Just one thing. Balmorhea SP was not open before this shut-down. I believe
it will be closed all year due to repairs. Balmorhea Lake is open though.
On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 9:12 PM Christian Walker <
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey all,
So here is the pertinent information I’ve gotten so far.
It appears that no-one really knows for sure on the national parks (Big
Bend and Guadalupe Mountains) when they will reopen. Big Bend
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/news/big-bend-national-park-closed.htm is
closed for now. No specific date for re-open. Guadalupe
https://www.nps.gov/gumo/planyourvisit/conditions.htm also closed and no
dates for re-opening.
The state parks are open for day use if you reserve online before-hand,
and will start opening up for camping by May 18, 2020
https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20200506a but unclear how
easy it will be to get a reservation - apparently only existing
registrations are honored and you can’t make new ones “for now.” Not sure
when that ends.
Suzanne Kho showed me a cool website that tracks privately owned camping
options: https://www.hipcamp.com
The Red Feather Ranch looks like a cool possible 6000’ camping option:
https://www.hipcamp.com/texas/america-b-s-land-1/red-feather but
apparently is only accessible with 4-wheel drive.
There are some birding areas that are open/public or are private that you
can visit (I think). These include:
-The post in Marathon
-Christmas Mountains Oasis https://cmoasis.blogspot.com looks like you
can contact Carolyn Ohl-Johnson for visiting instructions if you’re a
birder or naturalist!
-Balmorhea State Park
-Lawrence E Wood Picnic area
-a few roadside eBird hotspots easily accessible by car-birding
There are also private areas in the Davis Mountains, which appear to be
wholly inaccessible unless you know someone who lives there. Also the TNC
Preserve, but that is only open for several weekends out of the year.
So… it appears that Lawrence E Wood Picnic area may be the only accessible
highish-elevation habitat in the state right now??? May just go out to the
Davis Mountains for a few days and spend the rest of my time in Arizona -
everything is open out there including camping and Portal is only 6 hours
from Fort Davis...
Also, made a very quick stop at Mills Pond at Wells Branch in North Austin
this morning on the way down to see the family for the first time in two
months… had 13 warblers species, 29 individuals in 33 minutes, almost 1
warbler/minute! Pretty cool. No new county birds unfortunately but the
Blackburnian and Bay-breasted and Ovenbird were cool.
Good birding,
Christian Walker
Irving, TX currently in Austin
On May 8, 2020, at 9:53 AM, Lora Render <lorarend@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, please share, leaving on May 21st, there is a known location for the
Black-chinned Sparrow within BBNP and since they are closed, could anyone
recommend another location?
Lora Render
On Fri, May 8, 2020 at 9:25 AM Patricia Wight <pcwight@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, please share. I was looking forward to reading the responses becauseChristian Walker
we hoped to make a trip to Big Bend this spring. The first week of June is
what we were thinking/hoping for.
Pat Wight
Rockport area
On Thu, May 7, 2020 at 9:57 PM Gary Hodne <garyhodne@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Christian,
Please share your feedback with Texbirds. I also had a trip to Big Bend
NP planned for this week but the park remains closed as are all NPs I
believe and I’ll bet there are many others interested in knowing the
situation.
Thanks
Gary Hodne
The Woodlands, TX
Sent from my iPhone
On May 7, 2020, at 8:12 PM, Christian Walker <
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Many thanks to the many replies to my query! I appreciate all of them.
On May 7, 2020, at 8:14 AM, Walker Christian <
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey there,
I’m trying to plan a trip to west Texas the first week of June but am
having a hard time finding info on the National and state parks
availability, other than ‘currently closed.’ Could anyone point me in the
right direction about finding when the parks will reopen?
Or if there are privately owned areas that I may be able to contact and
access?
You can reply to me directly
Thanks,
Christian Walker
Irving, TX
--
Christian Walker
512 431 2495
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx
Christian Walker
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx
Independent Adjuster
Irving, Texas
(512) 745-3227
christian.icapadjuster@xxxxxxxxx
Independent Adjuster
Irving, Texas
(512) 745-3227
