kite | 9-May | |||||||||
| Black tern | 12-May | |||||||||
| Common nighthawk | 12-May | |||||||||
| Whooping crane | 22-Oct | |||||||||
| Bald eagle | 19-Nov |
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