Some of the most impressive images photographers get are the launches and landings of the bird world. I have been observing them for several years, and they never fail to fascinate me. 

Since we live by the Cheyenne Bottoms, it is logical that waterfowl are the all-stars. Puddle ducks like Mallards, Pintails, and Teal launch straight up from a calm, sitting position. They make an impressive splash when they launch and fuss at you most of the time as they leave the scene. Diving ducks like Bufflehead and Mergansers take a good running start to get airborne. The king of running starts are the Cormorant and Coots. We fiddle with our camera settings to get these footprints in the water. It takes a fast shutter speed to be successful, and there are lots of discards in the picture files.

The big birds like geese and swans launch elegantly and manage their big bodies precisely as they take off. They usually make some vocalizations before or as they elevate.

Some of the more amazing launches are group projects. I hope in your lifetime you get to see ten thousand snow geese launch out of a snow-covered milo field. It takes my breath every time. Also, the huge flocks of blackbirds launching and flying in their tight formations (called a murmuration) are astonishing. They swarm together and swoop as a unit—supposedly this is to confuse predators and is a safety mechanism. You can see these flocks from miles away working the milo fields. They eat a lot of grain—I can remember one of our senators (I think it was Pat Roberts) acquiring funding for blackbird control. I don’t think it worked out very well. Geese are voracious in eating young crops. I have seen cannon-type guns on timers to scare geese off crops.  Setting up in a field with three hundred decoys is one of the signature hunting adventures in Kansas. I have frozen almost to death a few times in those blinds. It is in our blood to hunt these birds—and has made some money for Ducks Unlimited. I am grateful to have been able to enjoy these hunts, and the friends I have made in blinds all over the world are so amazing. We live in a beautiful place!

Here are a few pictures of things I have seen and don’t have words to do them justice. The gift of our Cheyenne Bottoms and all it entails is a magical story. Don’t ever miss a chance to watch the birds fly! You won’t believe your eyes!!!

Doc

Doctor Dan Witt is a retired physician and nature enthusiast. He can be reached at danwitt01@gmail.com.