Big Bend Summer Jul 14—21, 2009
Posted by Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer has been birding since the age of eight. His main areas of expertise lie in North and Central America, but his travels have taken him throughout much of the wo...Related Trips
Superlatives are easy to throw around when describing the highlights of any given tour; however, I think I can say without question that this year's Big Bend Summer tour was our most successful ever! Not only did we see every target species, but we tallied an amazing number of rarities, including the discovery of two great Mexican vagrants!
Our tour began in El Paso where we netted a pair of Mississippi Kites, Harris's Hawk, Clark's and Western grebes side by side, Gambel's and Scaled quail, two locally rare Laughing Gulls, a colony of Cave Swallows, and an impressive 13 Burrowing Owls among others. By mid-afternoon we had reached the luxurious Cibolo Creek Ranch south of Marfa. After a short break, we headed out to a nearby cottonwood grove where Zone-tailed Hawks often nest. We were not disappointed, as a pair of these majestic raptors greeted us upon arrival. En route it seemed as if there was a Vermilion Flycatcher every hundred yards. Other ranch highlights included point-blank views of Western Screech-Owl, Common Poorwill, Canyon Wren, Summer Tanager, plum-colored Varied Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, and an early flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.
We had the better part of three days to enjoy Big Bend National Park. The first morning we headed down the Window Trail. Birds were everywhere, with Gray Vireo as close as ten feet away, a half-dozen or more Lucifer Hummingbirds, a male Black-capped Vireo, more Varied Buntings, prolonged views of singing Black-chinned Sparrow, and numerous Scott's Orioles and Western Tanagers. The star of the show, however, was the discovery of a pair of Rufous-capped Warblers. We found these cooperative birds right next to the trail and were able to watch them for about ten minutes. It was only the second time I had seen this Mexican visitor in the state and the first park record in over five years! We couldn’t believe our luck. That afternoon we visited Cottonwood Campground in the southwestern portion of the park where we enjoyed two Gray Hawks, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed woodpeckers, Tropical and Couch's kingbirds side by side, Bell's Vireo, and brilliant Painted Buntings. Another evening of owling produced great studies of the tiny Elf Owl and another Western Screech-Owl.
Our second day was devoted to the all-day hike for the Colima Warbler, a species found nowhere else in the United States. Though often tough, we netted an impressive 17 individuals, several of which provided stunning views. A very rare pair of Dusky-capped Flycatchers, an even rarer male Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue-throated Hummingbird, two more Lucifer Hummingbirds, Cordilleran Flycatcher, a fabulous Painted Redstart, and Hepatic Tanager rounded out the list. Once again, however, it was an unexpected vagrant that topped off an already incredible day. A Flame-colored Tanager appeared in one of the flocks near Boot Springs and sat long enough for everyone to get a good view. This species, another Mexican stray, is even rarer in Texas than the Rufous-capped Warbler, and is one I had never seen in the state despite nearly 35 years of birding here!
The next morning found us at Rio Grande Village where an adult Common Black-Hawk, another Gray Hawk, countless Greater Roadrunners, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a perched Lesser Nighthawk, a Verdin building a nest, a very cooperative Crissal Thrasher, Yellow-breasted Chats, and many more Painted Buntings were among the treats. After lunch we left the park and headed north toward the Davis Mountains. En route we tallied Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, here at the western limit of their range. After a mid-afternoon break we went out in search of our prime target in this area, the nearly mythical Montezuma Quail. Over two hours of searching initially failed to produce this amazing species, but persistence paid off. Right at dusk a male came out on a rock next to the road and posed for about ten minutes as we watched, spellbound. This incomparable species was voted the favorite bird of the tour.
On our last day we visited the Davis Mountains Nature Conservancy Preserve where we added Buff-breasted Flycatcher (very rare in Texas), Gray Flycatcher, Western Bluebird, Violet-green Swallow, and Grace's Warbler. On our way back into El Paso we rechecked some reservoirs with Little Blue Heron, Long-billed Curlew, and Black Tern as nice additions. As a finale we watched the feeders in my yard, and although we missed the Calliope Hummingbird that we hoped for, we enjoyed many stunning Rufous Hummingbirds amongst the abundant Black-chinneds, and added Hooded Oriole.
Hitting all the major targets of the region, tallying easily ten rarities, and discovering two Mexican vagrants combined to make this tour our best ever in Big Bend!