West Texas Birding

April, 2016

It was still dark the morning we hooked up our travel trailer and completed the final preparations to begin our 9-day West Texas Birding trip to South Llano River State Park; Davis Mountains State Park; Big Bend National Park; Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico; and the Caverns of Sonora.

From Round Rock, we headed west on Hwy 29 through Liberty Hill, Bertram, and Burnet, where we stopped at the Burnet Seton hospital to get nine stitches removed from my head (long story involving a T-Post driver). Before leaving Burnet, we had breakfast at Crazy Gals Cafe, then continued west on 29 through Buchanan Dam, Llano, Art, and Mason, then south on 377, through London and Junction, and finally to South Llano River State Park.

The forecast called for several days of heavy rain in the Texas Hill Country, but the future weather looked favorably drier in the western part of the state - all we needed to do was get through one night of potentially heavy rain at South Llano River. The rest of the trip should be sunny and dry.

The park looked booked, but the park folks put us in site 41, next to the trail leading to the Acorn bird blind. We spent most of the afternoon chasing birds in and around the Acorn blind. At 5 o'clock, we left Acorn and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Juniper and Agarita blinds. We saw scores of birds that day.

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After spending the entire afternoon birding, we headed back to our campsite. Along the way, we met a fellow camper packing his gear and getting ready to leave the park.
"I'm getting out of here while I can!" he said.
"What? On such a beautiful day?" I said.
"It is supposed to start raining hard at two, and it doesn't take much rain to flood out the low water crossing leading into the park. There's a back way out, but you can't take your trailer through it. One time I had to leave mine here for a couple of weeks and come back for it after the water subsided."
"Do you think we'll really get that much rain?" I asked.
"I'm not taking any chances," he said.
A half-hour later, he was gone.

Early Sunday morning, paranoid about the weather, I woke up around two and walked outside. It was cloudy but calm and dry, so I returned to bed. At 4:15 a.m., we woke to the sound of distant thunder. We rested in bed, counting the seconds between the bolts of lightning and claps of thunder, wondering if the storm would move toward us and cause a flood at the low water crossing and delay our drive to West Texas. Since there was no way we were going back to sleep, we decided to pack up and get ahead of the storm. It was 5:15 a.m. We barely left our campsite before the heavy rain began. We drove three miles, past the low water crossing, back to Junction to wait out the storm and have breakfast at the 24-hour McDonalds (that didn't open until six).

At 6:30 a.m., it was dark. Rain was coming down hard, but we weren't in a hurry to leave, so we relaxed, enjoyed our McMuffins and coffee, and caught up on the day's news while we waited for sunrise.

At 7 a.m., the skies lightened, and we were off again, feeling good, and heading west on I-10 towards Sonora. We drove through periods of heavy rain for the first hour, but the skies began to clear as we journeyed 300 miles farther west toward Fort Davis.

We stopped for gas in Ozona and again in Fort Stockton, then headed south on Hwy 67 for about 50 miles, then turned west on Hwy 90 towards Marathon and Alpine. In Alpine, we continued west on Hwy 118 for 27 miles, through the mountain town of Fort Davis, to Davis Mountains State Park.

Davis Mountains State Park

There were still plenty of campers at Davis Mountains State Park for a Sunday when most folks usually leave early to return to their working world routines. Ah, birding season, of course. Spring is a busy time of year - flocks of birders travel from park to park to catch the springtime bird migration (just like us).

Once we got our travel trailer unhooked and secured in campsite 29, we enjoyed chicken-fried steaks at the Black Bear Restaurant at the Indian Lodge. After dinner, we hiked to the first of the park's two bird blinds. It was an entirely new building that replaced the blind we visited in 2012. It was nice, but I liked the old one better.

After a long day of bad weather, driving, and birding, we relaxed and watched the movie Giant (1956 - Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson). Many of the scenes from the film were from the Hotel Paisano in Marfa, Texas, about 25 miles from Davis Mountains State Park.

On Monday, we took a side trip to the McDonald Observatory, 13 miles away, to participate in the Solar Viewing Program and tour the 107-inch Harlan J. Smith and 362-inch Hobby-Eberly telescopes. We would have attended the evening Star Party too, but they aren't available on Mondays. We have been to the Star Parties before and will go again one day soon. They are spectacular!

We packed our gear on Tuesday, attached the trailer to our truck, and departed David Mountains State Park. We drove a few miles into town and had a delicious country-style pancake and eggs breakfast at the Fort Davis Drugstore and Old Country Inn.

Before leaving Fort Davis, we did a little shopping at Javelina's Hollyhocks next door and then headed southeast down Hwy 118 back to Alpine.

 

From Alpine, we drove 30 miles east to Marathon, then headed south on Hwy 385, about 70 miles, to Big Bend National Park's headquarters at Panther Junction. From Panther Junction, we drove another 20 miles to the Rio Grande Village RV Park, where we began our three-night stay at Big Bend National Park and Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico.

While settling into Rio Grande Village RV Park, we met a young couple from Chicago who owned the 22-foot travel trailer parked in the site next to ours. They were interested in visiting Boquillas Del Carmen but were nervous about going alone. We agreed to go together and perhaps share some of the "guide" costs, etc.

We met Paul and Linda at the Boquillas Del Carmen border crossing mid-morning. The border reopened in 2013 after being closed for nearly 12 years due to the events of 9/11.

Boquillas Del Carmen

The park official at the Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry gave us a brief overview of the requirements for crossing into Mexico and returning to the US. Afterward, we walked along a gravel trail leading to the shores of the Rio Grande River. A man on the Mexico side of the river saw us coming and began rowing a jon-boat to the US side to pick us up. The round-trip cost of crossing the river was $5 per person during our visit.

Once we arrived with Paul and Linda on the Mexican side of the border, we were still a mile away from Boquillas Del Carmen. The options to get to town were by car, horseback, donkey, or foot if you didn't mind the heat or didn't want to pay $5 for the round-trip. We decided to take the car ride option. In a later year, we chose to ride a donkey into town. Big mistake! That was the longest, bumpiest mile I have ever traveled.

There's also a mandatory guide you must pay to accompany you while you are wandering about town. The customary "tip" for the guide was $20 per day. Once we arrived in town, the first stop was to Mexico's National Park headquarters to pay a $3 per person entry fee.

Once we paid all the required crossing fees and tips, our guide, "Gato" (cat), walked with us around town, but he could not speak English. So, as a guide, he was useless since we didn't speak Spanish. One of the first things we noticed about the sleepy pueblo of Boquillas Del Carmen was that the town's energy was 100% solar. We learned from the locals that it was too far away and costly to tie into the Mexican power grid, making solar power the only viable option. Power was available to the residences and businesses of Boquillas from a small solar power plant on the edge of town. While walking about the pueblo, we shopped at street vendors selling decorative towels, sotol walking sticks, and wire-crafted desert plants and creatures.

After about an hour of touring the town on foot, we were ready for food and drink. We decided to eat at one of the two Restaurants in Boquillas Del Carmen called Jose Falcon's. The restaurant was owned and managed by Jose Falcon's daughter, who reopened the restaurant in 2013 when the border crossing between the US and Mexico was re-established. She amazed us with mesmerizing stories of how her proud father ran the restaurant for 30 years from a wheelchair. He died a year before 9/11 and the subsequent closing of the restaurant.

There was an exquisite covered courtyard separating the restaurant from the gift shop. A light breeze blew through the shaded area, creating a refreshing place in the mid-day desert to relax and enjoy a fine meal of enchiladas and cold beer.

The other eating place in town, Boquillas Restaurant, was directly across the road from Jose Falcon's. A little further down the road was the famous Park Bar. We regrettably didn't get a chance to try food or drink from either of these venues on that trip.

After lunch, we signaled Gato that we were ready to return to the border crossing. A few minutes later, the old suburban bounced down the dusty road to pick us up. We crossed the river in the usual jon-boat fashion and walked back up the trail to the border crossing facility.

There was nobody at the customs office. A telephone receiver and a camera were attached to one of the walls of the building. You pick up the receiver and speak to someone in a remote office. They ask you if you have purchased anything in Mexico while they monitor you by camera. They usually ignore inexpensive souvenirs.

Old Ore Road

It was too early to call it a day, but the 105-degree temperature made it too hot to hike. We drove back to Panther Junction to shop for souvenirs in the park's air-conditioned store and asked the rangers if there was a scenic drive or something cool we could do to finish the day. They suggested a slow drive down Old Ore Road to explore the desert scenery.

Old Ore Road was long and rough. We drove about an hour on a oneway road into the scorched desert. Pothole after pothole kept us from any progress short of a slow crawl. We hadn't seen anyone since embarking on this excursion and got worried about breaking down in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to head back. Banks of gravel guarded both sides of the narrow one-lane road; finding a place to turn around was difficult. We finally found a spot wide enough for a multi-point turn and began our slow journey back to the main road.

After a long day in Mexico and the Chihuahuan desert, we returned to our campsite to relax, enjoy cold beverages, and watch the sunset with our new friends from Chicago.

The Window Trail

On Thursday, we woke at predawn to beat the heat and hike the Chisos Mountain's 5-mile Window Trail. At dawn, a few miles into the 45-minute drive to Chisos, a coyote carrying prey in its mouth was crossing the road in the distance ahead of us. As we approached, it got spooked and vanished into the desert.

We arrived at the Chisos Mountains area about 8 a.m. and stocked up on water and snacks at the park's store, located a short distance from The Window trailhead. The sky was clear, and the air was cool. It was a great day for a hike!

We put on our hiking boots and hats, smeared on some sunscreen, loaded our small packs with water and snacks, and soon we were on the trail, feeling good and hiking in Big Bend's beautiful Chisos Mountains!

 

The Window Trail was labeled a 'moderate' hike, but we thought it was easy. We took our time exploring the two-and-a-half-mile trail to The Window. The fascinating rocks, plants, and animal life we experienced along the trail were magnificent.

Once we arrived at the trail's end, I walked carefully to The Window opening, half expecting to find an outer ledge to stand on and take pictures of the view, but such a platform did not exist. It wasn't long before I realized my next step on the slippery rocks might be my last!

The hike back to the park store was remarkably warmer. The temperature was rising rapidly; we were glad to be wrapping up our morning hike. We passed a few hikers who were getting a late start, thinking they might regret not hitting the trail earlier.

We knew we were getting closer to the end of The Window Trail as we saw Casa Grande Peak get larger with every step.

Before driving back down the mountain toward Rio Grande Village, we enjoyed delicious burgers and fries at the Chisos Mountain restaurant. Afterward, we drove back to Rio Grande Village and spent the afternoon relaxing inside our air-conditioned travel trailer, drinking craft beer from Big Bend Brewing Company.

Thursday morning, around 7 a.m., we prepared to get on the road again. We said goodbye to our Chicago friends and left Big Bend to begin the 287-mile journey to the Caverns of Sonora. We headed north from Panther Junction on HWY 385 back to Marathon. In the distance, a bright green snake began slithering across the road. Before it reached the other side, a Cooper's Hawk swooped in out of nowhere, grabbed the snake by the middle of its body, and carried it off.

In Marathon, we stopped at the French Company Grocer for croissants and coffee, then continued north on 385 to Fort Stockton for gas, then headed east on I-10 to the Caverns of Sonora.

We arrived at the Caverns of Sonora in time to set up camp at a tree-covered campsite and participate in the last daily tour of the cavern. The Caverns of Sonora is in Sonora, Texas, just a few short miles from I-10.

We had driven past billboards advertising the caverns on previous trips to West Texas, vowing to go there someday, so we included an overnight stay at the caverns as part of the year's West Texas trip. It was a magnificent cavern and was unquestionably worth a stopover.

 

After the tour, we grilled steaks for dinner and visited with fellow campers until dark.

Since we weren't anxious to leave the park on Saturday morning, we woke up at a reasonable hour and decided to relax around our Caverns of Sonora campsite. We had breakfast under the trees and passed the time watching for migrating birds.

At noon, we packed up and left the Caverns of Sonora and headed about an hour east on I-10 back to South Llano River State Park, where we spent the final night of the trip. We landed a nice campsite across from the Park Hosts and spent the afternoon revisiting the bird blinds. We saw many of the same birds and even wondered if they were the same birds we saw the week before.

The next day, we gathered our cameras and binoculars to go on a two-mile guided Bird Walk with one of the park rangers. The park ranger said we would have a favorable chance to see the endangered Golden-Cheeked warbler. We had never seen one and even heard they were difficult, if not impossible, to find. Our guide took us gradually down the trail, stopping for anything that looked or sounded like it might be a migrating bird. After about an hour, we arrived at the turn in the trail where she had seen the Golden-Cheeked warbler the day before.

"There it is!" she whispered. "Up in the top of that juniper tree!" I fumbled with my camera while preparing for a good shot at the rare bird, but I was too late. It flew across the trail and away from us. We all stood quietly, hoping for its return. I was prepared now, with my lens cap off, ready for a quick shot. After about 10 minutes, we saw it again, but I didn't get my camera focused fast enough, and the bird flew away as it had previously done. We waited awhile before deciding to proceed on the Bird Walk and perhaps catch the elusive warbler on the return trip.

As we hiked down the trail, we saw and heard different species of migrating birds. Our guide was exceptional at identifying birds by their song; we heard more birds than we saw. We reached the end of the trail and turned back toward the location of the siting of the Golden-Cheeked warbler.

As we approached the area, we saw it fly across the trail ahead of us, as we had seen it happen two times before. We concluded that the warbler was flying a circular pattern around its nest, and after a short while, we all agreed it was time for the warbler to reappear.

I focused my camera on the tips of the juniper's branches so I could get in a quick shot should the bird decide to land. "There it is!" someone whispered. I was focused and ready! Click, click, click, click, and in less than 10 seconds, the endangered bird flew away again, but his picture remained.

A few hours later, while packing up for the trip back home, we were in sublime but cheerful moods - we couldn't have hoped for a better way to finish our West Texas Birding Adventure!

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Birds we identified on our trip:

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