Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge

Tiff and I spent a wonderful weekend at a retreat called Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge.  It is located east of Junction City and south of Manhattan.  The place was amazing!  It's a mix of prairie and wood-lined creek.  While the primary purpose of the trip was definitely not birding, Tiff suggested we do some owling at night to try to get Barred Owl (a species that I might have trouble getting the rest of the year).  I was also hoping to get Tufted Titmouse, a species that would be remarkable in Rooks, but it easy to get on the east side of the state.  I'm very tired of all the Tufted Titmouse alerts on my Kansas Needs on Ebird.  The Titmouse came easily.  Saturday morning, we woke up and their were Tufted Titmice (#101) adding their constant chatter to the morning chorus.  Barred Owl and another species that was only barely on my radar came later with more difficulty.  The surprise species came while Tiff and I were headed back to the cabin.  Previously, I had used the iPod to give the "Peent" call of this early-migrating species.  It did not respond to it, but after we moved a couple of hundred yards away, and I started the Barred Owl call, a bird with a very long bill started flying, emitting the characteristic sound of the bird in flight.  The bird?  An American Woodcock (#102).  They are easy to get in Michigan, but I wasn't figuring getting them in Kansas this year.  And after Tiff went to the cabin, I eventually got a Barred Owl (#103) to respond to the iPod.  For some reason, Barred Owls have only responded with one round of calls to the iPod any time I have gotten a response.  This is quite different from Eastern Screech-Owls or Great Horned Owls.  I wonder if anyone else has had this experience.  Anyways, Bird Runner was awesome, incredibly peaceful, and a place Tiff and I will definitely visit again.