[texbirds] Belated Big Bend Trip Report Part I
- From: Andrew Core <andrewcore@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 2 May 2012 21:34:01 -0700
Hello Texas,
Philip Kline and I made the pilgrimage to Big Bend National Park from
Tucson, AZ from Thursday, April 26th to Sunday April 29th. Apologies for
the lateness of the report, but we were pretty wiped out from the trip for
a day or two.
Highlights from this part:
Canvasback - El Paso
Hooded Merganer - McNary Reservoir (Hudspeth Co)
Okey D. Lucas Memorial Park in Van Horn (Culberson Co, migrants)
HERMIT and Colima Warblers on the Pinnacles Trail (Big Bend)
Least Flycatcher - Laguna Meadows Trail (Big Bend)
Black-and-White Warbler - Rio Grande Village (Big Bend)
Day 1:
We set out from Tucson on Thursday morning and stopped at several spots
along the way. Beginning in El Paso, we had a nice selection of waterfowl
and shorebirds at Crossroads Pond, including a seemingly-late female
Canvasback. Ebird checklist with link to location:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10588061
McNary Reservoir southeast of El Paso was chockful of interesting birds.
The previously reported 2 Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Goose were
still present. We flushed them from the south shore. A spiffy male Hooded
Merganser at the western end was also a nice surprise. We picked out one
Western Grebe among the many Clark's, but there may have been more. Two
American White Pelicans, well over 100 Cormorants of both expected species
(the vast majority appeared to be Neotropic), and 35 distant Ring-billed
Gulls were other highlights. (list:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10557926)
We next stopped in Van Horn where we discovered a great little
postage-stamp-sized park with a few trees and a water drip along Broadway
west of downtown called Okey D. Lucas Memorial Park. This turned out to be
a great migrant trap, although visits out of migration season would likely
turn up very little. It's definitely worth a stop if you're passing
through at the right time. We also stopped on the way back when we saw
some interesting migrants, but on Thursday, we also found several migrating
common warbler and sparrow species including a dark-lored White-crowned
Sparrow (don't know if the expected subspecies is oriantha or leucophrys
out here) and a Savannah Sparrow, plus a delightful family of Eastern
Curve-billed Thrashers with recently-fledged young. (list:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10557937)
Ever onward, we spotted a few more interesting birds before we arrived at
Chisos Basin Campground at 11:30pm local time to the sound of calling Elf
and Great Horned Owls. The best was along Route 90 a few miles southeast
of Valentine, where I spotted a Burrowing Owl sitting up on a flowering
agave stalk. We watched it for a few minutes as it flew down, caught
something, and then fed it to a fledgling standing, previously unseen, on
the ground nearby. Photo in ebird checklist:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10588052
Day 2:
On Friday, we hiked the Pinnacles/Boot Canyon/Laguna Meadows loop starting
at 7:45am. We were successful in locating at least 5 singing COLIMA
WARBLERS. The first two were singing between 9:30 and 10:00am along the
Pinnacles Trail in the last quarter mile before reaching the saddle where
the trail drops down into Boot Canyon. On the way up, we spotted male and
female HERMIT WARBLERS with a small flock of Townsend's. Photos (Hermit
and Colima) and checklist:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10590221
Over in Boot Canyon, we didn't find any Colima Warblers, but noted a
PAINTED REDSTART and two day-calling Western Screech-owls on the way down
to the Spring. At the Spring, we heard a CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, had brief
looks at a male HEPATIC TANAGER, and watched three Blue-throated
Hummingbirds chasing each other around.
Just over the saddle coming out of Boot Canyon, we heard another Colima
Warbler and heard at least two more further down the Laguna Meadows Trail.
We also spotted a silent Least Flycatcher, had good looks at a Swainson's
Thrush and heard several singing Black-chinned Sparrows. A couple of
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds also flew over during our hike. Back at the
campground, we were pleased to see a bright male Indigo Bunting near our
campsite around 3pm.
We still had plenty of daylight left, so we decided to head down to Rio
Grande Village to do some more birding and take advantage of the pay
showers there (much needed!). We stopped at Dugout Wells on the way down,
which was very birdy. A large flock of 80-100 Brewer's Blackbirds seemed
unusual. We also found a male MacGillivray's Warbler and several other
migrants here.
At Rio Grande Village, we headed towards the ponds at the beginning of the
Hot Springs Trail. We spotted one of the nesting COMMON BLACK-HAWKS
resting on a low limb of a cottonwood. At the end of the road, Gray Hawks
were calling and a Painted Bunting singing. We then headed to the Nature
Trail and flushed three Common Ground-doves from the side of the road. In
the Village Campground, we walked around the campground and walked the
Nature Trail. A Black-and-white Warbler, and a couple of Nashville
Warblers were highlights. A Green Heron was perched on a snag uttering
it's strange, otherworldly call. Along the river, we spotted three Snowy
Egrets and a nice selection of dabbling ducks, including Green-winged and
Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, Mexican Mallard, and a Northern Shoveler.
After a shower, we headed back to the Chisos Basin. A quick stop at the
start of the Lost Mine Trail produced two calling Mexican Whip-poor-wills
calling from the slopes above, our 100th species of the day.
This is getting long, so I will describe the last two days of our trip in a
separate posting. I should note that a majority of this was written by
Philip, but I am posting it.
Andrew Core
Tucson, AZ
Other related posts:
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