2010 & 2009 Big Bend MBWeeks
BIG BEND MBWEEK SUMMARY / May 1 - 9, 2010
(Also see the PHOTO GALLERY from this MBWeek following the summary)
We may have gotten off to a shaky start with Bonnie & Charlie's travel delays, but they caught up to us by dinner time, and things went well after that. Our next day in the Hill Country featured especially Golden-cheeked Warblers, Black-capped Vireos (thanks to Paul & Betty Rae), and an unexpected and impressive Frio Bat Cave tour (thanks to Bob Rasa).
The next day was a long one, with an all-afternoon drive to Big Bend, but our 3+ days there made the long drive well worth it. The likes of Com Black-Hawk, Gray Hawk, both W Screech- and Elf owls, Lucifer Hummingbird, Gray Vireo, Crissal Thrasher, Lucy's Warbler, Black-chinned Sparrow, and both Varied & Painted Buntings were among the many highlights supplementing our almost-easy Colima Warbler hike. The Chisos Mountain Lodge made for a perfect base for our 4 nights there – and, in a way, you almost had to be impressed as well by the 110 degrees we experienced one afternoon!
We then finished up in the Davis Mountains with a night at Indian Lodge, where we turned up several birds at Fort Davis State Park and the Davis Mountains TNC Preserve which are absent or proved elusive in Big Bend: e.g., Montezuma Quail, Zone-tailed Hawk, Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Grace's Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, and others. (And you almost had to be impressed by how much cooler it was!)
It looks like we came up with 190 species in all, which I think is pretty impressive. After all, consider that relatively few water birds and wetlands are found in this region, and that this was MBW's first try at this itinerary combining the Hill Country with Big Bend. Thanks to all for coming, with special thinks to Charlie and Jim for driving all those miles for us. I'll get back to you again with a financial summary of the trip next month after my Visa statement for the month arrives. Who knows – there may even be a modest Refund to add to your memories of the trip!
- Kim (PS - Note that there are a few photos included at the end of this summary, some courtesy of Vija Kelly. If you have others you'd like to share with the group and perhaps have included on the summary of this trip on MBWbird.com, please send them.)
ITINERARY
May 1 – Meet at San Antonio airport @1:00 pm (well, most of us made it); afternoon drive to Uvalde via Hwy 90 rest stop and back roads to birding/dinner at Neal's Lodge (with Bonnie & Charlie!).
May 2 – Garner State Park, Utopia City Park, Paul & Betty Rae Davis' driveway/yard, Lost Maples State Park, early dinner at Lost Maples Cafe, and dusk at the Frio Bat Cave w/Bob Rasa; night in Uvalde.
May 3 – Cook's Slough, Hwy 55/Chalk Bluff Park area, Del Rio (incl shopping & lunch), Amistad Reservoir, and afternoon drive to Big Bend National Park & first of 4 nights at Chisos Mountain Lodge.
May 4 – Morning along Window Trail; afternoon at Panther Junction and Green Gulch.
May 5 – Morning Colima Warbler hike up Pinnacles Trail (w/early lunch at the Lodge!); afternoon to Boquillas Canyon (in 110 degrees!?), and late afternoon/evening birding/picnic supper/owling at Rio Grande Village.
May 6 – Hummingbird feeders near Lodge, Sam Nail Ranch, Blue Creek Canyon, Cottonwood Campground, and Santa Elena Canyon.
May 7 – Brief birding around Lodge during check-out, return to Blue Creek Canyon (for Gray Vireo) & Sam Nail Ranch; afternoon drive to Fort Davis State Park/Indian Lodge via Hwy 118 wayside, lunch/shopping in Alpine, and the state park quail feeders; brief evening black-hawk & poorwill option.
May 8 – Morning birding & lunch at Davis Mountains TNC Preserve; afternoon drive to Segovia via Hwy 118, I-10 (incl a closed wayside rest), and Pecos River overlook on Hwy 290.
May 9 – Morning option to Genesee Park and Dinosaur Ridge, and return to Denver airport for flights home.
BIRD LIST (boldface = casual, accidental, or absent in Minnesota)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Scaled Quail
Montezuma Quail (almost too easy at the state park feeders; also by Indian Lodge)
Wild Turkey
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Del Rio)
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Common Black-Hawk (nesting at Rio Grande Village and near Fort Davis)
Harris’s Hawk
Gray Hawk (Cottonwood Campground)
Swainson’s Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk (finally – nice spotting, Doug)
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
Crested Caracara
American Coot
Snowy Plover (Amistad Reservoir)
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Tern (also at Amistad)
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Common Ground-Dove
cuckoo, sp.
Greater Roadrunner
Western Screech-Owl (2 at Cottonwood Campground)
Great Horned Owl
Elf Owl (ditto!)
Lesser Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill (heard-only near Fort Davis)
Chuck-will's-widow (close fly-by near the bat cave)
Chimney Swift
White-throated Swift
Blue-throated Hummingbird (feeders near Chisos Mountain Lodge)
Lucifer Hummingbird (2 along the Window Trail)
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (fly-by on the Colima hike)
Ringed Kingfisher
(Green Kingfisher / probable fly-by spotted by Dick)
Acorn Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher (heard-only)
Least Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher (lots of them)
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Buff-breasted Flycatcher (Davis Mountains TNC Preserve)
Black Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher (seen by Charlie & Doug on the Colima hike)
Ash-throated Flycatcher
(Great Crested Flycatcher / probably seen near Hunt)
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Great Kiskadee (Cook's Slough)
Tropical Kingbird (Cottonwood Campground)
Couch's Kingbird (Del Rio)
Cassin’s Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (= 20+ flycatcher species!)
(Loggerhead Shrike / probably seen en route to Fort Davis)
White-eyed Vireo
Bell’s Vireo
Black-capped Vireo (easy along Paul & Betty Rae Davis' driveway)
Gray Vireo (finally in Blue Creek Canyon)
Yellow-throated Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo (Davis Mountains TNC Preserve)
Hutton’s Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Mexican Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee (Davis Mountains TNC Preserve)
Black-crested Titmouse
Verdin
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch (heard-only)
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Carolina Wren
Bewick’s Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Western Bluebird (Davis Mountains TNC Preserve)
Townsend's Solitaire (Fort Davis State Park feeders)
Catharus thrush, sp. (at the closed I-10 rest stop)
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Long-billed Thrasher (near Chalk Bluff)
Curve-billed Thrasher
Crissal Thrasher (Rio Grande Village: almost underfoot eating ants)
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Phainopepla (seen only by Jeanne)
Nashville Warbler
Colima Warbler (we were back for an early lunch!)
Lucy’s Warbler (Cottonwood Campground)
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Golden-cheeked Warbler (best at Garner State Park)
Townsend's Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Grace’s Warbler (Davis Mountains TNC Preserve)
Black-and-white Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler (Rio Grande Village migrants)
Common Yellowthroat (heard-only)
Wilson's Warbler
(Slate-throated Redstart / probably seen by Bonnie at Boquillas Canyon trailhead!)
Yellow-breasted Chat
Olive Sparrow (best at Cook's Slough)
Green-tailed Towhee (Cottonwood Campground)
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Cassin’s Sparrow (some skylarking)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow (difficult along Window Trail)
Vesper Sparrow (heard-only)
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Hepatic Tanager (best at TNC Preserve)
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Varied Bunting (especially along the Window Trail & Sam Nail Ranch)
Painted Bunting (mostly ignored after a few days!)
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
(Hooded Oriole / a couple possible sightings)
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
PHOTO GALLERY
Montezuma Quail / Vija Kelly
Elf Owl / Vija Kelly
Black-capped Vireo / KRE
Mexican Jay / KRE
Rock Wren / Vija Kelly
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher / KRE
Crissal Thrasher / KRE
Rufous-crowned Sparrow / KRE
Varied Bunting / Vija Kelly
Scott's Oriole / KRE
Frio Bat Cave / KRE
* * *
BIG BEND MBW SUMMARY / JULY 26 - AUGUST 1, 2009
(Also see the PHOTO GALLERY from this MBWeek following the summary)
This may not have been the most colorful bird we saw, but it certainly was the one involving the most preparation and effort. After all, Colima Warblers occur in Big Bend and nowhere else in the U.S., and our day-long 9.5-mile hike was both successful and decidedly exhausting. We had great looks at the one in the photo after about 3 miles up the mountain, but no one elected to turn around and head back downhill, and our consensus of dubious merit was to continue around the loop for another 6.5 miles. At least our ordeal provided for some interesting conversation later – the best topic we could come with on the Arizona trip was chiggers.
Considering that I had only been to Big Bend on my own three times before in 40 years and had never seen the Davis Mountains at all, I think this was a quite successful effort. One measure of it was our list of 152 species, which is what Barry Zimmer and his VENT tour still comes up with after 20 years of experience. (And that tour is a day longer and costs around $2000 more.) True, Barry did turn up Flame-colored Tanager and Rufous-capped Warbler, and he normally finds Elf Owl and Crissal Thrasher, but give me another 19 years experience and a four-fold increase in the tour price and I'll see what I can do!
In the meantime, I'd say there were plenty of highlights to remember: the elusive Montezuma Quail that did not elude us at McDonald Observatory....our nice list of raptors, especially the Com Black-Hawks (twice) and Mississippi Kites (with half the group in El Paso)....an orange-eyed Com Poorwill posing in the road....the Lucifer and Calliope and other hummingbirds....no fewer than 15 flycatcher species, including rare and local Buff-breasteds and Dusky-cappeds....both Black-capped and Gray vireos found more easily than expected on the Windows Trail....and those colorful Varied and Painted buntings.
We owe thanks to Barry Zimmer for his pre-trip tips to me (though his advice about the Colima hike was questionable!) and to Mark Lockwood for his guidance into TNC's Davis Mountains Preserve. By the way, as was discussed, I sent them a $100 donation on our behalf, which is included in the tour's budget. Including this donation, my preliminary figures show that we came in nearly $600 under budget, which will probably amount to a Dreaded Refund of around $45 per person! More on this next month after all my Visa charges are posted.
Thanks again for a great trip and your overly generous gratuities. Kim
Itinerary
July 26. Meet at El Paso airport and depart at 1:30 (MDT); I-10 E to Tornillo Exit and TX Hwy 20, Tornillo and McNary reservoirs, return to I-10 and E to Van Horn (CDT), US 90, Hwys 505 and 166 to Fort Davis Motor Inn; dinner at the Chuckwagon.
July 27. Meet Mark Lockwood at FD Motor Inn and morning at TNC's Davis Mountains Preserve, especially Madera and Wolf Den canyons; return to Fort Davis for check-out, a Com Black-Hawk pair/nest, and drive to Alpine and Big Bend National Park via Hwy 118; check-in and dinner at Chisos Mountain Lodge.
July 28. All morning on Windows Trail, afternoon break and early dinner at CM Lodge; early evening and owling at Rio Grande Village.
July 29. All-day Colima Warbler hike up Pinnacles Trail and down Laguna Meadows Trail; dinner at CM Lodge.
July 30. Check-out at CM Lodge; return to Windows Trail, Panther Junction, then Blue Creek Canyon, Cottonwood Campground, Santa Elena Canyon, and Hwy 118 birding/return to Fort Davis; early dinner at Indian Lodge and evening quail drive to McDonald Observatory.
July 31. Davis Mountains State Park, Hwy 118 birding and return to I-10/Van Horn, continue W (into MDT) to TX Hwy 20, McNary and Fort Hancock reservoirs, and El Paso; dinner at Julio's.
Aug 1. Optional birding (for those with later flights) to Frontera Rd / River Bend Dr area of NW El Paso; return to airport at 10:30 for flights home.
Bird List / 152 species (+ non-countable Lilac-crowned Parrot)
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal (Ft Hancock Reservoir)
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey (heard-only)
Scaled Quail (heard and brief views at Panther Junction)
Montezuma Quail (1 male + 1 female crossing the road + 1 male that didn't)
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe (McNary Reservoir)
Western Grebe (ditto)
Clark’s Grebe (ditto)
American White Pelican
Neotropic Cormorant (Ft Hancock Res)
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Mississippi Kite (2 adults feeding 2 young in El Paso)
Common Black-Hawk (pair near Fort Davis; 1 adult plus 1 juv at Rio Grande Village)
Harris’s Hawk (2 along TX Hwy 20)
Gray Hawk (best view at R G Village; briefly at Cottonwood Campground)
Swainson’s Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk (best view at TNC's Davis Mountains Preserve)
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle (soaring over Chisos Mt Lodge)
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen (El Paso)
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Wilson’s Phalarope
Black Tern
Forster’s Tern
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon (Big Bend fly-bys)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove (R G Village & Cottonwood Campgr)
Common Ground-Dove (R G Village)
[Lilac-crowned Parrot (in the El Paso kite neighborhood)]
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Greater Roadrunner
Western Screech-Owl (R G Village: 3 seen + 2 others heard)
Burrowing Owl (near McNary)
Lesser Nighthawk (best looks at R G Village)
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill (in the road en route to Davis Mts Preserve; briefly at R G Village)
White-throated Swift
Blue-throated Hummingbird (seen by some on Pinnacles Trail)
Lucifer Hummingbird (Windows Trail and Blue Creek Canyon)
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird (adult male at Davis State Park feeders)
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee (mostly at Davis Mts Preserve)
Gray Flycatcher (Davis Mts Preserve)
Cordilleran Flycatcher (on the Colima hike)
Buff-breasted Flycatcher (Davis Mts Preserve)
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Pinnacles Tr)
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Brown-crested Flycatcher (Cottonwood Campgr)
Tropical Kingbird (ditto)
Couch's Kingbird (ditto)
Cassin’s Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Bell’s Vireo
Black-capped Vireo (twice on Windows Tr)
Gray Vireo (3 places on Windows Tr)
Plumbeous Vireo (Davis Mts Preserve)
Hutton’s Vireo (common)
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay (Davis Mts Preserve)
Mexican Jay
Chihuahuan Raven
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow (mostly at I-10 underpasses)
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee (mostly at Davis Mts Preserve)
Black-crested Titmouse (very common)
Verdin
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren (Lawrence Wood wayside)
Canyon Wren
Carolina Wren (Cottonwood Campgr)
Bewick’s Wren (common)
House Wren (heard-only)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird (Davis Mts Preserve)
American Robin (El Paso)
Northern Mockingbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
European Starling
Phainopepla (El Paso)
Colima Warbler (found ~3 miles up Pinnacles Tr)
Lucy’s Warbler (end of Frontera Rd in El Paso)
Grace’s Warbler (Davis Mts Preserve)
Painted Redstart (within view of The Boot)
Yellow-breasted Chat (Cottonwood Campgr)
Hepatic Tanager (Davis Mts Preserve and Pinnacles Tr)
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Cassin’s Sparrow (best near Davis State Park)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Black-chinned Sparrow (seen by some near Chisos Mt Lodge)
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Varied Bunting (especially along Windows Tr)
Painted Bunting (best views at R G Village)
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark (the lilianae subspecies/species)
Western Meadowlark (heard-only in El Paso)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (R G Village)
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird (Davis State Park)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole (Hwy 118 wayside)
Hooded Oriole (Panther Jct)
Bullock’s Oriole (seen by a few on Windows Tr)
Scott’s Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch (unexpected at Davis State Park)
House Sparrow
PHOTO GALLERY
Hutton's Vireo
