We made it to the Bottoms by late afternoon, turning onto the gravel roads that ringed the pools.  Cheyenne Bottoms is a restored wetland, and the water is managed with dams, dikes and channels.  We were only there a few minutes when Steve got a great new bird - an American Avocet wading about fifty yards away.  This was a lifelister for Steve, and the bird let him have a good long look.  I was happy for my birdwatcher friend - a new bird means as much to him as a new rattlesnake means to me.  Herping with Steve over the years has left me with an appreciation for birds too - his enthusiasm is infectious. There were a lot of other shorebirds around to check out, Ringbilled Gulls and Blacknecked Stilts among them. 

Time to do a little road cruising as the sun set and the temperature started to drop a bit. Our first herp was a flat DOR Western Massasauga.  We were sad at the sight but heartened a little - the snakes were here at least.  A little further down the road Steve pulled in a small group of Franklin's Gulls, another life lister.  Off in the distance a large flock of White Pelicans scudded across the water, and along the shore we saw Kildeer, Sanderlings, and several Blackbellied Plovers.  This was indeed a great birding place!

Snake on the road!  It was close to seven o'clock now, and we bailed out at the welcome sight.  It was a young Diamondback Water Snake.  A few minutes later we saw two more, one a good-sized adult.  These rhombifer were prettier than most I've seen, being a little greener and having a distinct pattern.

A bit further on the next snake in the road turned out to be a Western Plains Garter, and a real beauty at that.  The mid-dorsal stripe was wide and a bright. This was a species I was hoping to see.  I could step out my front door and see the eastern radix, but it took a trip to Kansas to find the western subspecies.

The light was fading rapidly now.  We got a look at a Scarlet Ibis as it took off from the ditch alongside the road.  Several more Plains Garters and Diamondbacks made appearances on the road before we finally gave it up for the evening and headed off to seek food and lodging in the nearest town.  Cheyenne Bottoms was a place I hoped to return to someday.

Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata)
Prairie Racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis)
Great Plains Skink (Eumeces obsoletus)
Fivelined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus)
Western Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus)
Prairie Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus arnyi)
Red Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila)
Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki X splendida)
Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)
Western  Worm Snake (Carphophis vermis)
Blotched Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster transversa)
Diamondback Water Snake (Nerodia rhombifer)
Redsided Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)
Western Plains Garter Snake (Thamnophis radix haydeni)
Eastern Yellowbellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
Western Chorus Frog (Psuedacris triseriata triseriata)
Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne olivacea)
Plains Leopard Frog (Rana blairi)
American Toad (Bufo americanus)