Hi Tweeters,

Just got back from a birding trip to west Texas. It was a fantastic trip though arid and hot (95-100 degrees). I was able to get all of my target birds thanks to some good info and great tips from fellow birders.

Photo links:
http://www.christinevadai.com/west_texas/west_texas_0503.html

Highlights:
Sam Neil Ranch at Big Bend NP: a great spot where an old windmill continues to pump water from an old well, creating a shaded oasis in the desert. There's even a well-shaded bench opposite the water hole, where you can sit and observe the parade of migrants and desert specialties. Here in the space of 10-15 minutes around 3pm (and VERY hot) I saw a male PAINTED BUNTING, two male VARIED BUNTINGS, numerous YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, a GRAY VIREO, lots of WILSON'S WARBLERS, two MACGILLAVRAY'S WARBLERS, a male SUMMER TANAGER, NORTHERN CARDINALS, MOCKINGBIRDS, a CRISSAL THRASHER, and PYRRHULOXIAS. Some birders I spoke with mentioned there had also been a Green-tailed Towhee moments before.

Santa Elena Canyon, a gorgeous spot at the western edge of Big Bend National Park. It was unfortunately closed to hiking due to flash flood warnings, but here in the lush riparian habitat I found HEPATIC TANAGERS, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKERS, lots of PAINTED BUNTINGS, lots of BELL'S VIREOS, two migrant BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, a CASSIN'S SPARROW, a VERMILLION FLYCATCHER, SCOTT'S ORIOLES, a GREATER ROADRUNNER, and heard hummingbirds (though didn't see them).

The Basin at Big Bend: This is where the Chisos Mountain Lodge is situated, and I stayed one night. Its in a valley at an elevation of 5,300 feet and had a good variety of canyon species: CANYON TOWHEES, BLUE GROSBEAKS, SCOTT'S ORIOLES, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS, two GRACE'S WARBLERS, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHERS, CURVE-BILLED THRASHERS, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS, HOODED ORIOLES, Common Ravens, Northern Mockingbirds, and a PEREGRINE FALCON.

Boot Canyon at Big Bend: upon arrival, I learned that all of the Chisos Mountain trails were closed due to a cougar attack the previous Monday. Trails were reopened that day, but due to trail regulations prohibiting solo hikers (my hubbie stayed home this trip), I met up with two other solo birders and we agreed set out at 7am the following morning to look for the prime target, the COLIMA WARBLER. Along this 8 mile roundtrip hike we spotted a HEPATIC TANAGER, Bewick's Wrens, a Swainson's Thrush, Anna's Hummingbirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Western Wood-pewees, Common Bushtits, an ACORN WOODPECKER, Spotted Towhees, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS, Olive-sided Flycatchers, a Western Kingbird, a Violet-green Swallow, BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS (one catching insects on the wing in a small cave!), BLACK-CRESTED TITMICE, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS, GRAY-BREASTED JAYS, WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, Yellow-rumped (Audobon's) Warblers and a GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. Our target bird, the COLIMA WARBLER, was surprisingly hard to find. Although everyone I spoke with said they are usually very easy to spot in Boot Canyon, I was only able to catch a glimpse of one as it was flying away, and another in our party saw a different one very briefly. All attempts to locate them after that were unsuccessful :-( but it was still a fabulous birding experience through gorgeous scenery.

At dusk at the Rio Grande Village Campground at Big Bend, there was a lot of activity: a very tame male PAINTED BUNTING working on a blade of grass, tons of COMMON NIGHTHAWKS swooping in at close range, LESSER NIGHTHAWKS a bit further out, and an ELF OWL in the trees near the campground. There is also a COMMON BLACK-HAWK nest at this location, though I arrived too late to see it. As I drove back to the lodge, COMMON POORWILLS were flushed along the road. At some point, I suddenly noticed how strange the moon looked, and realized it was a lunar eclipse... the lower half of the moon was dark! Surprisingly, no one else I mentioned it to had even noticed :-)

After Big Bend, I headed up to Fort Davis State Park (around 2 hours north).. I received numerous recommendations because there is a feeding station for MONTEZUMA QUAIL, and they can be seen there very reliably. As if to make up for the Colima experience, I was able to find the pair behind the feeding area almost immediately (and get photos!), along with WHITE-WINGED DOVES, Brown-headed Cowbirds, an ACORN WOODPECKER, a Western Scrub-Jay, a White-crowned Sparrow, House Finches and House Sparrows. I returned the following day and found CASSIN'S KINGBIRDS, a Black-headed Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeaks, White-breasted Nuthatches, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS, PHAINOPEPLAS, VERDINS, and a Loggerhead Shrike.

On return to El Paso, I noticed that Carlsbad Caverns were more-or-less on the way, so stopped there for a few hours. This was an amazing experience without considering the birds, but there were also loads of CAVE SWALLOWS and a few Cliff Swallows very active in the Bat Cave, and BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS in the scrub nearby. On the road from Fort Davis to Carlsbad, there were also lots of Horned Larks, Western Bluebirds and Lark Sparrows in the beautiful fields, and later, north of Van Horn I also found a small flock of LARK BUNTINGS.

Other highlights (in no particular order):
CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS - pretty common along the road, at one point sharing a roadkill feast with a Common Raven
A GOLDEN EAGLE sitting on the highway at dawn, just south of Van Horn
SAY'S PHOEBES common everywhere, but nesting, tame and very active near the store at the chisos mountain lodge
CACTUS WRENS working on a nest outside my window at the lodge
Tons of SCALED QUAIL, especially on the road at dawn and dusk
Two WILD TURKEYS at the Elephant Mountain WMA, just north of Teralingua (they also had hummingbird and seed feeders, but nothing observed there)
Lots of PRONGHORNS in fields west of Marfa
A MOUNTAIN PLOVER in a grassy field south of Alpine
An INCA DOVE at the pool area of the El Paso Airport Hilton (along with Collared and White-winged Doves). Another was at the Jacal at Big Bend.

Regards,
Christine Vadai
Mill Creek, WA
christinevadai at sprynet.com