[texbirds] Davis Mountains and Big Bend Report

From: Jason Leifester <jasonleifester@xxxxxxxxx>
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 08:07:17 -0500
My wife and I spent last week in West Texas, including birding stops in the
Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park (July 14-18).
We were in the Davis Mountains from Monday evening through Wednesday
morning, staying at the Indian Lodge in Davis Mountains State Park. While a
single Montezuma Quail (my primary Texas nemesis bird before this trip) was
being reported at the feeding station up until the day before our arrival,
we never saw one in the park, despite multiple stops at the feeding station
ranging from a few minutes to a couple of hours. However, we did flush two
pairs of them along the Madera Canyon Trail that originates in the Lawrence
E. Wood Picnic Area on Highway 118 on Tuesday morning. We saw most of the
expected mid-summer birds around the picnic area.

We were in Big Bend National Park from the Wednesday afternoon through
Friday morning. We made brief birding stops at Sam Nail Ranch and
Cottonwood Campground before heading up into the Chisos Mountains for the
rest of the trip. We didnât see anything unexpected at those first two
spots. The Gray Hawk family at Cottonwood Campground was very noisy, even
during the mid-day heat.

I spent much of the day on Thursday hiking up to Boot Canyon and back.
Starting well before dawn gave me the opportunity to hear several Common
Poorwills and Mexican Whip-poor-wills along a high stretch of the Laguna
Meadow Trail, just before reaching the saddle before the camping area. The
upper part of Boot Canyon (above Boot Spring) had flowing water and plenty
of flowers, with many hummingbirds in attendance. Black-chinned,
Broad-tailed, and Blue-throated Hummingbirds were all common (the latter
more common in the more heavily wooded area around the spring). Colima
Warblers were noticeable in their absence. I didnât see or hear any of them
â a first for me during a summer trip there. I did see a single Painted
Redstart near the lowest campsite in Boot Canyon.  My best bird in Boot
Canyon was a vocal Dusky-capped Flycatcher, which was near the cabin. I
watched and listened to it for about ten minutes before it disappeared.

On Friday morning, my wife and I hiked the Window Trail. Again, we saw most
of the expected birds (including quite a few female/immature Lucifer
Hummingbirds along the lower part of the trail).  The best birds on this
hike were an incredibly cooperative Black-capped Vireo that was singing and
feeding in plain sight, and a male Indigo Bunting, which seemed out of
place among the more numerous Varied Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks.

Jason Leifester
Elgin, Texas (Bastrop County)

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[texbirds] Davis Mountains and Big Bend Report

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