[texbirds] West Texas, May 4-13, Part Two (longish)

  • From: Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: TexBirds TexBirds Posting <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 14:51:06 -0500

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
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  • » [texbirds] West Texas, May 4-13, Part Two (longish) - Chuck Sexton