|
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
Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area, a unique sand prairie habitat, is probably best known as the easternmost range of lesser prairie chickens in Kansas. The best time to view the birds is from late March through early May when they gather early in the morning on their booming grounds, or leks, to display. These areas may change from year to year. Drive out before sunrise, shut off the engine, and listen carefully! The area also has a large population of kangaroo rats and predators that depend on them. Watch for badgers, coyotes, and Swainson's hawks. Wild turkeys, black-billed magpies, loggerhead shrikes, and Mississippi kites may also be found. Reptiles include prairie lizards and six-lined racemnners. The sandy roads leading into this area may be impassable at certain times of the year. During dry weather the sand may be so deep that typical automobiles drag and get stuck. At the Texas Lake Wildlife Area, several small lakes and marshy sloughs attract waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland species.
You may download the KDWPT brochures on Texas Lake and the Pratt Sandhills Wildlife Area from their web site. 5,797 acres
This 19-mile drive connects the towns of Syracuse and Coolidge, just 2 miles from the Colorado state line. The road runs along the south side of the Arkansas River. To the south lie rolling sand dunes covered with sagebrush, yucca, and grasses. The most visible species of wildlife along the drive is the colorful black-billed magpie. At times, 20 or more can be seen foraging together or flying in loose flocks. Look for their large stick nests, often 3 feet in diameter. Along the river road, visitors encounter large, picturesque stands of stately cottonwoods that provide nesting cavities for red-headed woodpeckers, northern flickers, and American kestrels. The wooded river bottoms also provide good habitat for mule deer, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and coyotes. This is one of the few places in the state where porcupines occur. Watch for them feeding in the cottonwood trees-from a distance a porcupine looks very much like a squirrel nest. The sand dunes support lesser prairie chickens and scaled quail. While in the region, visit Hamilton Wildlife Area. The dry lake bed is a stark reminder of a dwindling water supply. A spring at the north end of the area has several dams constructed by land-locked beaver. The many rodent holes on the edges of the sandy roads are created by Ord's kangaroo rats and thirteen-lined ground squirrels. Their presence explains the coyote tracks in the sand!
Directions:
From Syracuse the river road is located 1.4 miles south of U.S.
50 on K-27. Follow the
river road west 17.6 miles to the town of Coolidge.
Questions or comments about Natural Kansas may be directed to
|
Highway-based
Wildlife Trails are in the works for
Kansas! 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. 
No developed trails.
