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Took off well before dawn the next morning with a possible free second night
(the computer didn’t charge me for the second night, so they’re gonna check my
points, and if I have enough for two nights, all the better)!
The Barn Swallows were at it again, and stopped at that same picnic area
mainly to get my muffin that I forgot to take out before, but it was a
beautiful, still morning, with fireflies and a Great Horned Owl!
Unfortunately that was the extent of the night birds:
at the state park the Cassin’s Kingbirds were going at it already along
with the White-winged Doves, so I eventually parked myself at the feeding
station and waited. The hummers
came in long before dawn, and I shortly
did
hear the quail churring from behind me; I snuck over to the other feeding area
to see if I could pinpoint the location, but nada.
Before long another couple joined me, along with a mom and daughter, and
I’ll give them credit: they hung in
there! But they all eventually left
and I won the prize for endurance, with still no quail (except for a couple of
more churrs that I pointed out to the couple).
We
did
have plenty of Whitewings (the host thinks they’re keeping the quail away), and
several things tried to squeeze more PB out of that particular feeder, including
a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Bewick’s Wren, and Black-headed Grosbeak.
Canyon Towhees came in close for pictures as well.
Dawn song of the Cassin's Kingbird
Normal vocalizations later in the morning
Canyon Wrens singing from the hillside
Left: White-winged Dove (the fuzziness of the wing is due to him flipping
it when the flash went off...
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Black-headed Grosbeaks (male left, female right—note the yellow “wingpit”!)
(recording made at Big Bend NP)
Pre-dawn Mourning Dove singing at the feeder area
Hillside from which the Montezuma Quail enticingly called!
I gave up at nine and thanked the lady (they’re evidently Christians based on
the little symbol over their door), then decided to head on to Big Bend.
But first I thought we’d take one more crack at the Black Hawk, seeing as
they were supposed to be nesting in the Trash Barrel Tree where a semi was
parked the day before, but no hawk.
So we headed on down 118, deciding not to take the detour around downtown Alpine
that I had religiously taken previously (it
was
a nice bypass) because I noticed it was actually just for trucks, but it
was
pretty dicey where they were putting in a pipe or something!
Both Alpine and Fort Davis were cute little old west type towns; kinda
wish I had more time to explore them!
The ABA Guide didn’t give any specifics about SR 118 except that it was
“interesting birding”, so I decided to stop every ten miles and see what was
singing, plus stop at any picnic areas we encountered.
That was a great plan, as we picked up the regular grassland species
(Cassin’s, Rufous-crowned, and Black-throated Sparrows), and in the first picnic
area we hit pay dirt with a cooperative Bell’s Vireo and Painted Bunting, plus a
pair of Vermilion Flycatchers! The
next picnic area was quiet by comparison, but as we got lower into the desert,
one stop was very productive with a pair of calling Chihuahuan Ravens and an
upset Black-tailed Gnatcatcher! A
Suicide Roadrunner didn’t make it, however…
Coming down SR 118...
Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail
One of the picnic areas (with "Bippy")
Bell's Vireo
Painted Bunting (left and center) and hiding Vermilion Flycatcher
Getting into the desert
Black-tailed Gnatcatchers
(Song and scold)
(With Chihuahuan Raven in background) Compare with excited calls of
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Chihuahuan Raven with scenes of developing monsoons.
Continuing on...
We arrived at the park, continuing to stop to take pictures (especially of this
one monster monsoon), and dutifully went to Panther Junction for maps, and was
shocked that I was the only one there!!
Last time the place was packed, and I never
did
get a ranger’s attention! Anyway,
after paying my fee I got a more detailed map of the Chisos Basin area, and
added a mom Curve-billed Thrasher to the list.
A Black Witch was batting around outside as well.
The butterfly book said to check out Green Gulch (the road to Chisos Basin), so
I stopped every half mile, and the birding was definitely better than the
lepping; it
really
reminded me of Madera Canyon in Arizona!
We added Varied Bunting (by default; Painted wouldn’t be up in that
juniper stuff), Black-chinned Sparrow (first of many), Mexican Jay, and more
Scott’s Orioles, as well as tons of Blue Grosbeaks.
Once at the lodge I went ahead and got checked in, dumped off the stuff,
and went to check out some of the trails.
I was indeed right at the start of the big hike (as Dan Jones warned me),
so I didn’t have to go far!
Looking back into the lowlands
I meandered down to where the multiple trailheads were and did a little of the
Window Trail, as that was recommended for Gray Vireo.
Didn’t get very far: it was
rough and downhill, so I just went ten minutes in.
It was a gorgeous view, though!
Back at the top I decided to take the nice and easy Window View Trail
(more my speed) and ran into Raptor Dave from the Bentsen Hawk Watch!
(Didn’t know it was him—we got to chatting and one thing led to another…)
They had just taken the Big Hike that day and went up Pinnacles, and he
said they were fine so long as they went slow, and they did get the warbler.
On the way back got a little more lep action with what I think is the
West Texas form of the Northern Cloudywing, and a Marine Blue trying to lay her
eggs! Also had a Gray Hairstreak
sunning, and these cool bugs that were all over the place mating, and they were
actually in the Kaufman guide:
they’re called Conchuelas! Also saw
an outlandish grasshopper with red antennae, but unfortunately the one photo I
got before he left was fuzzy… Got
ice and water after that, and found out those huge bottles of Dasani water fit
in my fanny pack! So I planned on
just taking those with me, along with a couple of PBJ bagels.
The part of the Window Trail that was relatively easy...
The Window
Mournful Duskywing (left) and Common Buckeye (right)
Marine Blues
Northern Cloudywings
Gray Hairstreaks
A couple of mystery grasshoppers (left and center) and mating Conchuela Bugs (right)
After that I wanted to try just the first ten minutes of the Death Hike, and it
was indeed very steep, but after ten minutes there was a perfect set of rocks at
the switchback where things went nuts when I started pishing:
I think a pair of Rufous-crowned Sparrows had a nest because they were
all upset to begin with, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Western Tanager, several
titmice, an Ash-throated Flycatcher (with food), and a Scott’s Oriole all came
in! But the best bird was singing
in the background of a young grosbeak doing its Cockatiel call:
a singing Gray Vireo! Boy,
was I jazzed to get that one!
Birds along the Pinnacles Trail...
Found out after the fact that I took the wrong trail:
there
was
another smaller trail going off to the right and downhill, and I assumed that
was the one going to the lodge, but that’s actually the one I was supposed to
take if I wanted to do Laguna Meadows!
I had inadvertently
taken
the Pinnacles Trail! Yes, it
certainly was steep and slippery!
Took a shower and got caught up, hoping the neighbors weren’t gonna party all
night! (Oh, well; if I’m getting up
early, and the walls are thin, they’ll be up with me…)
Click here to continue to the Colima Death March, or here to return to the Davis Mountains Scenic Loop