I hiked from the Chisos Basin to suitable elevation and habitat on the 25th
,27th ,29th ,31st of May and June 1st and 2nd. I could not find Colima
Warbler as easily this year as in the past. However this may be attributable
to the fact that I arrived in the park several days later than usual and I
am no longer an early riser.
On 25 May I found one individual at Boot Spring and another at GPS location
29.23514, -103.30156 , i.e., along the Boot Canyon trail south of the
turnoff to the NE rim but before the trail descends and crosses the
drainage. I heard another 2 or 3 singing individuals along the way to the
South Rim but was not able to find any. On 29 May I found one individual,
likely the same bird, in the same location as on 25 May, singing and again
moving very actively from perch to perch. I heard but was not able to find
another Colima singing along the trail just to the north. I was at this
location again late on the afternoon of June 2nd but I could neither hear
nor find any Colima.
On 27 May I found one individual along the Pinnacles trail just before the
final set of switchbacks that ascend to the ridge and the turnoff to Emory
peak. Of my five day hikes ascending the Pinnacles trail this is the only
day I found a Colima at this location. In contrast to recent years I did not
find any individuals singing from an exposed perch along this section of
trail, nor did I find any individuals foraging along the switchbacks.
Although I again hiked to the South rim on 27 May and heard another 2-3
individuals singing I was not able to locate any of them.
On 31 May and 2 June I heard and located one individual on the Boot Canyon
trail at the turnoff to Juniper Canyon, however on each day the bird was
high and distant and I was only able to see the bird in silhouette. On 2
June the bird was singing as late as 5 PM. On 31 May I also heard but was
not able to find an individual singing along the Colima Trail, near Colima
campsite no. 2, also as late as 5 PM. [My ebird records only reflect
sightings for which I was able to clearly see all four field marks hence
these are not reported to ebird.]
On June 1st I heard but did not find one individual singing in the vicinity
of Laguna West campsite no. 3; I would not recommend searching for the
Colima warbler in this area. LW3 is adjacent to the start of an extensive
(several miles in length) drainage that empties into Cattail Falls. Already
at LW3 navigating the terrain was not easy for me even though I had hiking
poles.
Prior to the 2011 drought I could reliably find Colima warbler in late
August either on the Pinnacles trail or foraging along the section of trail
from Boot Spring to just beyond the Juniper Canyon turnoff. Given the
extensive rainfall in the park this year it will be interesting to see if
Colima warbler remain common through late August.
Imre Karafiath
Denton
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