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The Big Bend and Hill Country tour puts you right in the middle of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher country! Here's one from our first day of tour, shortly after leaving San Antonio. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Amazing vistas, gorgeous sunsets, a number of specialty birds, and an impressive selection of other critters... all of those things make the Big Bend & Hill Country of Texas fascinating places to visit. Whether it's the Colima Warbler or Black-capped Vireo, the Gray Vireo or the Lucifer Hummingbird, this tour really does hold a number of gems.
We started out in San Antonio but it didn't take long to start seeing interesting birds. Whether it was the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers at the rest area, or the Harris's Hawks alongside the highway, the trip was off to a good start. We ended in Del Rio where a trick candle plagued a birthday cake and Lesser Nighthawks danced across the dusk sky.
Our first full day of birding started right in Del Rio where the duck pond was abuzz with Chimney Swifts, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, lots of swallows, and a variety of other goodies. Our next stop, the Vega Verde Road, was full of birdlife and we tallied some south Texas specialties like Olive Sparrow, Long-billed Thrasher, Couch's Kingbird, Painted Bunting, and even a couple of fantastic White-collared Seedeaters! The drive west was highlighted by a stop at the Pecos River where, besides an impressive selection of shorebirds, we were treated to views of Rock Wren, White-throated Swift, and Hooded Oriole. We continued west to Big Bend National Park where, for the last hour or two of the drive, the impressive sky-touching vista grew ever larger in the fading light.
We awoke the next morning to a beautiful night sky in Big Bend! After breakfast, we drove to Blue Creek Canyon where we took a stroll up into the dry creekbed and saw the rare Lucifer Hummingbird, the sharp-looking Black-throated Sparrow, and bonus sightings like Grasshopper and Rufous-crowned sparrows. A visit to the Sam Nail Ranch oasis gave us a quick Varied Bunting before heading back for lunch. The afternoon at the Dugout Wells was warm but filled with Bell's Vireos, Scaled Quail, and even a migrant Marsh Wren!
Taking advantage of a good forecast, we decided to make the hike up the Pinnacles Trail on our second day in Big Bend. On the ascent, we enjoyed the friendly Mexican Jays, a variety of tanagers, flycatchers, and vireos. We finally struck gold when a Colima Warbler was found singing shy of the pass! Eventually, we continued up and over the pass and down towards Boot Springs for lunch. Eating a picnic in the company of Cordilleran Flycatchers is never a bad thing! The shade of the canyon was a welcome sight as we continued birding, finding Blue-throated Hummingbirds and additional Colima Warblers as well. We got back to the cabins that afternoon tired but happy!
Our final full day in Big Bend was spent exploring some additional birdy spots along the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande Village was hosting a Common Black Hawk and Gray Hawk that we all saw well despite some wind! The campground was alive with Clay-colored Sparrows, Vermilion Flycatchers, Inca Dove, and even a White-faced Ibis. An afternoon visit to the wastewater pond was quite birdy with sightings including Scott's Oriole, Varied Bunting, a hoard of Pine Siskins, and even a rare Cassin's Finch.
Our final morning in Big Bend found us at the Cottonwood Campground where we enjoyed a brief encounter with a Lucy's Warbler, a regal Great Horned Owl, and a wide variety of migrants like Northern Parula, Painted Bunting, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and Bullock's and Orchard orioles. We made a quick pause at the Santa Elena Canyon overlook before moving on to the Davis Mountains where we were greeted by Cassin's Kingbirds galore. That evening, we even witnessed two Elf Owls at a nest hole!
We explored more of the Davis Mountains the next morning before heading for Balmorhea Lake to the north. Always a birdy spot, this migrant trap was hosting a variety of new waterbirds and shorebirds for our list such as Willet, Baird's Sandpiper, Clark's and Western grebes, a lingering Snow Goose, and even a stray Laughing Gull. Meanwhile, the nearby cattails were hosting Soras and Virginia Rails that, occasionally, would chirp and grunt. From there, we headed back to the east, to the Hill Country.
Neal's Lodges, our home for the remaining few nights, was a great jumping off spot for visiting Lost Maples SNA, home to the range-restricted Golden-cheeked Warbler. To say we got good looks at this warbler would be an understatement! The variety of other warblers and vireos was impressive as well; Yellow-throated Warblers, Indigo Buntings, Yellow-throated Vireos, White-eyed Vireo, and even a Black-capped Vireo put in brief appearances. Some White-tipped Doves were heard and then seen, and even an Eastern Screech-Owl glared at us from its day-roost. That afternoon, we studied parulas along the river and were "rewarded" with several hybrids. That evening, even a Chuck-will's-widow did a leisurely lap around us!
Our final morning took us towards Brackettville where we added Dickcissel and Northern Bobwhite among the lush grasslands, and had a stunning look at a well-behaving Gray Vireo. It was here that we had outstanding luck with a Black-capped Vireo that decided to pop out and perch in the open allowing scope views! Later that day, Fort Clark Springs hosted a number of new species such as Canyon Wren, Eastern Bluebird, and Eastern Wood-Pewee. The evening show in Concan was not one to forget! After our awesome food brought by Tiara and John, the Frio Bat Cave exploded with bats around dusk and we witnessed the better part of 13 million bats exiting the cave! The local Red-tailed Hawks nabbed a few, a visiting Swainson's Hawk had tough luck, and a Striped Skunk had a different idea altogether and instead headed for the cave opening.
This tour was made a lot more enjoyable by having such a fun group along and Chris and I really enjoyed showing some of Texas to all of you. Major thanks goes to Karen for having everything in order from our Austin office and to Tiara and John for meeting us with such a great picnic dinner! Until next time, good birding!
- Cory
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
BIRDS
It was a bit of a surprise but this Snow Goose was a late straggler at Balmorhea Lake in western Texas. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
The mornings in Big Bend are crisp, (sometimes) cool, but usually gorgeous. Here we are as we approach Blue Creek Canyon, the home of the rare Lucifer Hummingbird. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Before the hike up for the Colima Warbler, we thought it best to gauge the mood as energetic while we still could! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
While it's not a bird, we did enjoy glancing down once in a while to see what other creatures were around us. For example, here's a Pronghorn Clubtail at Lost Maples SNA. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
This Eastern Screech-Owl at Lost Maples SNA probably thought it was more camouflaged than it actually was! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Greater Roadrunners, like this one in Big Bend, were a common sight as they darted through the desert vegetation. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
These Coppery Dancers, a type of damselfly, were at home along the river at Neal's Lodges in the Hill Country. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
The rock "boot" that gave Boot Canyon its name! Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
One of the "wow!" moments of tour when this melanistic Golden-fronted Woodpecker flew in at Fort Clark Springs! Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
This Crested Caracara posed nicely for guide Chris Benesh and he managed this awesome shot.
The Vermilion Flycatchers in Big Bend didn't mind an audience! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
One of the stars of the show was the Black-capped Vireo, this one near Brackettville. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
This Pronghorn didn't seem to be going anywhere fast! We enjoyed stunning close looks at this plains species. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
It was a beautiful day in Del Rio and it got even better when we located several White-collared Seedeaters! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
This Rock Wren didn't mind us admiring it from just a few feet away at the Pecos River Overlook! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
The sunrises were nice but the sunsets weren't bad either! It was a nightly tradition to look outside from dinner and be greeted by a view like this. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
As this Golden-cheeked Warbler foraged quietly in front of us, our mouths hung open and cameras clicked. What a photographic bird! This was an encounter with a specialty I'll not soon forget. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Perhaps the bird of the trip for many was the Colima Warbler. It sure was a hike but we were rewarded with awesome looks at this range-restricted species. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Not all parulas are straight forward! This particular bird from Neal's Lodges is actually a hybrid between Tropical Parula and Northern Parula! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
The Rufous-crowned Sparrow is usually fond of grassy, rocky hillsides. We found this one on our Blue Creek Canyon hike. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
One of the sharpest-looking of all the sparrows must be the Black-throated Sparrow. We saw these often in dry, deserty regions. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
We were in Del Rio when this male Painted Bunting materialized right in front of us. From the group came many "oohs" and "ahhhs"! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
This Coyote was seeking water and shade (like we were!) at Dugout Wells in Big Bend. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
MAMMALS
If you joined us after dark, you may have seen Chris stoop down to check out scorpions. Here's a Striped Bark Scorpion that he photographed nicely. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.
Although keeping a safe distance, participant Tom Wheeler photographed this curious Black-tailed Rattlesnake in Big Bend! Almost a week later and half a state away, people approached Tom and said "Oh, you're the one with the rattlesnake photo!".
The Concan Bat Cave was truly a memorable experience. A beautiful evening welcomed roughly 13 million Brazilian Free-tailed Bats as they departed their roosting cave, headed for a night full of hunting insects! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Some other introduced mammals were seen including:
ELK - Seen in the Davis Mountains.
WILDEBEEST - Introduced! At least they're safe from crocodiles in Texas.
ZEBRA - Captive at a game farm.
SCIMITAR ORYX - Also introduced for hunting. The magnificent, curved horns were quite impressive!
Totals for the tour: 219 bird taxa and 21 mammal taxa