Rufous Hummingbird on Sunday Afternoon

Hard to resist taking another photo of sugar maples... [along the road, Somers, CT, Sue's photo]

Chickadees, Crows and Bluejays here.

and marshy places ringed with red and yellow... [Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford, Sue's photo]

Juncos, White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows here.

and quiet ponds reflecting more autumn color... [Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford, Sue's photo]

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Belted Kingfisher and Downy Woodpecker here.

And it's very hard to resist chasing birds who show up in our state only in the fall...

This is Bob and Linda Dixon's female Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

female Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

She has been a most cooperative yard bird for the Dixons, and for all of us strangers who were welcomed to venture into the back yard for a glimpse of this diminutive beauty. The hummingbird has been frequenting a standard sugar-water feeder for about a week and a half now, but takes natural nectar from the nearby honeysuckle flowers as well.

View looking down on the hummingbird's preferred feeder, and one of several trellises and gardens. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

The vantage point for above photo is a platform that Bob has built, eight feet off the ground, against a small outbuilding in the middle of his yard - a good place to scan the skies or do a "big sit", he explained.

The Dixons have made their back yard into an oasis for birds - and by virtue of this, for themselves as well. Gardens, shrubs, trellises, vines, feeders and nest boxes fill every corner and curve. A lovely path loops back into the woods, with an observation blind, more nest boxes - and, where you discover that you have a warbler's-eye-view of treetops growing up from the wetlands below. Fantastic habitat - no wonder they have 164 yard birds!

Karen and Sue chat with Bob in between visits of the Rufous Hummingbird.

A big thank you to Bob and Linda Dixon for welcoming us, and many other birders, to enjoy views of the hummer and their beautiful yard.

I was so fixated on the hummingbird that I may not be able to recreate an accurate list of other birds we saw there.

Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Bluejay
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Purple Finch - many!
American Goldfinch
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Crow

On the way home, in the very last light of the afternoon, we stopped at the little pond in Mansfield Center [the one with the boy scout bird blind, behind Mansfield's restaurant]

Karen and Sue calling it a day.

Here I had good looks at a Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris, with its dark crown, strong eye stripe and streaky back. The taped wren call brought in only a Song Sparrow, but the wren could be heard from within the marsh grasses - just didn't show itself again for a photo!

And a post script.
This is the first time we've seen the Rufous Hummingbird - which makes it a lifer - except...
The bird was identified in the hand through a series of measurements. This is a bird that cannot be positively identified in the conditions under which we saw it in the Dixon's backyard - a female, of a western species, in October, in Connecticut. We take the word of those who took the measurements.

Back to Fenton-Ruby

Taylor Pond with Rosa multiflora in foreground

On a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, we made for one of our favorite spots - the Taylor Pond Trail at Fenton-Ruby Park in Willington.  We weren't alone - lots of folks were out enjoying the woods.  Despite the "crowds" we managed a list of sixteen species of birds within the park, and two more on the drive home.

Today's birders:
Karen, Sebastian, Sue, Max and Jorge

Red Maple, Acer rubrum, filtering the sun

Today's birds:
1. Wild Turkey
2. Mourning Dove
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. American Crow
5. Blue Jay
6. American Robin
7. Gray Catbird
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Tufted Titmouse
10. White-breasted Nuthatch

Yellow leaf of Red Maple, with needles of White Pine, Pinus strobus

11. Golden-crowned Kinglet
12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
13. Yellow-rumped Warbler
14. Palm Warbler
15. Black-and-white Warbler
16. Rufous-sided Towhee
17. Song Sparrow
18. White-throated Sparrow

And a few stray reports

On a recent Thursday afternoon (September 23rd) we hightailed it over to Rocky Hill after work, to pick up a few more birds from the Connecticut River Meadows. A flock of American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica, had been reported on Connecticut Birds the day before, along with their precise location, and it didn't take us long to find them.

Sorting through the crowd of Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, we eventually counted seven goldens - elegant large plovers, feeding in the freshly turned soil. In amongst the flock was another other pretty special little shorebird - two Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Tryngites subruficollis. And given how hard we were studying the flock, it was no surprise that we turned up another species - one Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos.

A very exciting outing, because the Buff-breasted is a new bird for me, and tho' it sounds mushy, but I was left breathless by the wildness and elegance of the Golden Plovers. Checking my life list back at home, I discovered that I had already recorded this species as "NH - 1970's". Probably something spied on a coastal birding trip with my father and Arthur Borror -- "see that one, second from the right, at the edge of the flock of Black-bellied's? -- that's the Golden" -- so my twelve-year-old's tick mark on the list wasn't even a memory, just a tick mark. I'm so glad we made the hasty trip down to the meadows!

Seeing those two species for Jorge was bittersweet - they're on their way south - all the way to Argentina and Uruguay. A large percentage of the world population of Tryngites subruficollis winters in Uruguay. [if you follow this link to Bird Life International, look for the Important Bird Areas heading, and click the link to the map - I couldn't make a proper direct link to the map].

The American Golden-Plover, Pluvialis dominica, has one of the longest recorded migratory routes of any bird. Nesting in the Canadian Arctic, when they head south, they make coastal landfalls along the eastern US to feed, before the long flight to northern South America. Here they pause to fatten up again, before heading over the Amazon forests en route to sites in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

After all of that migratory shorebird drama, one final not-to-forget bird is a solitary little Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, seen in the yard at home on Wednesday afternoon last week, September 29th.

Weekend birding at home

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis and Black-capped Chickadee

We headed down for a walk around the cornfield Saturday afternoon, to enjoy the bright blue sky and see if there were any birds about. Sebastian took a guess that we'd see ten species, Max called out fifteen, and Jorge said nine. Karen, Jorge and I were halted pretty quickly by a mixed flock in the pines, and the boys took off for a game of hide-and-seek amongst the cornstalks.

A big foraging group of Chipping Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, and the first Dark-eyed Junco of the season started off the list. Blue Jays screamed overhead, a Yellow-rumped Warbler flitted high in an oak, and Seba came running back shouting Mourning Dove!

Around the next bend was an Eastern Phoebe and more chickadees, and we heard an American Robin call from within the woods. Returning along the far edge of the cornfield, and nearing the barn we found Gray Catbird and Northern Cardinal.

Along the woods path heading back to the yard we had a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker. And then something was SINGING in the top of still-leafy tree. To my ear it was some sort of flycatcher, but Karen recognized it right away as a vireo. It flew off before any of us could get binoculars on it, but reviewing the songs on the ipod, it must have been a Yellow-throated Vireo!!

We pursued the vireo back out to the cornfield, and as Jorge tried playback, I was distracted by movement in the nearby brambles. Trying to ignore the pair of catbirds, I finally focused on a small sparrow - a Lincoln's! I called Jorge away from the vireo quest - since not only was this a new Yard Bird, it would be a lifer for him! Lincoln's Sparrow - a delicate-looking, quiet fall visitor.

To round out the afternoon, with its now fading light and falling temperature, a male Red-winged Blackbird flew up out of the cornfield to alight in a tall hickory tree, White-throated Sparrows chipped from the brush near the barn, and a young Cedar Waxwing made its presence known in the very highest branch of an ash tree, alongside another Yellow-rumped Warbler.

And that was just Saturday!

Sunday morning, Karen and I went out to try for the vireo again - with no luck - but added American Crow, Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Flicker and Song Sparrow to yesterday's list. After a typical Sunday of a trip to the dump, a trip to campus and various and sundry errands we had just settled onto the living room couch to relax when I saw bird activity at the new feeder.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch was making quick trips back and forth from the big white pine, in the company of many chickadees, and then there were TWO. And wait, what's that larger bird silhouetted on the low branch of the pine? A female Purple Finch... she flew in to the feeder with a another, and they both settled in to occupy the tube for a good while - keeping the nuthatches and chickadees away.


female Purple Finches, Carpodacus purpureus

To finish up the weekend of birding, I saw a Cooper's Hawk fly through, and Jorge found a Hairy Woodpecker in the cherry tree. A small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers joined the numerous Chipping Sparrows, titmice and chickadees foraging around the edges of the yard. So, the migrants are still out there!

This weekend's birders: Karen, Sue, Jorge, Sebastian and Max,
and the birds for the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd:

Broad-winged Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Blue Jay
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch - new yard bird
Northern Cardinal
Purple Finch - new yard bird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow - new yard bird, and LIFER for Jorge
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

Well, there won't be too many more weekends with a count of twenty five species in our own yard!

A Pair of Barred Owls!

We left the boys at their late-afternoon soccer practice and headed into the woods adjacent to the playing fields. Late afternoon early fall - we thought we could find a migrant warbler or perhaps a sparrow.

This was not to be. The woods were lovely in the golden light of the low sun, with delicate lady ferns yellowing underfoot and newly-fallen orangey needles of the white pines scattered over the still-green sprouts of white oak and lycopodium.

Two Lycopods, front and center is Diphasiastrum digitatum, at right edge is Lycopodium obscurum. The fruiting plant at top is Partridge Berry, Mitchella repens.  With thanks to Bob Capers for the identification.

Eventually a mixed flock entertained us - with Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee and White-breasted Nuthatch calling in the Witch Hazel and birches. Farther along the trail we had both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and as the woods darkened at sundown we thought - owls!

Jorge tried a couple of hoots - the Hoo-hoo hoo-hoooo, Hoo-hoo hoo-hoooawww of the Barred Owl and the Hoo hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo hooo of the Great Horned. No response - we walked along, enjoying the quiet trickle of a tiny tributary of the Fenton River in our little forested valley.

Bufo americanus, the American Toad.

We paused again to listen to a calling Pileated Woodpecker in the distance and suddenly heard a Barred Owl, not too far away. Jorge called back and it responded, along with its mate! Before long, the two birds lighted in a tall White Oak about thirty meters from where we stood.

Foliage concealed them from view, so we shifted around to get a better look and flushed them off. The pair flew to another, more distant oak where we lost them again. How cool was that? Not one but two Barred Owls - calling to us and each other.

"Spotted Wintergreen", Chimaphila maculata, maybe should be called Striped Wintergreen!  Thanks again to Bob Capers for help with identification!

more photos to come
ciao
Sue

Laurel Marsh Walk - Manchester

On a warm Sunday afternoon we had some choices... go chase a few birds in the sewage ponds near Hartford or walk the loop trail around Manchester's Hockanum River. We set out to do both - doing the trail first - but finished up at nightfall, so that was that.

Karen and Jorge watching for Pine Warbler in a nearly dry swamp - nice habitat though.


David Sibley's Pine Warblers, immature above and female below, the birds we saw were halfway in between in markings.


On the west and south sides of the marsh, the trail passes so close to the highways that birding by ear was nearly impossible. Here the hardwood forest slopes down to Phragmites marsh.


I took a variety of photos in different light to experiment with the capabilities of my new Canon point-and-shoot. Not sure I got enough field marks to be able to identify this Solidago species.


Orange-blaze points the way... Many sections of the trail have great boardwalks and bridges crossing the marshy areas, but this summer has been so dry, they were all but unnecessary today.


A tiny spot of purple against the reeds is Purple Loosestrife. One invasive plant highlighted against another. Lythrum salicaria, family Lythraceae, order Myrtales.


Purple Loosestrife detail, not bad considering the wind was blowing strongly enough that I had to hold the flower stem to make the photo.


A mixed flock of blackbirds settling in for the night. Mostly Brown-headed Cowbirds and Starlings, with many Common Grackles and a few Red-winged Blackbirds.


Trying out the camera's low-light setting for this subtly dramatic evening sky.

The three of us worked pretty hard to get 28 species in the span of 2 1/2 hours.
Today's birders: Jorge, Sue and Karen
Today's birds:

Green Heron
Mallard
Wood Duck
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier - fantastic views of a beautifully colored immature
Cooper's Hawk - immature, posed quietly at the top of a nearly leafless sycamore
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Pine Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

So to wrap up, that was Sunday, September 26th, from 4:30 to 7pm, in Manchester, Connecticut, on the Laurel Marsh Trail along the Hockanum River. An okay walk, but not great for birding due to the highway noise. This is a place to come back to in winter to check for gulls and raptors near the Manchester Landfill - accessible from the south east corner of the park.
okay
ciao, Sue

Hi again - what can I say - it's been awhile.

We've been having fun getting out to find migratory birds this month - the video clip below is a panorama of New Haven Harbor taken from the Long Wharf area. I was looking for shorebirds at low tide one windy afternoon.



The birds on the mudflats and in the harbor that afternoon were:

Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Laughing Gull
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Black-bellied Plover
American Oystercatcher
Mallard
Mute Swan
Double-crested Cormorant


Karen birding Sandy Point, West Haven

Other birds seen the last few weeks along the coast from West Haven to Stratford Point:

Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Clapper Rail
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black Skimmer
Common Tern
Least Tern
Roseate Tern
plus the gulls and egrets

Non shorebirds seen along the coast from West Haven to Stratford Point:

Northern Harrier
Monk Parakeet
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Mockingbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Savannah Sparrow
Palm Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow

If I reach all the way back to the first week of August, I can add a few more birds...
A White-tailed Kite flew in from somewhere, and was first seen at Stratford Point on August 1st. We enjoyed excellent views of the bird early Saturday morning, August 7th. While watching for the Kite the previous day we found a female Orchard Oriole in tall grass - new for the Connecticut list this year.

The Kite deserves special mention because it was a FIRST EVER sighting in Connecticut. The last time it was observed in New England was in Massachusetts over 100 years ago. Needless to say this bird has attracted a lot of folks to Stratford Point - getting on the neighbor's nerves perhaps?

Okay, I'll keep going with the list, and add the bird species we've seen in our yard in and around Willington in the last three weeks of birding - adding only birds not mentioned in above locations.

Red-tailed Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Common Nighthawk
Northern Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Wood Pewee - at Eagleville Preserve
Willow Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Common Crow
Common Raven
American Robin
Veery - at Eagleville Preserve
Scarlet Tanager
Cedar Waxwing
Baltimore Oriole
Gray Catbird
Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
American Redstart
Canada Warbler - new for yard list, new for CT 2010 list
Chestnut-sided Warbler - new for yard list
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Black-throated Green Warbler
House Wren
Carolina Wren
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow

And in a field trip to the Meadows at Rocky Hill we found:
Baird's Sandpiper - probably - but not adding it to the year list
Upland Sandpiper
Killdeer

And I've seen a few additional species of warbler while at work this week:
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler

and while driving to work:
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
American Osprey
Bald Eagle

This migration period has been a lot of fun to track.
Birders who contributed to this list:

Karen Hochgraf
Susan Hochgraf
Jorge de Leon
Sebastian de Leon Aubrey

A Very Birdy Week

A major fallout of warblers in Connecticut began last Saturday, May 1st. Coming as it did on a weekend, the timing was perfect for all of us who were just chomping at the bit to get out and see some spring migrants. The day was bright and sunny, and was followed by a similarly beautiful Sunday May 2nd, maybe not quite as gorgeous, but fabulously birdy none-the-less.

We basically birded around the yard on Saturday then Jorge picked up a few good birds around campus on Sunday.

This past weekend had still more surprises flitting in the treetops and lurking in the understory of our nearby woodlands. Saturday morning May 8th started out with very light but steady rain, giving way to partly cloudy but bright skies by afternoon. We birded around the yard a bit, then headed for Heron Cove Park, just a few miles down the Willimantic River.

Sunday May 9th was bright, but very cold and windy, and in the afternoon we tried to beat the Graduation crowds on the streets of Storrs by heading into the woods between Horsebarn Hill and the Fenton River. After several enjoyable hours birding the woodlands and wetlands, we came out on Gurleyville Road, then cut across UConn's horse pastures and cornfields to get back to our car.

The week's birders:
Jorge, Sue, Sebastian and Max

The week's birds:
blue species indicate first of the year!

Canada Goose
Mallard
Wood Duck 5/9
Red-tailed Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk 5/8
Cooper's Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron 5/9
Spotted Sandpiper 5/8
Mourning Dove

Yellow-billed Cuckoo 5/8
Great Horned Owl 5/2
Chimney Swift 5/2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5/2, 5/9
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker 5/9
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5/8
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird 5/1
Warbling Vireo 5/8

Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow 5/8
Barn Swallow 5/2
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse (nesting at home)
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren 5/1
Carolina Wren
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher 5/1

American Robin
Veery 5/8-9
Wood Thrush 5/1, 5/8 (heard only)
Gray Catbird 5/2
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Pine Warbler 5/1
Yellow Warbler 5/2
Blue-winged Warbler 5/1
Magnolia Warbler 5/8 -new for our yard list

Common Yellowthroat 5/8 -new for our yard list
American Redstart 5/8
Black-and-white Warbler (5/1-5/8 heard only)
Scarlet Tanager 5/9
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5/7-9
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow 5/2
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow 5/1

Eastern Towhee 5/9
Eastern Meadowlark 5/2, 9th
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole 5/1
Bobolink 5/2
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow

Wow, sixty birds, almost half of which (27) were first of the year migrants.

more highway birding

Well, I couldn't let April pass without a single blog post. So today, the last day of the month, I've just done one of my commuter-birding surveys. I didn't do one for the first of April, and this one will cover the first of May, so, here we go.

Friday, April 30th - 7:08 to 8:11 am.
Just before getting in my car, I had to scrape ice off the windows. You read that correctly I-C-E. The morning at home was bright and clear, and in addition to the ice on my car, there was frost in the shady places of the yard.

On the drive, sky conditions varied from clear to high overcast with sun slanting under the clouds to complete cloud cover and back to part sun towards the end. It wasn't particularly windy - the last two days have been extremely windy.

Okay, now the birds.
7:08 to 7:20
Blue Jay - 5
Pigeon - 8
Grackle - 1
Starling - 3
Cardinal - 1
Cowbird - 1
and one road-kill Canada Goose

7:21-7:30
Pigeon - 7
Grackle - 10
Starling - 13
Cowbird - 2
Crow - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

7:31-7:40
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
Robin - 2
Pigeon - 3
Grackle - 1
Blue Jay - 1
Starling - 3
Crow - 1

7:41-750
Starling - 2
Crow - 2
Pigeon - 1
Blue Jay - 1

7:51-8:00
Starling - 2
Crow - 4
Grackle - 9
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Blue Jay - 1
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus - 1
Gulls - 20

8:01-8:11
Starling - 9
Crow - 2
Pigeon - 7
Gulls - 7
Robin - 3
Cardinal - 1
Mourning Dove - 1

You can see that I added one new species - hooray! The Osprey was perched on a roadside utility pole topped by an antenna of some sort, and the bird was actually on top of the antenna.

Since the last survey I have also seen an adult Bald Eagle, a Green Heron and a Double-crested Cormorant - those three during the afternoon commute, on different occasions.

One of the more curious sights was a female cowbird perched about thirty feet from a male cardinal on the railing of a highway overpass. I'd like to learn how the cowbird targets her host. Was she waiting for him to fly to the nest?

Texas, Sunday March 14th

Sunday morning we woke early, with the sun, just as we had in the desert. Big difference is the four walls around us, curtains on the windows, parking lot outside the door. All good things must end some day. But today we plan to stop just north of Marathon, on our way back to Midland-Odessa Airport, to look around the prairie dog town for Burrowing Owls.

After organizing our backpacks and cleaning out the rental van, we take time to stroll around the grounds of the Marathon Motel. In the back is a large open camping area for recreational vehicles and tenting - if one was so inclined, closer to the road are the motel units and a communal cooking/picnic area.

We meet the maintenance fellow, out doing his rounds - filling all of the birdfeeders in the motel courtyard. The feeders are busy, the water dishes are busy, the shrubbery is alive with chirps and twitters - and we add three new birds!

65. Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
66. Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
67. Pine Siskin, Carduelis pinus
also Brewer's Blackbird
White-winged Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove
Killdeer
Cactus Wren
House Finch
House Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Junco - no photos, and we're having some confusion as to the subspecies, arghh, we'll call it Gray-headed because that's what Karen said was common
Pyrrhuloxia

Leaving Marathon Motel at 8:30 am, the outside temperature is 42 degrees F.

In downtown Marathon we stopped for breakfast along the main street (route 90). Several shoppes were already open for business. Sitting over coffee in Johnny B's Cafe, we noticed that the clock on the wall did not agree with Verizon cellphone time. Turns out we just lost an hour of our vacation! At 2 am on the second Sunday in March we were supposed to change from Central Standard time to Daylight Savings Time and set our timepieces forward an hour.

But wait - isn't Verizon supposed to do that automatically? The worst thing is of course now we've lost an hour of birding. The driving we have to do anyway, but losing birding time was a pretty sad surprise.

On highway 90 just east of Marathon we paused to photograph another Loggerhead Shrike on a roadside fencepost. It was calling with a trilled whistle - chrreep! A few minutes later we had another Curve-billed Thrasher, in roadside bushes. And after turning north on route 385 we saw another Northern Mockingbird.

No more than seven or eight miles north of Marathon, on route 385, is the prairie dog town. Covering a few hundred acres on both sides of the road, this fascinating ecosystem supports a diverse array of flora and fauna. We spent just 25 minutes with telescope, cameras and binoculars before having to press on northward.

68. Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris
69. American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
70. Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia
71. Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus
and a few Western Meadowlarks

Mammals were quite visible too. Just before the dog town were some Mule Deer, and within the specific Prairie Dog ecosystem were:

Black-tailed Prairie Dog, Cynomys ludovicianus
Coyote, Canis latrans
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus

Since I'm not familiar with the local rodents, I made this identification based on notes in our journal: body has overall impression of being spotted, but spots arranged in rows, and perhaps a solid stripe or two as well, size was between our Red & Gray Squirrels - was investigating the Prairie dog burrows. I made a crude sketch, and indicated a white eye-ring, horizontally flattened tail, some black on the tail, maybe central.

Continuing north on route 385 towards Fort Stockton we drove through gently rolling hills covered in dry chapparal (that's my description, though a botanist I'm sure has a more specific term for it). Along the road we caught sight of a few distant fly-catching birds. We stopped to have a look, and with a little luck some came close enough that we could identify them as...

72. Mountain Bluebird, Sialia currucoides

There was a small group of bluebirds, definitely three, maybe more, feeding in typical bluebird fashion. From a fence-post perch one would fly down to the ground, grab an insect then fly back up to another post or top of a small bush. The bird we made our ID from was a female, the light on the others was so bad we couldn't see blue at all, and I wondered if maybe one was a Townsend's Solitaire!

Another treat along the way was a pair of Red-tailed Hawks in nuptial display - circling each other as they flew higher and higher. One carried a small snake, held just behind the head so most of the body hung down, with a total body length of 30 to 40 cm.

Other roadside birds between Marathon on Fort Stockton included Turkey Vulture, Northern Mockingbird, and American Kestrel. Stopping briefly in Fort Stockton for gas, we had a photo-op with Paisano Pete - the larger-than-life Roadrunner - before pressing on towards Midland-Odessa.

Just east of town in a little roadside wetland I spied a few ducks, so we made a hasty pull-over and flushed a mixed flock which included:

73. Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
74. American Wigeon, Anas americana
also Killdeer, Cliff Swallow and other Anas ducks, Mexican or Black, we couldn't be sure.

A Loggerhead Shrike eating beside the road almost became roadkill itself right in front of the van - I joked that it nearly volunteered for Diego Sustaita's research project back home at UConn. Continuing northward the oil pumpjacks began to sprout up out of the dry scrublands and the tops of several vast mesas were given over to wind farms.

Returning to Midland-Odessa Airport at the appointed hour (2 pm), we listed our last birds of the trip, finding a big flock of Meadowlarks, some House Sparrows, Starlings and one last Curve-billed Thrasher. A swallow passed by too quickly for us to grab an ID, though we thought it likely a Tree Swallow - which would have been new for the trip, but we weren't confident enough to call it for sure.

And that's where our journal ends. A 4 pm flight took us back to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where the greens of spring were much in evidence. An 8 pm flight took us on home to Hartford's Bradley International Airport, where we landed after midnight and quickly stuffed our backpacks into our own car and turned for home.

Now it's the wee hours of Monday morning, March 15th. A huge rain and wind storm had lashed the state for the last two days, leaving flooded rivers and downed trees in its wake. Less than a quarter mile from home, we find barricades set up across River Road - what happened? Roaring Brook took out its bridge? a tree or power lines lie across the roadway?

Well, we must detour up Village Hill Road and down Schofield Road - only to find this access blocked also - at least here we can see the cause. Branches have pulled power lines down, and the line crew is out working - it's now 2 am. We decide to retrace our steps and simply move the barricade on River Road so we can get home.

Done, we're home! But - no power, no heat, no water.

All we need at this point is sleep, and besides we've just come back from camping in the desert, where we had none of those amenities anyway. Jorge decides he'll stay home from work to monitor the situation during the day, but I opt to rouse myself after a few hours and get on down the road.

By four in the afternoon the power was restored, and we're back to business as usual. The laundry, download the photos and write-up the trip list! We shared a wonderful, and too short, few days with Karen, and both added new birds to our life lists on this five-day trip to Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend, Saturday March 13th

During the night some wandering javelinas passed through camp, grunting and scuffling as they went along their way, and as the dawn light intensified in the east, the first birdsong of morning broke the silence. Black-throated Sparrows, Ravens and a Rock Wren called from hillsides far and near - turns out those were the only birds we heard or saw all morning in our Gravel Pit campsite area.

But this morning was not about the birds anyway, it was about the sunrise. We three were up on the hilltop behind camp, dressed in all of our layers, to watch the unfolding drama of sunrise in the desert. The eastern sky brightened to white as the light intensified, then the sun appeared from behind mountains, creating a breathtaking spectacle of dawn light which crept across the desert. First touching the tops of the high Chisos with pink light, then the lower foothills, then sweeping across the whole desert floor towards nearby hills, and instantly warming the east-facing side of our bodies.

Full of the intensity of our shared experience, we slowly walked back down the slope to camp, admiring the assorted cacti and fossil-laden rocks underfoot. Karen made enough hot water for camp coffee and filled the thermos for mate, we downed some bread with nutella and cheese, bananas and peanutbutter, and finished packing up our gear. Maybe we had planned to be back at the Rio Grande Village campground for the early birds, but the beautiful sunrise had intervened...

Again, we're leaving camp around 9 am, first taking time to drive down to the Rio Grande at the end of our driveway, to see what we had not been able to last night. The green river flowed by a thick deposit of sandy river silt on our side, and past a sloping hillside edged with smooth cobbles on the opposite side. Last night's cows had moved on and a pair of ducks flew off on our approach.

The US and Mexico, separated by this quiet, though fast-moving ribbon of water - with the birds free to go back and forth, the way nature intended. And still, there were very few birds:

Mexican Duck, Anas platyrhynchos aka Mallard - confirmed (better looks than two days ago)
White-crowned Sparrow
Say's Phoebe
55. Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Driving out along River Road, back towards Grand Canyon Village, we had some repeat birds:

Northern Mockingbird
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Northern Flicker
and a Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus, very close to the road

Despite arriving very late (by birding standards) we did pretty well birding around the campground and the marsh between 9:50 and 11:15 am. In this area we added five new species:

56. Verdin, Auriparus flaviceps
57. Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris
58. Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperi
59. Pied-billed Grebe, Podylimbus podiceps
Great Blue Heron
American Coot
Turkey Vulture
Roadrunner
White-winged Dove
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Vermilion Flycatcher
White-throated Swift
Eastern Phoebe
Hutton's Vireo
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Chipping Sparrow
House Finch
Goldfinch

We turn our backs temporarily to the river, leaving Rio Grande Village behind as we drive back to the Chisos Mountains to say goodbye to Karen. She signed up for the late shift at the Lodge today so we could have the whole morning together for birding.

Back at Karen's house, she and I unpack her stuff from the van while Jorge tries calling in an Acorn Woodpecker. We have time to prepare and share a mate while sitting in the sun on her back steps, but the woodpecker never shows itself.

Birds around the house:

Canyon Towhee
Pyrrhuloxia
Cactus Wren
Northern Mockingbird

Karen's work shift is fast approaching now, so we drive up to the Lodge together, she checks in while Jorge and I browse the gift shop for "something Big Bend". Taking advantage of her 40% employee discount we choose a mug, a painted owl and a hat - Indiana Jones-style. We take our final farewells and obligatory group photos and must now go our separate ways. It has been a very special two days together.

Our plan for the rest of the day is to drive the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and Old Maverick Road, exiting the park at Maverick Junction. The highlights of this route will be Castolon and Cottonwoods campground and then a short hike into Santa Elena Canyon. Old Maverick Road is an area that Karen never explored, so we don't really know what to expect, except more beautiful desert scenery.

Driving out Basin Road we had a brief glimpse of two Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger), as they scampered away from their roadside feeding spot to take cover under dense bushes. They were larger than our Eastern Gray Squirrels, and the coat had a coarse look. The under-fur was a warm ochre tone with the outer coat being brindled black and white - appearing overall dark gray. Wish we'd had a better look!

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive meanders the high desert, following the western side of the Chisos Mountains. For the next hour and a half, we take in the sights of volcanic formations - dikes and rubble - the Mule Ears and the curious pale gray Tuff Canyon. We arrive at Castolon at 2:45. Castolon has a visitor's center, a ranger's house, restrooms and a general store. The store was "closed for lunch until 3 pm".

Birds seen along the way - just the occasional Turkey Vulture and a Rock Wren in Tuff Canyon.

Cottonwood Campground is just beyond Castolon, along the Rio Grande, and is maintained in a similar way to the big campground at Rio Grande Village. It seems to have fewer visitors (human ones, that is), but we stopped briefly to do a little birding in a dry grassy area between the river and the manicured camping area.

60. Inca Dove, Columbina inca
61. Gray-headed Junco, Junco hyemalis
62. Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
Vermilion Flycatcher
Black-throated Sparrow
Pyrrhuloxia

Leaving Cottonwood Campground, the road follows the river westward to Santa Elena Canyon, while the desert to the north reveals still more curious volcanic geology. Now, the opposite side of the river is a looming cliff - and we pull off the road at the Santa Elena Canyon interpretive site to learn how the river created the canyon and this 1500 foot-high cliff.

Karen had recommended the short hike into the canyon, so we, along with many other park visitors, start out over the sandy river shore to reach to trail into the canyon. To set the scene a bit as we approach the canyon's mouth, the green Rio Grande flows directly toward us, out of the canyon and the nearly dry bed of Terlingua Creek feeds in from the right (north).

We cross this creek simply by walking over the mostly-dried mud of the exposed riverbed - the surface pocked with footprints of those who crossed when the muddy silt was still soft. Once we reach the far side, there are a few access points amongst riverside shrubbery where we scramble about a meter up the riverbank to reach the trail proper.

Here at the mouth of the canyon we have another new bird - in a small flock of Turkey Vultures was one:
63. Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus
also another Say's Phoebe
more Rough-winged Swallows
a White-crowned Sparrow
and some Common Ravens

The views from the trail are pretty spectacular - way out to the north over the desert to the Chisos Mountains and beyond, straight down to the green water, 500 meters up the yellow canyon walls to the blue blue sky, and ahead into the narrow Santa Elena Canyon itself. Of course, we stop at every bend in the trail to photograph a scene, a cactus, an interpretive sign.

There is little evidence of birds in the canyon - we had hoped for a Rock Wren, but it still eludes us. Then Jorge hears the cry of a raptor, and looks up to see a falcon fly from its rocky perch.

64. Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus

The bird disappears from view and doesn't return until an hour later as we are hiking out of the canyon - then there are two, masters of the airspace at the highest heights of the cliff walls. Their cries are wild and piercing, and turn more heads than just ours. Several hikers pause to take a look in our Sibley guide to get an idea of what that bird was...

Leaving Santa Elena Canyon, visitors have a choice of two roads, Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive back towards the Chisos Mountains, or Old Maverick Road north to Maverick Junction at the western entrance of Big Bend National Park. Most visitors turn east, most likely heading back to a campsite or lodging in the Basin, and a few of us head north.

Earlier today I asked a park service employee about the advisability of driving Old Maverick Road in our rental van, and was assured we would have no problem this time of year. The road is unpaved and crosses many arroyos along its route, but it had been a long time since any water flowed in those washes. The only trouble might have been encountered by a small car in soft sand - we were fine.

Sights along Old Maverick Road included the western terminus of the Chimneys Trail and Luna's Jacal. Luna was a Mexican who lived on this particular patch of Chihuahuan desert until his death at 107 years of age. We stopped to take in Luna's surroundings, and imagined him waking up in this spot with his family every morning, under the clear desert sky, the quiet unhurried life.

The jacal is the particular type of hut built down into the earth, and roofed with Ocotillo stalks and adobe. With ventilation ports at both ends, and a door towards the western view - it must have been an ideal shelter, warm in winter and cool in summer's heat. The screen door is pad-locked now, but that probably never occurred to Luna...

Not far beyond Luna's jacal, we crossed the double-channel of Javelina Wash and caught sight of a treetop bird just up the arroyo. Pulling the van to the side of the wash, we jumped out with cameras in hand and approached a Loggerhead Shrike. The clean black and white plumage is so striking in this land of browns, ochres and muted colors.

As the sun dropped to the horizon on another desert day, coloring the hillsides pink and purple, we took a short walk away from the road to look down into a vast water-carved crater. It was nearly circular in shape, very lunar in aspect, and definitely created by nature in a distant and turbulent time.

By 7 in the evening we have reached the plateau at Maverick Junction and the sun has disappeared in a final blaze of pink and gold, silhouetting ocotillo on the nearby hills. As we pause for a photo before leaving the park, a few unseen sparrows are chipping their night-time contact calls, a bat sallies out for insects, and we say goodbye to Big Bend.

Just outside of the park in the town of Terlingua, we hope to find a restaurant with local fare. Learning from our experience in Alpine, first we pick up some Bohemia Mexican beer from the convenience store then bring it back to the Chili Pepper Cafe to enjoy with our Tex-Mex dinner. It was probably the best restaurant in town, but nothing to write home about.

Our journal says
8:22p, 466 mi
leaving Terlingua after dinner

Route 118 takes us north to Alpine, and just over an hour later, we stop at Border Control, 16 miles south of town. The two young officers ask if we are US citizens, examine Jorge's green card, and had probably never seen an Uruguayan passport before. Tonight, just like on our early morning drive Thursday, we saw many small groups of Mule Deer along the roadsides.

In Alpine we wait five minutes at the railroad crossing for a train to pass, then it's on to Marathon, 30 miles to the east along route 90, for a hot shower and bed. Back home in Willington Connecticut, many weeks earlier, I had made reservations for tonight at the Marathon Motel. The hostess left our room key in a self-check-in box, since we knew we would be arriving after 10pm, and boy, did we enjoy that hot shower...

Another long and beautiful day in the Chihuahuan desert, in which we shared sunrise from our own hilltop with Karen, hiked back in time into Santa Elena Canyon, and yes, added some new birds to our Texas list.

Big Bend, Friday March 12th

You know how difficult it is to wake up for work at 6 am, but how easily you wake up, even before sunrise, as soon as you're away from that schedule... Now, our days are set by the rhythm of the sun, and nothing else - what a pleasure that is!

Overnight, the desert releases its warmth gradually, with the night at its coldest in the hours before dawn. That must be when I reached for my hat, which I had strategically left close at hand. But we were very comfortable all night, and I'm sure, just like the previous night, the temperature was below 40 degrees F.

The sun rose, as it had set, behind mountains and over the beautiful Chihuahuan desert, bringing instant warmth to the chilled air. Karen prodded the cookstove to life and made hot water for our breakfast and we started looking for the first birds of the morning.

36. Curve-billed Thrasher, Toxostoma curvirostre - heard singing in the nearby mesquite trees before dawn, a pair sat together
37. Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Picoides scalaris - heard drumming nearby, very delicately, and responded to playback, giving great views and photos
Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto - sunning on an exposed perch
38. Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus - exploring our campsite, even hopped inside the tailpipe of the car

Breakfast was hot oatmeal, Wednesday's croissants from Alpine and Karen's gluten-free raisin bread, spread with Nutella and peanutbutter, cheese too. mmm. Powdered drink mix (maracuja - passion fruit from Suriname via Brazil), instant coffee for those of us who indulge and a thermos of hot water for mate later on. Campsite packed away, we surprised Karen with a new iPod, already pre-loaded with hundreds of songs and calls of North American birds.

In short order, she called in the Ladder-backed Woodpecker and brought the Rock Wren into view. This iPod Nano has enough memory for 2000 songs, (of course the industry counts it in terms of music songs, not bird songs), a video camera and an FM radio - all this in a hand-held device so small and light you hardly feel it in your hand. In our package for Karen, we also included a little battery-operated speaker which is essential for doing playback in the field.

Leaving our campsite, we're rumbling along Grapevine Hills Road at 9 am, with a plan. First stop Panther Junction Visitor's Center to ask if they could please plug in our camera-battery charger for the morning, next stop Sam Nail Ranch, along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, for more birding. One of Big Bend's birding hotspots, Sam Nail Ranch has a functional windmill, which today creaks in the breeze and brings up a trickle of water.

An easy trail, with benches for relaxing, meanders through dense low trees and shrubs supported by the little oasis generated by the windmill. Sheltered now from the breezes, the morning is pleasantly warm as we stop to survey the local birds.

39. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus
Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Aimophila ruficeps
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura

Many insects, especially bees, are also attracted to the water, and one cardinal seems to be prevented from coming to drink because the bees harass her.

Karen has been here before, and leads us off the well-worn path, along a narrow track through dense tamarisk growth and down to an arroyo. These days the riverbed is dry dry dry, but a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy our surroundings. The air feels delicious on sun-starved skin. We watch a few early butterflies work their way along the flowering shrubs, listen to occasional birdsong from the thickets, and open the thermos of hot water to prepare our mate.

After this immensely pleasant respite, where all cares, schedules and anxieties have vanished, and we feel as though we could LIVE here awhile, we slowly pack up and walk back to the road to continue our adventure. Driving back towards Panther Junction now, to pick up the camera battery, we get our first roadrunner - actually running across the road in front of the van before vanishing in the cactus and scrub of the desert foothills.

More Chihuahuan Ravens, the resident Red-tailed Hawk, House Finches, House Sparrows, Pyrrhuloxia, White-crowned Sparrows and Turkey Vulture are seen around the Visitor's Center. We take advantage of the Basin Post Office to send a few postcards (available next door in the park service gift shop) then quickly get out of this congested little hub. We're on our way to bird the Rio Grande Village campground and see the big river itself.

It's probably important to mention the gas station, located on the main park road right near Panther Junction, because it's one of the few around. While Jorge refueled the van, I made a round of sandwiches - salami and cheese, which we enjoyed with more water and maracuja juice. And a general aside about food too. We brought backpacking meals from home (the couscous-and-salmon), instant coffee, instant oatmeal, tea, sugar, Powerbars and Dove chocolates.

The rest of the food we picked up in Alpine Wednesday evening - a quick shopping trip to the Thriftway, squeezed in between sundown at the town park and closing time at the local restaurants. Here we bought bread, cheese, deli meats, Nutella, peanutbutter, bananas, mandarines and bottled water. In the end, everything was consumed except the peanutbutter, which we sacrificed to airport security, along with the remaining Nutella, deemed too hazardous to carry onto the plane.

Okay, back to the Chihuahuan desert. Descending the long, gentle grade from Panther Junction, on the flanks of the Chisos, down to the Rio Grande valley, we seem to be in a more populated section of the park. Big camping rigs, motor homes, families and college students on spring break are all here to enjoy this high desert-and-mountain country.

We pull off the road whenever there's an interesting bird, unable to wait for a "proper" pull-off, of which there are many. However we do take time to stop at the Rio Grande Viewpoint, just beyond the tunnel, where we track down a gnatcatcher in the mesquite bushes. There's a mixed flock of sparrows beside the road, another Curve-billed Thrasher, Chihuahuan Ravens and more Turkey Vultures. To bring the list of new birds up to date:

40. Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus
41. Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina
42. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Polioptila melanura

As we walk the trails and roadsides, Karen points out and names the various desert plants that she's familiar with. Cacti, shrubs and wildflowers, all with their xero-phyllic adaptations for life in the Chihuahuan Desert.

With our backs to the Chisos Mountains this afternoon, the main feature of the landscape is the Sierra del Carmen, visible as a high ridge or bluff on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Strongly marked with horizontal bands of alternating basalts and sandstones, these sierras are prominent in any photo taken looking southeast from the Chisos.

Arriving at Rio Grande Village, we quickly pass the few elements that give this area the name "village" - another Visitor's Center, a park service general store, a boat launching ramp and the campground. Choosing a day-use parking space near the amphitheatre we head out into the afternoon sun, which is strong enough now that we grab hats and waterbottles before leaving the car.

Here along the Rio Grande, the park service maintains a large Cottonwood grove for camping and day use, with grass underfoot, gravel roadways and paths. The Cottonwoods are huge trees, with lofty crowns atop tall straight trunks - and this arboreal environment attracts a different suite of birds.

43. Common Raven, Corvus corax
44. Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus - new for N. Amer. list
45. Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons

Along the river's edge at the boat launch, Karen and Jorge found a new phoebe, which I only saw as two small birds flying away.
46. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans

We tried without success to gain access to the section of the river where the phoebes had flown, just downstream from the launching ramp, but with the riverbanks being a dense tangle of Tamarisk and reeds, it appeared they were better left alone. Rambling and birding our way through the Rio Grande Village campground we added several more new species to our list.

47. Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata
48. Yellow-rumped Warbler (soon to revert to Audubon's Warbler), Dendroica coronata
another Hutton's Vireo
several Roadrunners
49. American Coot, Fulica americana
50. White-throated Swift, Aeronautes saxatalis
more Vermilion Flycatchers, including a female building a nest
another Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
White-winged Dove
51. Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe
52. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
Bewick's Wren
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird

By-and-large, the birds in the campground area were in the small trees amongst motor homes and travel trailers. The occupants didn't seem to mind us stopping to gaze at the treetops near their little patches of turf, in fact on several occasions people came out to ask what we had seen, or to offer anecdotes of birds they had noticed earlier.

A marshy area adjacent to the campground proved pretty quiet this afternoon, with only the coot showing itself. Earlier in the winter a boardwalk through the marsh had been destroyed by high water, so we did our bird-watching from the shore.

With the sun heading towards 5:00 we made a quick stop at the camp store for cold liquid refreshments then drove back up the road toward the hot spring. A natural geothermal spring right on the banks of the Rio Grande, the structure of the hot spring was clearly much reduced from a former glorious day. A stone wall now encloses a three to four meter square bathing area, with a water depth of about half a meter.

You could sit comfortably on the bottom with your back against the wall and arms draped over the wall, or slump down to cover your shoulders. The water temperature at the source pipe was said to be about 110 degrees F - about the same as really hot bath water. At the opposite side of the hot spring the warmth was perfect, very relaxing, with the evening air becoming cooler around us.

After soaking a bit, Karen and I stepped out and dried off while Jorge followed the lead of two girls who were there with their parents - and jumped into the Rio Grande for a cool-down swim! The current quickly carried the swimmers to a beach a short distance downstream, where they clambered out and followed the path back to the hot spring.

Here at the hot spring, we added a few more birds to our growing list:

53. Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes
54. Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
more Common Ravens
another Say's Phoebe

Sun's dropping quickly towards the horizon now, and we head out to find our camp site, just off River Road - not far away. The low sun dramatically changes the colors on the Sierra del Carmen, and all of the west-facing hills, beautiful. Big Bend is one of those places with a surprise and a delight around nearly every bend in the road. The evening colors, the desert vistas, silhouetted cacti on a hilltop - everywhere we look is natural beauty.

Gravel Pit-2 is another gem of a campsite - tucked against a steep hill, and we arrive just after sunset, with plenty of ambient light to set up camp, and even scramble up the hill for a look around. The desert underfoot is pale gravel, with what looks like calcium-rich sandstone layers exposed in low outcrops. We'll explore more in the morning.

I take a minute to drape our wet bathing clothes over a thorny shrub, in the dark it feels like a white-thorn acacia or mesquite. Karen sets up the Whisperlight stove, and the menu for tonight is... couscous with salmon. We have plenty of cheese and chocolate for after-dinner sweets and savories, and end the meal again with a cup of tea.

With the star-studded sky overhead and the night air cooling off around us, Karen proposes we walk down to the river. It's a short way along the gravel road to a broad sandy slope which borders the Rio Grande here. In the darkness we hear a cow nearby, and a few more across the river - and the occasional braying of donkeys.

Back at camp, we settle in to our nests, piled high with fleece blankets again, though it doesn't feel as cold as last night. Tomorrow we'll explore this corner of the park some more, then drive back to the Basin and say goodbye to Karen.

To Big Bend, Thursday March 11th

We set the alarm clock for 4:30, packed up, and were on the road at 5:05 am. The stars were incredibly bright, a waxing crescent moon hung above the eastern horizon, and we drove in this near complete darkness east from Alpine to Marathon, where the road turned south towards Big Bend National Park. Signposts indicated various sights to either side of the road, however all was invisible until the dawn light began to show in the east.


Jorge in the pre-dawn darkness on Route 385 south of Marathon, Texas

Mule Deer appeared as gray ghosts in groups beside the road and the occasional jackrabbit dashed across in front of us. Early morning light silhouetted low hills and rocky pinnacles in the east, and glowed pink on a more substantial range of mountains to the west.


Dawn light in the Chihuahua Desert, south of Marathon, Texas

As the sun rose higher, but was still hidden below the horizon, we had the first bird of the day. Two Chihuahuan Ravens were flying towards us, very low, along the road - the flight appears gracile and elegant, since the wings are proportionally longer than in the American Crow and Common Raven.


Park boundary at Route 385

With spectacular mountain formations on all horizons and surrounded by the broad Chihuahuan Desert, slowly but surely we approached the massif of the Chisos Mountains. At exactly the moment the sun came up above the horizon - 7:15am - we stopped for a photo at the park boundary.


looking northwest from the park road

Did I mention the temperature? The van was equipped with an exterior thermometer which registered 39 degrees F, at sunup. We were having second thoughts about our plans to backpack in the High Chisos tonight!


early sun on the foothills


Texas Bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis

The road through Big Bend National Park's Persimmon Gap entrance passes through the vast open Chihuahuan desert. In the cool of the early morning, the air was pleasant, and any little sound could be heard for some distance. There were very few sounds! At Nine-point Draw we found a few birds beside the road (remember the color code?)


looking west over desert between Chisos Mtns (left) and Rosillos Mtns (right)


Jorge, early morning birding, Chisos Mountains in distance

red= life bird for Jorge
blue= life bird for Sue
purple= lifer for both of us

25. House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
26. Black-throated Sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata
Cactus Wren
Pyrrhuloxia


nearing the Chisos Mountains - the range is fully enclosed by the park


White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, at the visitor's center

By now it was nearing 8am - the time that we had planned to meet Karen at the Chisos Mountains Lodge in the Basin - and we still had at least 40 miles to go. I phoned the lodge where she was waiting and she decided she'd hike back home and wait for me to phone her house when we were closer. Housemate Linda has a landline, cell phones do not work in the basin.


Nina Hannold's Grave along the now-dry Hannold Draw


A poignant desert story

It was difficult to hurry our drive through the beautiful morning in the desert, but we tried to keep moving - with a few stops at the interpretive signs, and for birds too of course. We stopped in at the Panther Junction Visitor's Center to register - family and friends of park staff get in for free, so I couldn't even tell you what the regular fee is, maybe $20 for the vehicle and $5 for each person for the week.


Basin Road, ascending into the Chisos Basin


Collared Peccary or Javelina, Pecari tajacu

Just a few miles further on is the turnoff to Basin Road, which climbs steeply into the heart of the Chisos Mountains. By 10:30 we were parked at the Chisos Mountains Lodge waiting for Karen to hike back up the hill from her house to meet us at last. After hugs and greetings, we took time to gather her camping gear and change our campsite permit from the backpacking site she had reserved to a car-camp site - so that our piles of fleece blankets could be nearby. Wimpy, I know.


Karen and Jorge pause for a break in front of Karen's house in the Basin (along the road between the group campground and the big Chisos Basin Campground)


Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus - the parking lot bird at the the Basin Visitor's Center

Birding around the Chisos Mountains Lodge, Karen's house, and the Basin Visitor's Center, we had several birds, a few of which were new for the list. Several of these were only seen at this time by Jorge, while Karen and I packed the car, but we all saw them all eventually.


Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus

27. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus (J only)
28. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea (J only)
29. Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus (J only)
30. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
31. Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus (J only)
Canyon Towhee, Pipilo fuscus
Cactus Wren, Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus
Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus

Karen and one of her housemates, Linda, had recently seen the Blue-throated Hummingbird at their feeders and an Acorn Woodpecker around their house, but we had no luck finding either.

With daypacks and cameras we headed up Pinnacles Trail into the heart of the high Chisos. Jorge had hoped we could hike into Boot Canyon on the chance an early Colima Warbler was around, but our noon start erased those hopes, since that hike is long, even without stopping for birds along the trail.

The afternoon sun had become strong, but cool air kept us in jackets and fleece hats as we ascended a moderate switchbacked grade passing through alligator juniper and live oak forest and occasionally through grassy savannah dotted with pinyon pine. We set a return time of 6 in the afternoon and planned only to enjoy the hike, the amazing scenery, and a few birds too.

We searched the forest and skies for new birds, and occasionally, the birds came looking for us. The first trail bird was one of the latter - Mexican Jays came screaming from everywhere, affording great views of this common, but range-restricted corvid.

Trail birds were:

32. Mexican Jay, Aphelocoma ultramarina
33. Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus ssp.
34. Hutton's Vireo, Vireo huttonii
35. Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria
Bewick's Wren, Thryomanes bewickii ssp.
Black-crested Titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus
Bushtit, Psaltriparus minimus ssp.
Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis ssp.
Chihuahuan Raven, Corvus cryptoleucos

We hiked up to the pass between what I called the main basin and the other canyons to the south and west, just before the spur trail up Emory Peak. Karen and I took a break here, sheltered from the wind, while Jorge walked further on, to find the spur trail. The hiking was not what the three of us would call strenuous, but we are pretty seasoned hikers, and we had plenty of bird-watching breaks along the way.

The day remained bright and clear from sun-up all the way through to sun-down, affording wonderful photo opportunities as the light struck the mountains, first on their eastern slopes and finally on their western slopes. Returning to our car at the Basin Visitor's Center, we commented on the Canyon Towhees hopping about the parking lot like so many House Sparrows! Now onward to our campsite.

We had reserved Grapevine Hills site 3, so we headed north out of the basin to the main park road (which I never saw a name for, but is probably route 118) and traveled west a short distance to Grapevine Hills Road. Immediately there was a parking area with a tent sign for GH-1, it's a large area so we scouted around to see if the GH-3 sign was there also - no luck. Or rather no sign, but good luck, since we drove another 6 miles farther down the dirt road to a more remote site with much better ambiance, where we found both GH-2 and GH-3. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, we set up camp for the night.

It's an indescribable sensation to be "in the middle of nowhere" as night comes on. The sky is huge, the air is fresh, the sunset colors are subtle and beautiful, the plants are new and different, and the possibility of unknown mammals is there too. But best of all, we're sharing the experience with like-minded friends and family.

First item out of the car is dinner - Karen unpacks her new Whisperlite stove and sets a pot of water to boil - the menu is rice-couscous with curry seasoning and a pouch of salmon stirred in. Next we set up our little blue tent on the hard dry gravel, tucked close in to the mesquite and creosote bushes for a wind-break. We fill it with sleeping bags, thermarest pads and fleece blankets - and we don't have to close the screen!... too cold for insects. Inside the van, we rearrange seats and gear to make comfortable sleeping quarters for Karen.

As the night darkens and stars fill the sky, Karen and I gather close to the tiny heat of the cook-stove. Jorge pulls out the laptop computer and uploads the day's photos from both cameras, taking time to look through some of the highlights - the Chihuahuan desert in early morning light, the Chisos mountains in afternoon sunshine, the Mexican Jays and other birds along the way.

The couscous cooked up to an enormous pot of dinner, but somehow we three managed to eat it all and leave nothing for the nocturnal visitors. Dinner is followed by a thermos of herbal tea, and a piece of dark chocolate finishes the evening. We savor the night air, the sky, the silhouetted mountains and the companionship, then do the requisite clean-up, and turn in for the night.

Morning will bring new adventures.