Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County, Kansas, is a 21,820-acre federal refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides critical stopover and nesting habitat for migratory birds along the Central Flyway. Located 70 miles northwest of Wichita via US-50 W and KS-19, the refuge centers on a complex of salt marshes, fresh and brackish impoundments, sand flats, and upland prairie that makes it one of the most productive waterbird and shorebird habitats in the American interior. The refuge's centerpiece event is the annual sandhill crane migration from late February through early April, when hundreds of thousands of cranes stage in the wetlands and adjacent fields, creating one of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles in the Great Plains. A gravel auto-tour route of approximately seven miles loops through the main wetland and impoundment areas and can be driven slowly with windows down to observe birds at close range. Spotting scopes are useful but not essential from the road. Fall waterfowl migration from October through November brings ducks and geese in similarly large numbers. Shorebird diversity peaks in late April and early August. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, and coyote are also regularly seen. The visitor center on NE 80th Street is open weekdays and provides trail maps, current sighting information, and restrooms. Hiking trails of varying lengths depart from several trailhead parking areas within the refuge. Photography from the auto-tour route is excellent; the flat terrain and open water offer unobstructed angles on herons, egrets, ducks, and cranes.