Migrating Gulls

With fall colors advancing rapidly, migration is underway. I saw several large skeins of white-fronted geese on Friday, high and riding south over Kansas on the north wind. I also saw a couple groups of sandhill cranes. But the most noticeable migration was gulls streaming south from each reservoir I passed while traveling across the state.

Each large impoundment had a river of gulls heading south. I saw tens of thousands of the birds in fairly narrow lines, all heading for the Gulf. Many kinds of gulls fly far north for summer breeding, ending up near the arctic circle. And when it turns cold up there, they head to warmer climes. For a brief period, Kansas is full of the migrating gulls, which feed and rest on our large reservoirs. Most of the birds here now are Franklin’s gulls.

Meanwhile, they help Kansas anglers by diving and feeding on surfacing shad. This in turn, tells anglers where they might catch white bass and wipers, hard-fighting fish that attack shad schools from below. So everybody wins in that feeding spree.

Now through mid-November is my favorite time of year, and busy wildlife is at its easiest to film. Get out, take your camera, and experience the Kansas outdoors at its best.