TexBirders, This is the 2nd part of my West Texas trip report for May 4-13. To recap, I made concerted birding efforts in the following counties: Texas Hill Country: Kinney, Medina, Menard, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde. Trans-Pecos: El Paso, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Reeves, Terrell, Ward, Winkler. Here are some HotSpot and travel notes for the counties I visited: -- HABITAT CONDITIONS: I hope the western Hill Country gets rain relief soon. In particular, Kickapoo Caverns SNA was in perhaps the worst habitat condition I've seen in any state park ever. Dead and dying junipers, oaks, persimmon, etc. This dead/dying zone extends up through western Edwards Co. and into Sutton and Schleicher. Drought conditions are patchy out west, though. El Paso and Hudspeth are very dry--but when are they not?--yet Loving and Ward counties (e.g. Monahands Sandhills SP) were relatively green and blooming. -- EL PASO CO.: El Paso's Memorial Park in the middle of town is a must visit in migration. I had an incongruous mix of 30+ species on a windy midday including such things as Phainopepla and Red Crossbills along with at least a small handful of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, tanagers, etc. Traffic-wise, I think I finally found a city (El Paso) whose horrible traffic rivals that of Austin. IF you want to get away from the millions of people in El Paso/Juarez, head up to the Tom Mays Unit of Franklin Mts SP on a weekday evening or morning; I had that 20,000 acres all to myself on May 8-9. -- Unfortunately, I missed the memo (??) about the legendery FORT BLISS SEWAGE PONDS, aka the "Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Ponds" (FWTX 4), which were off-limits due to "WARNING: Live Fire Area" closure (May 9). (Could I just put on some Kevlar?...) I find on TexBirds that Brady Surber birded the sewer ponds as recently as July 2011 but no further notes in those archives. Only two eBird checklists have been submitted for the site in 2013, the latest on March 24. Perhaps the closure is only periodic and I just had bad luck that day. -- HUDSPETH CO.: Between El Paso and Dell City, don't forget to stop at the store/restaurant/RV park in Cornudas (one spot) on TX 62/180. Ask permission at the store to walk around the grounds; lots of trees and a few sprinklers and bird baths. -- LOVING CO.: The TCC efforts of Anthony Hewetson and Stu Wilson in vacant Loving County stand as monuments to persistence and focus and can only be appreciated after a serious birding attempt there. See their notes here: http://tinyurl.com/cwxsmo9. My all day effort at the "peak" of Spring migration on May 10 netted an exhausting 53 spp. Believe it or not, I have kindly County Sherriff Billy Hopper to thank for directing me to a good birding spot which netted me Crissal Thrashers...but don't get him started talking about "Austin". -- Notwithstanding Tony's Loving County notes above, I would warn anyone away from County Road 300 there. This is the unpaved county road connecting FM 652 to TX 302 across the west side of the county. Although a couple of woodlots at ranch houses and windmills netted me a few nice species, it was at the expense of the most bone-jarring, wash-boarded 21-mile drive I have ever made in Texas. My rugged Ford Ranger will never forgive me for putting it through that. Oil field activity has destroyed the condition of the road and *constant* oil field traffic (transfer trucks, big rigs, service trucks, company vehicles, plus a few ranchers) passing every 30 to 60 seconds makes it just dangerous. -- PECOS CO.: In Fort Stockton, the I-10 detention pond (off 40th Street) was bone dry on the 11th, despite a bit of rain the previous night--first time I've ever found that "HotSpot" dry. -- WARD CO.: I'll be suggesting Monahans' urban Hill Park as an eBird HotSpot. This city block seems to have the most, and the biggest, trees in the entire county on a public property. Nice mix of conifers, oaks, and other hardwoods. Not much for migrants on the day I visited (May 11) but great potential for migration and winter irruptions. -- WINKLER CO.: The golf course west of Kermit off TX 302 is a nice oasis. Check in at the office; the friendly staff can direct you to some groves, ponds, and edges where you won't be in the way of their golfer clientele. Chuck Sexton 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