Big Bend Part 2: Scouting Dugout Wells & Rio Grande Village

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Big Bend Part 2: Scouting Dugout Wells & Rio Grande Village

Mary Beth Stowe • Dec 26, 2023

Headed on to Big Bend the next morning, stopping at Persimmon Gap to use the restroom (I think Black-throated Sparrow and Verdin were the only birds there), and on the way to Panther Junction a family of Phainopeplas flew across the road! (At least that’s what I thought they were at the time; later I realized they could have been Pyrrhuloxias…) Stopped at Panther Junction to get my pass, and found out that, because I’m a senior, I could get an annual National Parks Pass for less than a single Big Bend Pass for the week! Got Cactus Wren and House Finch in the parking lot before heading to Dugout Wells.

Cactus Wren at the Visitor’s Center

You think you’re the only one there when you stop to take a picture, then suddenly someone’s right on your tail! ☹ I waved an apology and swung around to the parking area, almost running down a Horned Lizard, but he left before I could get a picture (there are two species that can show up here, but I decided to assume Texas)… The sheltered oasis was just that – maybe a good place to sit to wait for migrants, but no water, and pretty dark, so I figured the photography would best be done by walking around the loop, which I did: Scaled Quail called from the parking lot, and a Scott’s Oriole sang and came in to a tree! A Roadrunner ran the oriole off, and had lots of Bell’s Vireos and tons of butters (mostly Lyside Sulphurs)!

Dugout Well

Scott's Oriole

From there headed to Rio Grande Village where it was too hot to really walk around (everyone I talked to warned me that it was over 100 down there, and they were right); first I crawled down Daniel’s Ranch Road and saw the Black Hawk nesting area (which was really beautiful). Actually heard one calling, which was kind of exciting as I had never heard one before! Also had their Gray Hawks along with a distant Redtail, tons of chats, and a singing Summer Tanager. They had half the campground closed, so you had to park in the Amphitheater lot to access the Nature Trail; it looked like a long haul, so I decided to take the lighter camera the next day.

Common Black Hawk nesting area

Headed on up to Chisos Basin where I went ahead and checked in (although the room wasn’t gonna be ready till four), and he upgraded me to a nicer room on the first floor (and I also got a military discount on the room)! Because the restaurant was closed they were actually offering room service, which was very tempting (maybe splurge on the steak after the Death March), but also very expensive, as is everything here! Checked out the immediate area after that and had a nice talk with one of the volunteer rangers (whose name was Cheryl I found out later); she was saying that they actually patrol the remote campsites and trails just to make sure there’s no one in trouble! There were tons more butters there, including an Acmon Blue (which I haven’t seen since San Diego) and the “Olive” Juniper Hairstreak!

Scene along the Window View Trail

Acmon Blue (left) and “Olive” Juniper Hairstreak

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Hidalgo County Big Day (18 April 2024)

By Mary Beth Stowe • 21 Apr, 2024

Today was slated as just a “relaxed and easy” birding day, but at the last minute decided to do a Big Day, with the itinerary based on places where potential year birds were reported on eBird. Said itinerary included Estero Llano Grande State Park an hour before dawn (which I always do in order to bag the night birds), the Progresso Silos for a crack at the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Frontera Audubon Thicket for migrants, Delta Lake for Hudsonian Godwits and other shorebirds, Fireman’s Park in McAllen for the lingering Greater White-fronted Goose, Quinta Mazatlan for migrants (the reported Flame-colored Tanager was probably long gone), Old Hidalgo Pumphouse for a reported Groove-billed Ani (and I always get the Monk Parakeets there, whether they’re reported or not), and Santa Ana NWR. It would turn out to be mostly overcast all day, which made for a pleasant day out even though it got up to 91 later in the afternoon. Started the morning with the neighborhood Purple Martins (1) gurgling as I packed the car before heading to Estero. Once at Estero the Pauraques (2) were pretty easy to pick up, and a Chuck-will’s-widow (3) sang from the park host area. Checked the restroom lights in the Tropical Zone for moths, then settled in at the “Picnic Table Feeders” near Pauraque Hall to wait in the dawn. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (4) flew overhead in the dark, and Black-necked Stilts (5) called from somewhere where there was water! Early-morning songsters included White-winged (6), White-tipped (7), and Mourning Doves (8), a Mockingbird (9), and Cardinals (10), and as it got lighter Chachalacas (11), Golden-fronted Woodpeckers (12), a Clay-colored Thrush (13), Brown-crested Flycatcher (14), Couch’s Kingbirds (15), Kiskadees (16), Green Jays (17), Black-crested Titmice (18), a Long-billed Thrasher (19), Carolina Wrens (20), and Olive Sparrows (21) joined the chorus. A couple of Hooded Orioles (22) “wheeped” on the way out, and a five-minute vigil at the Green Jay Drip didn’t yield the Crimson-collared Grosbeak, but a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (23) sang, which was good for the year!

Big Bend 12 - 19 JUNE 2021 - A Stop at Chaparral WMA

By Mary Beth Stowe • 27 Nov, 2023

Decided to get going around sunrise, and that was a good plan; it was quite birdy around the apartments in Alamo, adding Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Purple Martins, White-winged Doves, and a Tropical Kingbird to the list (as well as other things I probably wasn’t paying attention to). It was a beautiful, sunny day, but really didn’t start seeing many interesting birds until after Alice, where we turned west through Freer and towards the Chaparral WMA. Once on that corridor the Caracaras, Harris’ Hawks, and Chihuahuan Ravens started showing up, and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo flew across the road! But the best stop was at an overpass somewhere out in the boonies where both Cliff and Cave Swallows were nesting! People were so nice: both a state trooper and a local lady stopped to make sure I was okay, and seemed happy that I was filming the swallows!

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 12 - Apache Pass & Twin Lakes

By Mary Beth Stowe • 06 Nov, 2023

I actually woke up a lot earlier than planned: it was at least a two hour drive to Bowie, but I didn’t want to be getting up at one-something to get there by sunrise, so I just set the alarm for eight hours after I actually got to bed. Still woke up at five till two, so took off, and got to the dirt portion of Apache Pass Road in good time (started the checklist at 6:20, about a half hour after sunrise). Saw some tiny Chihuahuan Ravens on the way, so I added them to the list (and heard one later to make it legit). The Gambel’s Quail I almost nailed in Bowie got put on as well, as I didn’t see or hear any more on the route, but heard plenty of Scaled Quail. Blue Grosbeaks won the numbers game, followed closely by Eastern Meadowlark and both Rufous-crowned and Black-throated Sparrows. The video prize went to a flycatching male Phainopepla right next to the road! A female Western Tanager showed up close to the trailhead.

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 11 - Mt Hopkins & Buenos Aires NWR

By Mary Beth Stowe • 30 Oct, 2023

Got to the base of Mt. Hopkins road a little before sunrise, so enjoyed the desert dawn chorus: lots of Rufous-winged and Black-throated Sparrows, and a very cooperative Cactus Wren took a peek for video (if it even came out in that low light condition)! Interestingly, I had to do two separate eBird checklists for the lower portion, because part of it is in Pima County and the other is in Santa Cruz, but they don’t tell you on the road when you change counties! So I just kept watching the BirdsEye tracker and started the second one when I was halfway between the two points…

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 10 - Patagonia

By Mary Beth Stowe • 24 Oct, 2023

Next day I made a last minute decision to go to the Patagonia Rest Stop first because I figured the Rose-throated Becard would be vocalizing first thing, and therefore easier to bag. Didn’t take long to get there, so I parked by the cliff until sunrise (in case the Five-striped Sparrow decided to show again), and had the usual suspects, along with a beeping Canyon Wren. Then I parked at the north end and just gave it some time; as I wandered across the street I noticed that the trail down into the woodland was overgrown, so maybe people just aren’t using that any more (fine by me, as I always felt creepy down there). Abert’s Towhees were singing away as were chats and Yellow Warblers, but after a while I heard the characteristic wheezy song of the becard, and there they were, right across the street! They kept flying over my head, and one finally perched right overhead; tried to get video, but I think it’ll be good only for the audio (which thankfully came out great). Patagonia State Park was next; the guy at the entrance booth wasn’t there when I wheeled in, so made plans to pay on my way out. The place is always good for odes, but this time almost everything I could zoom in on was a Blue Dasher, except for a couple of Blue-eyed/Arroyo Darners that wouldn’t land (naturally). A quick stop at this big parking area added a very confiding Swainson’s Hawk on a pole, and a Bewick’s Wren that had me fooled into thinking it was a Western Tanager! The cabins were new since I was there last, and that loop landed right at the trailhead. They also had a new feeding area that was set up like a grandstand, but nothing was filled. It gave you a great view of the lake, though!

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 9 - Box Canyon & Sonoita Creek

By Mary Beth Stowe • 16 Oct, 2023

Decided to stick with the plan and start pre-dawn at the top rather than try for screech owls again at Proctor, and I’m glad I did: the lightning show in the distance was spectacular (and you had a great view from the upper parking lot), and after a while a Mexican Whippoorwill started “whipping” and then launched into his song, followed by another distant one! No owls, but eventually other diurnal birdies woke up, like Black-headed Grosbeak, Mexican Jays, and even the trogon! (A gal pulled in wondering if I was Bill (??) and said she was meeting some hikers, and wanted to see the trogon as she’d heard them a gazillion times…)

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 8 - Madera Canyon

By Mary Beth Stowe • 09 Oct, 2023

[Ed. Note: the “days” in the titles refer to actual birding days; the literal “Day 8 and 9” were spent at Canelo Ranch resting up and doing errands…]

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 7 - Mt Lemmon

By Mary Beth Stowe • 25 Sep, 2023

Was seriously thinking about skipping Mount Lemmon and just doing Saguaro, and maybe scouting Madera before heading to Canelo Ranch for the weekend break. As it turns out, I shoulda stuck with that plan, but after reviewing BirdsEye, there were more potential targets along the Mt. Lemmon route than the Saguaro route, so we did that. This was the first time I actually got to do it “BBS style”, and I have to say that the scenery was gorgeous, but the birds were quiet: saw the dawn in at the first pullout, with mainly Black-throated Sparrows. Picked up a nice Blue Grosbeak at Molina Canyon along with a singing Bell’s Vireo, and at the Prison Camp a Raven was making funny noises, and an Arizona Woodpecker came bounding in! The highlight at one of the vistas was a singing Rock Wren that was actually visible, and at another stop a Black-throated Gray Warbler came in for good looks! Windy Point didn’t have any swifts like last time, but it was fun in that there were several rappelers there having a big time!

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 6 - The Huachucas

By Mary Beth Stowe • 18 Sep, 2023

Got to Carr Canyon well before dawn (even though I didn’t mean to 😊), so set up the chair and enjoyed the dawn chorus, including a Poorwill! A Hepatic Tanager was fairly close, and the two cliff wrens sang up on the mountain! Started the BBS Protocol at sunrise and got the normal players heading up (Bridled Titmice and Mexican Jays in the foothills, juncos and pewees higher up), but the road was bad enough that I decided never to go up again, especially since I didn’t get the Buff-breasted Flycatcher! ☹ (But with the passage of time already I’m starting to reconsider that… 😊) The Virginia’s Warbler halfway up was a nice consolation prize, and once up at The Reef, heard some accipiter squealing right over my head and was hoping I had the reported Goshawk, but after analyzing the video and getting better looks at all three birds (and also comparing the squeals of the two species) they all proved to be juvie Coopers (although someone did report Goshawks up there the same day I did…) It was actually pretty dead up there; stopped at all the places I historically got the buffie with no response, and a walk around the cul-de-sac only yielded a gorgeous Mountain Spiny Lizard! The one cooperative bird was a Hairy Woodpecker on said pines. My dilemma was now: where to find the buffies? Sawmill Canyon was way too rough when I did it years ago, and even though they’re reported at other high-elevation spots, Carr is the only place I’ve gotten them period, much less consistently, but unless they’re a sure thing, it’s not worth worrying about whether you’re gonna blow a tire on one of those rocks on the way up! (Later a friend was telling me about these tires made of Kevlar – maybe I should invest in some!)

Southeast Arizona Adventure Part 5 - Portal

By Mary Beth Stowe • 11 Sep, 2023

Headed out to the “Research Station Road” pre-dawn as planned, but the trailhead parking spot I was going to use backfired only in that you could hear Cave Creek “roaring” behind you (at least enough to drown out any night birds), so decided to try Sunny Flats instead. A lot more people had settled in since the day before, and after I thought I had found a spot that was somewhat isolated, I didn’t count on the campsite “kind of” next to me (they were several yards back from the road) having two guys who were also early risers walking their dogs and chatting while they were at it! So we decided to use the end of South Fork Road (since Jon told me that I should get Whiskered Screech Owl almost anywhere), and thankfully no one was camped out there themselves! It was a lovely experience, with the owls tooting almost immediately! No other night birds, and just had the regulars tuning up (oh, some Mexican Jays came in and fed on something in the parking lot; was almost too dark for video). No return appearance of the trogon, and I can’t recall anything stupendous on the way to Paradise Road (except another Sulphurbelly near the VC), but said road was gorgeous! A cute little Black-throated Sparrow sang, but the highlight here was a nice male Black-tailed Gnatcatcher! As we climbed, who should we run into again but Jon’s bunch! They had stopped for a Scott’s Oriole (that I thankfully saw fly in), so since they all piled out, I parked well behind them and moseyed over. Turns out the reason he stopped here was because Black-chinned Sparrows had been reported, so he was trying for that (never came in, though… ☹)! I chatted with one of the ladies who was here for the first time and was thrilled with all her lifers, while both Canyon and Rock Wrens sang from on high. Jon also confirmed this was the spot where the summering Green-tailed Towhee was hanging out, and unlike the sparrows, he did cooperate – everyone was able to get great views (and I got video to prove it 😊)!