This past Thursday through Sunday, I made a solo trip out to Big Bend. One
of my motivations for going was to see the park after all the recent rains.
For the month of August the Chisos region received about 12 inches of rain.
To put that in perspective, that's more rain than the combined months of
August for 2009-2015. The park is stunning, and is green everywhere - even
in the low elevation areas. Grasses and flowers are a sight to behold.
However, before you jump in your car, be forewarned that the gnats and
mosquitoes are truly awful.
The birds:
Window trail:
All the expected (Canyon Towhee, Cactus Wren, Scott's Oriole), the
highlight being a Crissal Thrasher.
Pinnacles Trail:
Lots of Acorn Woodpeckers, Mexican Jays and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. A
few unidentified Empidonax species.
Boot Canyon:
I spent Saturday night in Boot Canyon and was very happy to hear Mexican
Whip-poor-will and Flammulated Owl.
Driving out of the park, I had to slam on the brakes as I passed a leafless
tree/shrub full of Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I believe the entire group was
first-winter birds that had just arrived in the park. They seemed to have
just completed a long journey - many of them could hardly keep their eyes
open. See photos here:
http://jamesagiroux.com/Yellow-headedBlackbird.html
James Giroux
Austin, TX
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
