Monday, February 16, 2009

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge



This was sunset at Quiviria National Wildlife Refuge Sunday afternoon. I love going down there and it's only about a thirty minute drive from Hutchinson, where I live. In these days when eco-tourism is of such great interest, I wish we promoted this facility more. It's an amazing place to be, but it's hard to express to people how cool it is without them actually going.



I think you also just have to be a person who appreciates nature in all its forms. Quivira is a huge bird watching area. The birds were settled down by the time I took this photo, but you can see them dotting the sky above the horizon. I don't think I've ever been to Quivira when the sunset wasn't gorgeous.



We saw three otters yesterday. At least we think they were otters. This one and another swimming, and then one on land as we were leaving.

I loved the ripples this guy was making in the placid waters. It seems appropriate for a calm afternoon that he would have the place to himself as he glided through the water.



All of these photos were taken on the last mile and a half of the Wildlife Drive at Quivira. I am enchanted with this photo of the three birds silhouetted on the grasses. It was rare to see only a few of them at a time.



Something like 95% of migratory birds in the US move through Quivira at some point during the year. I'm not a bird watcher, but I appreciate the diversity that offers. In the autumn even Whooping Cranes become temporary residents.



I don't know my birds, but I'm guessing these are a very common variety considering how plentiful they are. I love this photo where you can see the blur of some flying while others are settling in for the night.



Earlier, they were swarming every which way. The sky was just black at times.



I don't know that I've ever shot so many photos directly into the sun before, but I wanted to capture that moment. The beginning of sunset, when twilight is coming, is my favorite time of day when I'm in nature. I love that beautiful pastel you only see at sunset.
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A day with friends at Quivira



Greg, Mia and I drove down to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day - sunny, although the wind was chilly - and we were there until sunset.

Quivira has a huge bird population passing through at any given time, and they were swarming at sunset. I took a ton of photos and will be sharing more, but love this one of the three birds silhouetted in the marsh grass, while the sky is speckled with hundreds of others.

This is the longest amount of time I've spent in a car since surgery and I had no problems, I'm happy to say. Greg drove all the way so all I had to do was take photos.

After Quivira we went to Wichita for dinner together before Mia headed on to Joplin. I'm feeling much perkier the last couple of days. About a week ago I had a couple of days of just needing to sleep almost all day and night. Then I seemed to take a leap in healing and just feel much more normal since then.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on facebook.com. Follow me at twitter.com. All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.