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Wildlife Watching Sites in Click
on the map markers or the names in the list below to learn about
Wildlife Watching in Kansas Site Index
Beautifully clear Wilson Lake graces the rolling grasslands of Post Rock Country. The Saline River, open waters of the reservoir, numerous streams, marshes, riparian woodlands, and upland mixed grass prairie provide the diversity for wildlife. To become familiar with the area, take a walk on Bur Oak Nature Trail in Sylvan Park below the dam. The river below the outlet has beaver dams and cone-shaped muskrat dens. Rocktown Natural Area, a registered Kansas natural and scientific area in Lucas Park west of the dam, is a good place to view massive red Dakota sandstone formations, prairie grasses, wildflowers, and birds. The grasslands around the lake are good areas to look for mule deer, coyotes, greater prairie chickens, and ring-necked pheasants. Woody and brushy tracts near milo fields attract white-tailed deer and northern bobwhite quail. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels and pocket gopher mounds are common in the campgrounds. On summer nights Ord's kangaroo rats can be seen on sandy backroads in the beam of headlights. Reptile lovers should examine rocky areas for collared lizards, sandy sites for six-lined racerunners, and marshes and wet meadows for common and plains garter snakes. Bullsnakes, the farmer's friend, are abundant in many different habitats. Birders find rock wrens, chimney swifts, western kingbirds, northern mockingbirds, and loggerhead shrikes in the summer. Hundreds of cliff-swallow nests can be found under Hell Creek Bridge at the Wilson Otoe Area. In fall and spring, orange-crowned, yellow, and yellow-rumped warblers inhabit the woodlands. The lake attracts migrating ducks, grebes, cormorants, and geese; sometimes you can see ospreys and sandhill cranes. Winter attractions include mountain bluebirds and golden and bald eagles. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has reintroduced young golden eagles in hopes of establishing some nesting pairs. Walk the Dakota Trail in the Hell Creek area of the state park to see many of the region's grasses and wildflowers.
Ownership:
The entities responsible for management of Wilson Lake
are below. US Army Corps of Engineers
(785) 658-2551; 18,086 acres Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (785)
658-2465
Fort Riley offers most of the wildlife species found in north central Kansas, including at least one-the wapiti, or elk-not otherwise found free-ranging in most of the state. Approximately 50 elk roam the reservation-they are usually in the northern sector. Visitors should know that some restrictions have been established to ensure travel safety and the fort's primary mission of military training. For information on current regulations and elk-viewing or fall bugling locations, call the Fish and Wildlife Administrator at the Natural Resources Office (number listed below). The First Territorial Capitol Museum is located at Fort Riley and the adjacent Kaw River Nature Trail provides good wildlife viewing. The trail, a little over a mile long, takes hikers into the woodlands along the Kansas River. The dominant trees include cottonwood, green ash, and box elder with an understory of gooseberry, grape, and Virginia creeper. Common mammals of the area include raccoons, opossums, striped skunks, coyotes, fox squirrels, deer, beavers, muskrats, and eastern wood rats. Five-lined skinks, common garter snakes, and rat snakes are here along with several species of frogs, toads, and aquatic turtles. The woodlands contain a variety of woodpeckers and songbirds. During winter, bald eagles may be seen flying along the river or perched in large cottonwoods that provide them a good view.
For more Wildlife Watching sites in the Flint Hills, click
here
Ownership: The
entity responsible for management of Ft. Riley is the U.S. Department of
the Army. 101,000 acres
Tuttle Creek Lake lies in the Big Blue River valley just north of Manhattan, surrounded by the wooded valleys and tallgrass prairie uplands of the Flint Hills. At the northern end of the lake is the wildlife area, where migrating waterfowl and shorebirds can be seen in fall and spring. The best sites for viewing prairie wildlife are the Kansas State University Range Research Unit (2 miles southwest of the dam) and along Prairie Parkway (west of K-13), east of the lake. The most accessible and probably best all-around viewing area is River Pond State Park below the dam. Here along the river, gadwall and common goldeneye ducks along with common mergansers and ring-billed gulls are abundant in winter. On occasion long-tailed ducks and common loons are sighted. In mid-winter bald eagles fish the river pond and perch on the tall trees of Eagle Island. East of the outlet channel, ponds support beaver and muskrats year-round and American wigeons and northern shovelers in winter. Listen for western chorus frogs in March and April and bullfrogs and cricket frogs in summer. During migrations, watch for warblers, sparrows, and ospreys. Herons are often seen in summer. In the grasslands along Prairie Parkway you can see upland sandpipers as well as loggerhead shrikes and western kingbirds perched on fence posts. Eastern meadowlarks, dickcissels, grasshopper sparrows, and mourning doves are also frequently seen. On the Range Research Unit, greater prairie chickens boom in the pre-dawn light of April and May. A couple of miles west of Stockdale Cove, on private land along Mill Creek, tall sycamores hold large stick nests of great blue herons.
For more Wildlife Watching sites in the Flint Hills, click
here
Ownership:
The
entities responsible for management of Tuttle Creek Lake are below. US Army Corps of Engineers
(785) 539-8511; 26,800 acres Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (785)
539-7941
Waconda Lake, the third largest reservoir in Kansas, lies at the confluence of the North and South forks of the Solomon River. The reservoir, known locally as Waconda Lake, covers Waconda Springs, a site sacred to generations of Plains Indians. The best times to visit are during the spring and fall migration seasons, when thousands of birds stop in the area. You can expect to see huge numbers of mallard ducks and Canada geese. Watch for redhead, lesser scaup, green-winged and blue-winged teal, common goldeneye, and bufflehead. The best views are from the dam and the north end of the causeway near the goose refuge. On the North Fork of the Solomon River, riparian woodland of cottonwood, elm, oak, and hickory supports many songbirds. Watch for wood ducks among the dead trees standing in the water. In winter, scan the tall trees near the lakeshore and along the rivers for bald eagles. Common loons may be present during this season. Red-tailed hawks are frequently sighted throughout the year. Ring-necked pheasant, greater prairie chicken, and mule deer inhabit the grasslands and croplands. In the bottomlands, watch for white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, beaver, and raccoons. Listen for great horned owls and coyotes at night. If you visit from late spring to early fall, be sure to walk the Waconda Nature Trail in the park.
Ownership:
The
entities responsible for management of Waconda Lake are below. US Bureau of Reclamation
(785) 545-3314; 12,600 acres Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (785)
545-3345
Questions or comments about Natural Kansas may be directed to Jim Mason
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The
Kansas Nature-based Tourism Alliance is supporting efforts to create
highway-based
Wildlife Trails. These will be
routes, utilizing public roads, which offer a framework for people to see the
best the region has to offer for viewing wildlife. The Western Kansas
Rural Economic Development Alliance is leading an effort to form two
highway-based wildlife trails in Western Kansas. 
Burr Oak Nature Trail (0.75
mile loop); Dakota Trail (1 mile loop); Rocktown Trail (3 mile loop);
Switchgrass Mountain Bike Trail (4 miles). For a magnificent drive through
the Dakota and Greenhorn (Post Rock) geological formations, take Southshore
Drive from Wilson State Park to Bunker Hill.
Directions: Fort Riley Military Reservation is
located between Junction City and Manhattan. From Manhattan, take K-18 west 8 miles.
Travel through the town of Ogden. The Natural Resources Office is a little over 2 miles
west of Ogden; the First Territorial Capitol Museum and the Kaw River Nature Trail are
another mile west of the resources office.
Directions: At the Glen Elder State Park
Office, 1 mile west of Glen Elder on K-24, you can pick up a park permit, map, and trail
guide.