{"id":4160,"date":"2013-06-19T00:17:57","date_gmt":"2013-06-19T05:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=4160"},"modified":"2013-06-19T00:17:57","modified_gmt":"2013-06-19T05:17:57","slug":"red-hills-reflection-summer-2013-field-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=4160","title":{"rendered":"Red Hills Reflection:  Summer 2013 Field Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/view.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-4184\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/view-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/view-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/view-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/view.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/a>Sighting Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mammals:<\/strong>\u00a0 Cave Myotis, Prairie Dogs, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer (as we left), horses next to our campsite (the kids enjoyed petting) and cattle.\u00a0 Lots of cattle. \u00a0<strong>Herps:<\/strong>\u00a0 Common Kingsnake, Coachwhip, Prairie Rattler, Bullsnake (thanks for scouting it, Bailey!), Baby Snapping Turtle, Ornate Box Turtle, Horned Lizard, 5-Lined Race Runner. \u00a0<strong>Birds:<\/strong>\u00a0 Mississippi Kites, Nighthawks, Chuck Will\u2019s Widow, Cowbird egg in a Phoebe nest, flock of Cave Swallows under a bridge, Burrowing Owl, Great Horned Owl. \u00a0<strong>Invertebrates:<\/strong>\u00a0 Crayfish, \u201cThing Nightmares are Made of Centipede\u201d (I made that name up, but look at a picture of that thing!).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday Evening Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/stan-nd-ken.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4206\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/stan-nd-ken-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Harry and Charlotte McDonald identified the sweet sounds of the Chuck Will\u2019s Widow (bird).\u00a0 Click here to listen:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds\">http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds<\/a><\/li>\n<li>A young couple from the Merrill Ranch came down to start a campfire and bring us s\u2019mores.\u00a0 What hospitality!<\/li>\n<li>We welcomed some new members to the KABT trip:\u00a0 Marylee Ramsay from Goddard and Kelly Kluthe from Wyandotte (who did I forget?).<\/li>\n<li>Kelly Kluthe followed Brad Williamson\u2019s advice on where to put her tent.\u00a0 Following Brad\u2019s advice would prove to be a grave mistake.<\/li>\n<li>Wow, that was one tenacious bird \u2013 the Chuck Will\u2019s Widow kept up his call until the wee hours of the night.\u00a0 Seriously, wasn\u2019t he tired, too? \u00a0You&#8217;d better listen again to get the full effect: \u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds\">http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Saturday<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Stan-and-Dee.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4194\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Stan-and-Dee-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stan Roth kept us on schedule with a historical overview of the area with insight from Ken Brunson and Dee &amp; Phyllis Scherich.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Big-Gyp-cave.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Big-Gyp-cave-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>First stop:\u00a0 Big Gyp Cave where we scaled poison ivy to get to a breath-taking site.\u00a0 This is where we found the baby common snapping turtle, Phoebe nest containing a Cowbird egg and our first indication of bats in the area: the bat mummy (modest exaggeration). \u00a0Stan showed us the primitive cave drawings which were the first (only?) cave drawings made with pigment found in Kansas.<\/li>\n<li>Phyllis helped us identify wildflowers over a picnic lunch while Alexis Powell proved to have more determination than a coachwhip while posing it for a photo.<\/li>\n<li>Second stop:\u00a0 \u00a0This cave held a gargantuan mountain of petrified bat guano (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">not<\/span> an exaggeration).\u00a0 We had to crawl over it to get into the depths of the cave.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure if the \u201cdirt\u201d on my hands was soil or guano and just tried not to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Nest.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4185\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Nest-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>pick the fuzz off my teeth from forgetting to brush that morning.\u00a0 Drew Ising ran a babysitting service for a while my cave-ophobic (speluncaphobic) daughter went darting out of the cave (thanks, Drew!).<\/li>\n<li>Next cave:\u00a0 It was decidedly the \u201cSecret Garden of Poison Ivy\u201d cave that was the most memorable for most of us on this trip.\u00a0 The majority of the children on the trip crawled within the bowels of the cave (along with a few daring adults) while several of us sat just within the narrow mouth of the cave (less than 4 foot ceiling).\u00a0 We felt a brush of air, then another and thought \u201cno, that couldn\u2019t have been a bat\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 Then a few more wafts of wind and trained our flashlights to the cavity where we last saw our children.\u00a0 Lasting several minutes, a few dozen bats flew past us to the outside, while others flew back in.\u00a0 We heard exuberance from the depths of the cave and suddenly we were inundated with <strong><em>hundreds<\/em><\/strong> of bats flying past to either get in or out.\u00a0 This lasted another 10-15 minutes.\u00a0 As the kids finally began exiting the cave, they said it was the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/evil-centipede.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4183\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/evil-centipede-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>amazing thing they had ever experienced.\u00a0 I agree (although feeling a little guilty about the disruption our environmentally friendly group caused the bats).\u00a0 Someone identified these as Cave Myotis. \u00a0Kylee Sharp got a great shot of a bat mid-flight among the trees. \u00a0Check out the KABT FB page for a link to Flickr&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Riding on that high, we explored the area to find a picturesque meandering stream at the foot of a Red Hill cliff.\u00a0 We harassed the most chilling centipede that looked like it came from a horror movie. Scott Sharp found a timid Prairie Rattlesnake.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_2931.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4215\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_2931-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Heading to the next site, we spotted Cave Swallows and stopped on a bridge to watch them.\u00a0 Bailey Busch showed she has eyes of an eagle when she spotted a bullsnake in a grassy area under the bridge.<\/li>\n<li>At this stage in the trip, it is important to note that some members of our party must have some sort of sixth sense (great cell coverage) about weather because they were mysteriously absent from the trip from hence forward under the premise of previous engagements (Brad Williamson, Randy Dix, Noah Busch, Drew Isling and Harry &amp; Charlotte McDonald) while the rest of us enjoyed the view of a distance thunderstorm across the hills (foreshadowing??).<\/li>\n<li>Our last stop of the day was at a prairie dog town where we saw prairie dog frivolity.\u00a0 The kids enjoyed a scavenger hunt of bones.\u00a0 It would only be science parents to identify the bones and let the kids keep them instead of saying \u201cgross, put that down before you get worms!\u201d<\/li>\n<li>With that beautiful distant thunderstorm getting closer (and Julie Schwarting\u2019s mammoth tent not staked down), we decided to go back to camp.\u00a0 Yep,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/drying-sleeping-bags.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4210\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/drying-sleeping-bags-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a> it was raining pretty good by the time we got back.\u00a0 Kelly Kluthe\u2019s tent proved to be in the lowest spot of the entire camp area, maybe in the entire ranch.\u00a0 It looked like it sat in the middle of a pond just a little bigger than the tent &#8211; moat if you will.\u00a0 I wonder if Kelly will ever listen to Brad\u2019s advice again?<\/li>\n<li>We waited out the waves of rain in our vehicles\u2026three rounds of rain.\u00a0 And then it stopped.\u00a0 The Chuck Will\u2019s Widow sang with joy (again:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds\">http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds<\/a>) while we figured out how to cook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/dinner.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/dinner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>our \u201ccampfire\u201d meals with wet wood. \u00a0Yeah for camp stoves and potluck dinners! \u00a0The children of the group played in the &#8220;chocolate milk lake&#8221; while the adults cooked. \u00a0Scott made a clothesline for the Schwartings sleeping bags.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/chocolate-milk.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4208\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/chocolate-milk-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>After everyone squeegeed and ate, we enjoyed a campfire (found some dry wood!) with more s\u2019mores, some campfire pies, steaming soggy socks on the edge of the fire, a tent chess tournament and the musical styling\u2019s of Paul Schwarting and Scott Sharp on the guitars (with harmony from the coyotes in the distance).\u00a0 \u2026and the danged Chuck Will\u2019s Widow.\u00a0 As folks turned in for the night, I heard someone wish upon a star\u2026for a BB gun to shoot that blasted bird.\u00a0 Amen, sista.\u00a0 Click the link to the sound again, but push play over and over if you think we were too harsh:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds\">http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sunday<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Regatta.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4207\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Regatta-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Feeling pretty pooped (and still pruney), most of the group packed up camp while the kids held a Regatta of boats made from bark, twigs and leaves.\u00a0 The race was down the crick (creek for you big city folks) with a photo finish.\u00a0 Perfect end to the fun weekend while the damned bird sang his good-byes.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds\">http:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/guide\/Chuck-wills-widow\/sounds<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sighting Summary Mammals:\u00a0 Cave Myotis, Prairie Dogs, White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer (as we left), horses next to our campsite (the kids enjoyed petting) and cattle.\u00a0 Lots of cattle. \u00a0Herps:\u00a0 Common Kingsnake, Coachwhip, Prairie Rattler, Bullsnake (thanks for scouting it, Bailey!), Baby Snapping Turtle, Ornate Box Turtle, Horned Lizard, 5-Lined Race Runner. \u00a0Birds:\u00a0 Mississippi Kites, Nighthawks,<br \/><a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/?p=4160\">+ Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5670,"featured_media":4184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,1,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-field-trips","category-kabt-news","category-nature"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5670"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4160"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4230,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4160\/revisions\/4230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kabt.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}