BIRDING TRIP REPORT TEXAS: El Paso, the Davis Mountains, Big Bend National Park ARIZONA: the Chiricahua Mountains (Portal area) July 1-9, 2001 Bill Sverdlik, Karen Schulte, Gary (my brother) and Lisa Bowman, and I returned on July 9 from about eight days of birding in West Texas and Arizona. With travel this was a nine-day trip. We laid the trip out using the ABA's _Birdfinder: A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips_ and the ABA/Lane guides _A Birder's Guide to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas_ and _A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona_. The latter two guides were invaluable for detail, including local maps. Additionally, we made good use of information and suggestions generously provided by 'birders' members Garrett Albright and Janet Hinshaw. The overall trip plan was to begin our birding near El Paso, where we would arrive by air on July 1, drive southeast to the Davis Mountains, stopping at Lake Balmorhea on the way, continue to Big Bend National Park, and then make the long drive west through El Paso and beyond to the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona, just over the New Mexico state line. In the narrative below each species is listed in UPPERCASE letters the first time it is mentioned. Day 1 (July 1): Arrival in El Paso (with a stop in Houston); Hueco Tanks State Park, Feather Lake. Every day starts with HOUSE SPARROW, doesn't it? Ann Arborites Bill, Karen, and I got ours at Houston's George Bush International Airport (formerly Houston Intercontinental) and we also picked up ROCK DOVE. Such excitement! At El Paso International Airport we added GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. We had a three-hour wait for Gary and Lisa in El Paso as they wouldn't arrive from Evansville via Chicago until about 2:00pm. That gave us time to get the rental car (a roomy minivan from Dollar Rent A Car at a much better price than any other company offered) and find a grocery store to get food, water, ice, paper plates, etc. I had brought a cooler, which we filled with ice and things to be kept cold. After shopping and lunch we returned to the airport and picked up Gary and Lisa just after their arrival. We were off and running. First stop, Hueco Tanks State Historical Park--about thirty miles east of El Paso. On the way we saw our first TURKEY VULTURE teetering above. At Hueco Tanks State Park we were required to watch a 20-minute orientation film about preservation of natural areas and the pictographs found on rocks at Hueco Tanks, and we paid $4 per person to get in. This was the only time on the trip that we had to pay a park entry fee. It was dusty and hot at Hueco Tanks--104 degrees, according to our car's thermometer. Ugh. The park was a little disappointing in that most of the total area shown in the Lane/ABA guide has now been marked "off limits" because of vandalism to the pictographs. What birds we found were mostly in the vicinity of a pond. We added to our list MOURNING DOVE, WESTERN KINGBIRD, BARN SWALLOW, CLIFF SWALLOW, WHITE-WINGED DOVE, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, HOUSE FINCH, CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, CANYON WREN (up close and personal for Karen and Lisa), COMMON GROUND-DOVE, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, CANYON TOWHEE, and SCALED QUAIL with itty bitty young'uns, one of which tumbled head over teakettle when it tripped on a pebble. On the way back out to the highway we saw SAY'S PHOEBE. We headed back toward El Paso, where we would spend the night, and stopped at Feather Lake. Except during the winter the gates here are closed and birders must make do with what they can see from the bridge or over the fences. We got out our scope and got great looks at CAVE SWALLOWS on a wire, a life bird for three of us. Other trip birds here were GREAT EGRET, PIED-BILLED GREBE, GREAT BLUE HERON, SNOWY EGRET, and MALLARD. Robert at Dollar Rent A Car had told us we should go to Gil's Mexican Food restaurant for dinner. We did, and he was right-- great food! We found a Red Roof Inn on the east side of town, from which in the morning it was "Eastward Ho!" Day 2 (July 2): West from El Paso to the old Socorro Water Treatment plant, the old McNary Reservoir, and the new McNary Reservoir; the Davis Mountains. We headed off toward the Davis Mountains the first thing in the morning. We had three birding stops to make in the first 50 miles of the 180 mile drive. These were the old El Paso Water Treatment plant near Socorro, the old McNary Reservoir, and the new McNary Reservoir. The birdable area around the water treatment plant is large, some of it accessible by foot and a lot more via dike roads and a car. Rio Bosque Park adjoins the old water treatment plant grounds and looked inviting, but it is as yet not open to birders or anyone else. The first trip bird seen at the Socorro water treatment plant was AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN--a three-bird flyover. Within minutes we also added NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD, GAMBEL'S QUAIL, and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. A couple of uncooperative VERDINS were next added to our list and also AMERICAN KESTREL and BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. Before we started driving the dike roads we spotted a very bright, neon yellow bird (perhaps greenish-yellow) on a distant wire. It was probably the size of a cardinal. Before we could get close enough to attempt to ID it, it flew off with another bird and did not return while we were there. It must have been an escaped cage bird of some sort. Driving the dike roads we found BLUE GROSBEAK and a couple of GREATER ROADRUNNERS. A GREEN HERON also offered a look and then we spotted four BURROWING OWLS!--a lifer for me and finally off my list of nemesis birds. (I'd previously failed to find Burrowing Owl in Colorado, Arizona, Florida, and Texas.) All in all the old El Paso sewer plant at Socorro was very good even though "now closed" is about all the ABA/Lane guide has to say about it. Continuing on our way we saw a CATTLE EGRET at Clint and a SWAINSON'S HAWK near Fabens. Next stop: the old McNary Reservoir area. There is no longer a reservoir there, but we drove an old dike road through the area and picked up PAINTED BUNTING--a beautiful male, KILLDEER, and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. We finally came out onto a paved road (Road 192) and soon found the new McNary Reservoir (good-sized, over a mile long). Trip birds added here were AMERICAN COOT, WESTERN GREBE, and CLARK'S GREBE. We also saw more Snowy Egrets, cormorants, American White Pelicans, and another Pied-billed Grebe. Returning to I-10 Bill saw a VARIED BUNTING. The rest of us would have to wait until Big Bend to see this bird. Along the Interstate near Sierra Blanca we added CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN and RED-TAILED HAWK to our list. We thought about continuing on I-10 to Lake Balmorhea but decided we didn't have time for it, so we headed south on Highway 118 toward the Davis Mountains. We stopped at one spot where we saw bird activity along side the road and added WESTERN MEADOWLARK, CACTUS WREN, and SONG SPARROW to our list. We stayed on 118 when we got to the 166/118 loop at the Davis Mountains, and at and near the Lawrence E. Wood Picnic Area we tallied six more trip birds--LARK SPARROW, CHIPPING SPARROW, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, BUSHTIT, AND WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. We were also treated to good looks of a pair of Cassin's Kingbirds feeding young in their nest. The McDonald Observatory, our next location, didn't produce much, but we did add WESTERN SCRUB-JAY there. We pulled into Davis Mountains State Park with ample time to bird the campground area before dark. We added a good number of birds to our trip list: BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, SUMMER TANAGER, and JUNIPER TITMOUSE. At the campground someone told us about COMMON BLACK-HAWKS nesting along the highway "a quarter mile" east from the park entrance. We searched and searched and finally found the nest two miles from the park entrance. (It's near the beginning of a guardrail; there has been a nest there regularly for the past few years, we were told.) We had good looks at the parent birds and watched one hunting for frogs in Limpia Creek. We also found ACORN WOODPECKER in the area. Back at Indian Lodge in the park, where we had reservations for the night, we found a very vocal CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, singing past dusk. A search for nightjars on a road up and around a mountain turned up nothing. Our primary target in the Davis Mountains was Montezuma Quail. We didn't get it. The birds are there but easy to get only at the campground and feeders, where they will appear an hour or two before dusk when they're not nesting. We were told that the birds were nesting and were not being seen. I'm rather displeased that the ABA's _A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips_ suggests "Early July - 4 Days" as a good time to go to the Davis Mountains, where "Montezuma Quail ... [is] usually an easy bird to find at the campgrounds at Davis Mountains State Park." Day 3 (July 3): The Davis Mountains, Big Bend National Park - the Window Trail. We started early the next morning (as we did every morning) with a pre-breakfast drive to the Stroud's off from Highway 166. Montezuma Quail frequent the Stroud's feeders, so we crossed our fingers--but struck out again on the quail. We added NORTHERN FLICKER and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW to our list. Our next stop was the Bloys Camp Meeting Ground--one of the strangest places I have ever visited. (It's a collection of closely-spaced, sheet metal huts haphazardly positioned over a large area--hundreds of them.) We found nothing new at Bloys'. On the way back to the state park Lisa saw a PHAINOPEPLA along side the road, the only one seen on the entire trip. We stopped for another look at the Common Black- Hawks and, while there, Bill added a cow pie to his "leaf bird list." (It looked just like a nightjar, he said, and, yes, it did.) We next birded the Davis Mountains State Park campground once more since we were sure there was more to be found there than what we had found the evening before. We added LESSER GOLDFINCH, NORTHERN CARDINAL, and TUFTED TITMOUSE ("Black- crested" Titmouse) to our list. We bade farewell to Indian Lodge, the nicest lodging we had during the whole trip, and drove four miles to Ft. Davis for breakfast. We had only 120 miles ahead of us to Big Bend. At breakfast in Ft. Davis occurred a trip highlight--Bill being threatened by a waitress when he asked for a coffee refill. We escaped from Ft. Davis (after a very good breakfast), first filling our gas tank with cheap gas. Three stations were selling gas for greatly different prices...$1.14, $1.30, and $1.56, to the best of my recollection. Not trusting the $1.14 gas and thinking that the $1.56 price was too much like Michigan's, we bought the $1.30 variety. Near Ft. Davis we stopped to bird near a bridge over the road and found a BLACK PHOEBE, another Summer Tanager, and a Lark Sparrow--high in a very tall tree. We wasted a little time at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute near Ft. Davis (the only bird seen was a mockingbird), and continued on to Alpine. Along the way we added LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE to our trip list. Driving straight through we were soon at the park headquarters and visitor's center at Panther Junction. The rangers there knew zip about birds (and we similarly found no help at the Davis Mountains State Park or, later, at the Chiricahua Mountains). There was supposedly a bird guy around, but we were not able to find him during our stay. We backtracked to the Chisos Basin Visitor's Center and checked in at Big Bend Lodge. Within minutes we were headed out again, this time on foot going down the Window Trail. It's a 5.2-mile roundtrip walk and we had time for only the first two miles out (i.e., we didn't make it all the way down to the "window"), but we added SCOTT'S ORIOLE, LADDER- BACKED WOODPECKER, MEXICAN JAY, and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER to our list. Day 4 (July 4): Big Bend National Park - trail to Laguna Meadow and Boot Springs. Day 4 was the day we would go get Colima Warbler. This meant an eleven-mile round trip hike with a climb of 2000 feet. Oft given advice was to hit the trail before dawn and carry a gallon of water per person, so that's what we did. (We ended up drinking only about two quarts of water per person, but on a hotter day we might well have needed a gallon per person.) The climb is almost entirely in the shade of the mountain if done in the morning. The primary target birds for the hike were Lucifer Hummingbird, generally found in numbers at Laguna Meadow toward the top, and Colima Warbler, best found along Colima Trail, a relatively level trail that cuts across to Boot Spring from above Laguna Meadow. On this day we were greatly disappointed in not finding either bird. We learned later that for no known reason Lucifer Hummingbird was not being seen this year and that we were a couple of weeks late for best chance of getting Colima Warbler. This doubled my displeasure with guidance offered by the ABA's _A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips_, suggesting "Early July - 4 Days" as a good time to go to the Big Bend and stating that "Unless you are terribly unlucky, you will have seen the 3 key species [Gray Vireo, Lucifer Hummingbird, and Colima Warbler] found at Big Bend National Park [after birding the Window Trail and the trail to Boot Spring]." I'm suspicious that Big Bend was assigned to an early July time slot in Chapter 14 of the book because mid June and late June were already given to Minnesota/North Dakota and Colorado, respectively, in Chapters 12 and 13. Grumble, GRUMBLE! Well, anyway, back to Big Bend. When we didn't find Colima Warbler by the time we got to the far point of the trail at Boot Spring, we had to decide whether to return to the Basin by continuing past Boot Spring on Boot Canyon Trail, the steep return to the Basin, or by retracking along Colima Trail and back the way we had come. We decided that since Colima Trail is the place most likely to find Colima Warbler, and since the book says, too, that Colima Warblers can be present all summer at Laguna Meadow, that we would retrack. And so we did--and again we turned up no Colima Warblers or Lucifer Hummingbirds. But we enjoyed our hike (feeling kind of good that we five middle-aged flatlanders could do it without a whole lot of distress) and a good dinner back at the Big Bend Lodge restaurant. We found only 25 birds on our hike. Among them were trip birds RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW, SPOTTED TOWHEE, LAZULI BUNTING, HERMIT THRUSH, BLACK- CHINNED SPARROW, CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER, COMMON RAVEN, and HUTTON'S VIREO. Day 5 (July 5): Big Bend National Park - the Window Trail, Rio Grande Village; driving to New Mexico. Having missed three primary target birds so far (Montezuma Quail, Lucifer Hummingbird, and Colima Warbler), we were dead set on not missing a fourth, too--Gray Vireo. Only Gray Vireo and Colima Warbler were life bird possibilities for Gary on this trip. The best place to find Gray Vireo at Big Bend is on the Window Trail. We'd been unsuccessful two days earlier. We set out again down the Window Trail, this time in the early morning instead of the early evening. We walked all the way to the end of the trail this time. No vireos. We walked back up. No vireos. BUMMER! We added COMMON POORWILL, ROCK WREN, INDIGO BUNTING, and ... well, PLUMBEOUS VIREO to our trip list. So, it was on to Rio Grande Village at the eastern edge of the park. The books say that this is the best year-round birding area in the park. We did get some new birds there, but we would have done better I expect if it hadn't been for someone who was mowing the grounds between the store and the river. That spoiled the birding over a large area. We birded where we could and added to our list GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, BELL'S VIREO, BRONZED COWBIRD, and PYRRHULOXIA. There was no sign of a Groove-billed Ani that had been reported at the Daniels Ranch. After a couple of hours at Rio Grande Village we headed toward Arizona. We had over 300 miles ahead of us to get to El Paso and then another 210 to get to Portal, Arizona. Our goal for the day was Deming, New Mexico, which would leave us an easy 110-mile drive to Portal the next morning. On the way out of the park we stopped at an oasis in the desert called Dugout Wells. There is a windmill there that brings a continuous trickle of water to the surface and dumps it onto the ground. This is enough to support a variety of trees and other plants in a 100-foot diameter area. We found dozens of Bell's Vireos at Dugout Wells but nothing else that was interesting. We stopped in Marathon, Texas, north of Big Bend, for old-fashioned CHOCOLATE MALTS (trip highlight). (We had previously found opportunity for old-fashioned chocolate malts in Ft. Davis or Alpine.) Toward dusk on I-10, still east of El Paso, we added both COMMON NIGHTHAWK and LESSER NIGHTHAWK to our list. In Deming we stayed at the Grand Hotel (motel). We're quite sure that the Day's Inn would have been a better choice. Day 6 (July 6): The Chiricahua Mountains, Portal, Arizona; the Mountain Highlands Transect. We thought Day 5 would be a long one with the amount of driving we had to do, but we got to Deming early enough to have a relaxing dinner and get to bed at a normal time (about 10:00 most nights). We were up early in the morning and on our way to Portal. New Mexico gave us two of our trip birds, an AMERICAN ROBIN in Deming and several BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS on Highway 80 north of Rodeo. At the same location we had excellent looks at a pair of Swainson's Hawks and a juvenile still on the nest. Soon after turning off on the road to Portal, crossing into Arizona, we saw two WHITE- TAILED KITES. We checked into Portal Peak Lodge in Portal and soon started out on the "mountain highlands transect" route. Our first stop along Cave Creek Road was Stewart Campground, which produced eight trip birds in short order: PAINTED REDSTART, BEWICK'S WREN, SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, ARIZONA WOODPECKER, BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, and BROWN CREEPER. Continuing on, we were startled by an ELEGANT TROGON (a female) that flew across the road right in front of us. It stopped briefly fifty feet off the road to afford us brief looks at its backside. Shortly after, at a stop along Cave Creek Road, Lisa got a brief look at a second trogon (a male). Before long Cave Creek Road also yielded a male WESTERN TANAGER and male and female HEPATIC TANAGERS. We found more Hepatic Tanagers at the Rustler Park/Barfoot Park junction. We spent a good amount of time at this location because there was a lot of bird activity and we thought there was a good chance for Mexican Chickadee. We were rewarded with excellent looks of a male OLIVE WARBLER, and we also added PYGMY NUTHATCH to our list--but no Mexican Chickadees. We next drove slowly up the rocky, uneven road to Barfoot Park. There were places where we got out of the car to maximize our clearance and to direct Bill, who was driving that afternoon, past the obstacles. If the road had been any worse, we would have needed a high-clearance vehicle to negotiate it. We found our first YELLOW-EYED JUNCO along this road. What a gorgeous bird! Our Michigan juncos don't compare, and pictures I've seen of this bird just don't do it justice. At Barfoot Park we found no new birds and, in fact, didn't see much at all--only Western Bluebird, male and female Olive Warblers (nice), and a Northern Flicker (red-shafted, of course). Returning toward the junction we found a silent STELLER'S JAY for our list, the only one we would see on the trip. Along the road we heard BAND-TAILED PIGEON's distinctive call but saw none until the next day. A couple more Pygmy Nuthatches allowed us a look, and we again looked carefully for Mexican Chickadees but found none. We drove on through the junction and made our way slowly to Rustler Park. It was hardly more productive than Barfoot Park had been, but we did find some HOUSE WRENS there and also saw our first Hermit Thrush of the trip after having heard a number of them both at Big Bend and in the Chiricahuas. Since the restaurant at Portal Peak Lodge closes at 7:00, we found ourselves in a rush to get back for dinner. Bill put the pedal to the metal--sort of--and got us down out of the mountains in one piece. We made it with 10 minutes to spare...uh, make that an hour and 10 minutes. We hadn't realized that Portal is in the Pacific time zone. Anyway, dinner was great, and there was enough light left for a bird walk after dinner (since we were in the Pacific time zone). We walked down the road past the post office and library (think SMALL...no, SMALLER). We wrapped up the day with two more trip birds, a (perched) young, adult-sized GREAT HORNED OWL calling "Mom, feed me" and a COOPER'S HAWK. Day 7 (July 7): The Chiricahua Mountains, Portal, Arizona; the Canyon Loop. Could we possibly go zero for five on this trip's specialty birds? We still had a remote chance to find Montezuma Quail or Lucifer Hummingbird, and we were still hoping for Mexican Chickadee. It was sobering to learn from Gary that on his previous three trips to the Chiricahua Mountains, the only place in the U.S. where Mexican Chickadee is possible, he had seen them only once. Lisa had missed them on two previous visits. Hmmm. I'd had the idea that getting the bird was a sure thing here. Yes, we really could go zero for five. Our primary mission on day number two in the Chiricahuas was to find Mexican Chickadees. This was our "canyon loop" day. It would cover some of the same ground that we'd covered the day before and a lot of new ground, too. We'd heard that Mexican Chickadees had been seen on South Fork Trail. We got up well before the restaurant opened for breakfast and birded South Fork Road and South Fork Trail powered only by granola bars. (We returned later to Portal Peak Lodge for a real breakfast, OF COURSE.) Along South Fork Road we found a GRACE'S WARBLER and heard another trogon. We walked two or three miles along South Fork Trail to beyond the point described as the location of the Mexican Chickadees. We found a nice assortment of birds, including DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, but no chickadees. But we would have other opportunities. After breakfast we went to the Spofford's (Sierra Linda Road) to watch Mrs. Spofford's feeders. We saw mostly Lesser Goldfinch there, but 14 different species appeared, including our second Black Phoebe and two Bewick's Wrens that made regular runs to a meal worm feeder. We added HOODED ORIOLE to our trip list. We stopped next at the Southwest Research Station, which was crawling with robins. There we saw another Black Phoebe and also Say's Phoebe and another Blue-throated Hummingbird. This one was a female. The one earlier at Stewart Campground was a male. Back on Cave Creek Road we came upon a male Western Tanager perched on dead branches just off from the road and in bright sunlight. Zowee! What a beautiful bird. At Onion Saddle we pulled off the road to see what we could find. MEXICAN CHICKADEES!! Yes, there they were! Four of them. They were fairly high in trees, and we couldn't get them to come down for a look at us. After five minutes they were gone. We continued to Pinery Canyon Campground, where we added HAIRY WOODPECKER, WARBLING VIREO, and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. We also found another small group of Mexican Chickadees--two or three birds. With Mexican Chickadee now approaching trash bird status, we soon gave our attention to other birds flitting about. We got another excellent look at an awesomely beautiful Yellow- eyed Junco, more Hepatic Tanagers, etc., and then headed back to Portal on Paradise-Portal Road. We finished the day at the Spofford's feeders. The Bewick's Wrens were still chowing down on meal worms. Day 8 (July 8): The Chiricahua Mountains, Portal, Arizona; the Desert Loop. Our next to last day was already upon us. On tap for the day was the desert loop near Portal and then the drive back to El Paso. Our first stop was going to be an area down Foothills Road called "the big thicket," but we fortuitously took a wrong turn onto McAvoy Road and while turning around spotted one of our best trip birds, a lifer for three of us--BENDIRE'S THRASHER. There was an adult bird with a juvenile. Foothills Road produced a number of LUCY'S WARBLERS. The big thicket produced no new birds, but we did find Verdin there, the second of only three findings of this bird on our trip. We stopped next at Dave Jasper's feeders on Crissal Road. (Dave, a local guide, wasn't home. By the way, we heard that he is going to move to Colorado.) We added no trip birds here, but we counted 16 species, which included only our second findings of two species--Pyrrhuloxia and Black-throated Sparrow. We had an exceptionally good look at a Blue Grosbeak, a bird that we saw many times on our trip, often with good cooperation from the bird. On the way back to our vehicle we found a horned lizard that allowed us to watch it from close range for a long while. What a fascinating creature this is! We saw a number of different lizards on our trip, many quite colorful, but this horned lizard was probably our favorite. We found another Black-throated Sparrow and several Loggerhead Shrikes on Portal Road (east), and then on Stateline Road added a number of New Mexico birds to our wimpy New Mexico life lists. A marshy pond located improbably in the middle of the desert (perhaps there is a windmill there, but I don't recall one), on Sulphur Canyon Road, produced some unexpected birds: Great Blue Herons (three), a Red-winged Blackbird, American Coots, and a female YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. We ran into a Tucson birder here and asked him about finding Crissal Thrasher, a bird desperately wanted by three or four of us. He said he hasn't seen one in three years. That brought us back to reality on the subject of Crissal Thrashers. Our birdfinding guides mention Crissal Thrasher as being possible at quite a number of our birding locations in Texas and Arizona, so we got to thinking we might actually see one. A barn on Gin Road in New Mexico not far from Rodeo was reputed to have Barn Owls year after year. We stopped there and did get BARN OWL, and this was only the second location on our trip where we found Scaled Quail. Before heading off for El Paso we tried for a better look at Elegant Trogon. We had heard that Stewart Nature Trail off the Stewart Campground was a good place to look. We found no trogons but got excellent looks at a group of five Band-tailed Pigeons, the only ones we actually saw on our trip. In El Paso we drove to Arroyo Park. Hey, another place for Crissal Thrasher! Yeah, right. Arroyo Park produced nothing interesting, but we saw some nice homes in El Paso and had spectacular looks of the city from vistas along the road up to the park. We stayed at a Best Western motel that night. Bill and Karen had to change their room because it appeared that someone had kicked in the door of the first room they were given. The rooms were otherwise satisfactory, and there was a Denny's right next door where we had breakfast in the morning. Day 9 (July 9): El Paso; Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant at Ft. Bliss. Our flights back to Detroit and Evansville were both at about 11:30 a.m., so we had time for more birding before we turned in our vehicle. We thought our best bet was the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant north of town at Ft. Bliss. It was a good choice. Three of us got much better looks at Yellow-headed Blackbirds there than we had ever had. The drab female at the desert pond near Portal hadn't been a totally satisfactory lifer for Karen, and the males that Bill and Bruce had seen at Metzger Marsh (near Crane Creek State Park in Ohio) were distant scope objects. At the water reclamation plant we saw about 60 Yellow-headed Blackbirds, males and females, so close that the scope wasn't really needed. We had 22 species at this location and added eight to our trip count: BLACK-NECKED STILT, CINNAMON TEAL, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, WESTERN SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER, WHITE-FACED IBIS, AMERICAN AVOCET, and COMMON MOORHEN. We were sure we would be charged a cleaning fee when we turned our vehicle over to Dollar Rent A Car at the airport since the interior was so dusty, but the guy didn't bat an eye. --- Some notes: Our trip count was 137. Bill got over 20 ABA area life birds, Karen got 43, Lisa got two (Black-chinned Sparrow and Mexican Chickadee), Gary got none :-( and I got seven. Mine were Scaled Quail, Cave Swallow, Burrowing Owl, Painted Bunting, Black-chinned Sparrow, Mexican Chickadee, and Bendire's Thrasher. We wrapped up each day by marking a daily checklist. We also kept a trip checklist on which our birds were accumulated. Favorite birds? BRUCE - Mine was definitely Yellow-eyed Junco. It wasn't a life bird for me, but we had a couple of especially good looks at these birds. I find them strikingly beautiful. I also liked the flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, which were pretty spectacular in the bright sunlight. A western birder would think this crazy, I suppose--like a Michigander getting excited about a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. But I'd never before seen Yellow-headed Blackbirds up close or in such numbers. I liked the Painted Bunting, too. I just wish I had been on it longer before it flew. KAREN - Yellow-headed Blackbird flock, a strikingly handsome roadrunner at Rio Grande Village, and the Painted Bunting (at the old McNary Reservoir area near El Paso). BILL - Yellow-eyed Junco, Painted Bunting, Olive Warbler. LISA - I asked Lisa for a list of her three favorite birds. She gave me an ordered list of 12. Six of the twelve and all of her top four are fledglings with their parents --and I think she didn't include the Scaled Quail families only because she forgot. Lisa's number one bird was the (big) baby Great Horned Owl in Portal. GARY - Gary especially liked the White-tailed Kites, the Common Black-Hawks, and the Painted Bunting, among other birds. We left plenty of birds to be sought on another spring/summer trip to the West Texas and the Chiricahua Mountains. In West Texas (in June/July) these include Golden Eagle, Zone-tailed Hawk, Harris's Hawk, Gray Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Montezuma Quail, Inca Dove, some owls, Lucifer Hummingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Crissal Thrasher, Gray Vireo, Colima Warbler, and Bullock's Oriole. In the Chiricahua Mountains area birds for next time will be Prairie Falcon, Montezuma Quail, several owls, Magnificent Hummingbird, Greater Pewee, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Crissal Thrasher, Virginia's Warbler, and Bullock's Oriole. I'm already packing my bags. I highly recommend Dollar Rent A Car. Their rates were MUCH better than their competitors' for the type of vehicle we needed, a large minivan. In addition if you are 50 years of age or older, you can join their Silver Dollar Club online (for free) at http://www.dollarcar.com/programs_services/silver_dollar.asp and obtain some very significant additional savings: * Special rates for Adults 50+ years. Save up to 10 percent on most rentals. * Unlimited mileage (geographic restrictions may apply). * No charge for additional drivers listed on the rental agreement. * Frequent flyer miles or credits with all major airlines. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce M. Bowman | In nature there are neither rewards nor Ann Arbor, Michigan USA | punishments -- there are consequences. -bbowman@umich.edu ------ | Robert G. Ingersoll -bmb@biosci.umtri.umich.edu -- ++++++++++ I'M FOR THE BIRDS +++++++++++ Group Trip List (taxonomic) for Texas: El Paso, the Davis Mountains, Big Bend Nat'l Park Arizona (and New Mexico): the Chiricahua Mountains July 1-9, 2001 Bill Sverdlik Karen Schulte Gary Bowman Lisa Bowman Bruce Bowman First Sighting MO DA YR SPECIES LOCATION STATE --------- GREBES ------------------------------------------------- 07 01 01 Pied-billed Grebe Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 02 01 Western Grebe new McNary Reservoir TX 07 02 01 Clark's Grebe new McNary Reservoir TX --------- PELICANS ----------------------------------------------- 07 02 01 American White Pelican Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- CORMORANTS --------------------------------------------- 07 02 01 Double-crested Cormorant Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- BITTERNS and HERONS ------------------------------------ 07 01 01 Great Blue Heron Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 01 01 Great Egret Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 01 01 Snowy Egret Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 02 01 Cattle Egret Clint TX 07 02 01 Green Heron Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX 07 02 01 Black-crowned Night-Heron Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- IBISES and SPOONBILLS ---------------------------------- 07 09 01 White-faced Ibis Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX --------- SWANS, GEESE, and DUCKS -------------------------------- 07 01 01 Mallard Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 09 01 Cinnamon Teal Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX --------- AMERICAN VULTURES -------------------------------------- 07 01 01 Turkey Vulture U.S. 62 west of El Paso TX --------- KITES, HAWKS, EAGLES, and ALLIES ----------------------- 07 06 01 White-tailed Kite road to Portal from Rodeo AZ 07 06 01 Cooper's Hawk Rock House Road, Portal AZ 07 02 01 Common Black-Hawk Limpia Creek nr DavisMtSP TX 07 02 01 Swainson's Hawk I-10 near Fabens TX 07 02 01 Red-tailed Hawk I-10 near Sierra Blanca TX --------- CARACARAS and FALCONS ---------------------------------- 07 02 01 American Kestrel Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- PARTRIDGES, GROUSE, TURKEYS, and QUAIL ----------------- 07 01 01 Scaled Quail Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 02 01 Gambel's Quail Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- RAILS, GALLINULES, and COOTS------------------------------- 07 09 01 Common Moorhen Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX 07 02 01 American Coot new McNary Reservoir TX --------- PLOVERS and LAPWINGS ----------------------------------- 07 02 01 Killdeer old McNary Reservoir area TX --------- STILTS and AVOCETS ------------------------------------- 07 09 01 Black-necked Stilt Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX 07 09 01 American Avocet Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX --------- SANDPIPERS, PHALAROPES, and ALLIES --------------------- 07 09 01 Lesser Yellowlegs Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX 07 09 01 Western Sandpiper Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX 07 09 01 Least Sandpiper Hervey WaterReclam,ElPaso TX --------- PIGEONS and DOVES -------------------------------------- 07 01 01 Rock Dove Geo. Bush Airport,Houston TX 07 06 01 Band-tailed Pigeon road to Barfoot Park AZ 07 01 01 White-winged Dove Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 01 01 Mourning Dove Hueco Tanks Road TX 07 01 01 Common Ground-Dove Hueco Tanks State Park TX --------- CUCKOOS, ROADRUNNERS, and ANIS ------------------------- 07 02 01 Greater Roadrunner Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- BARN OWLS ---------------------------------------------- 07 08 01 Barn Owl barn on Gin Road NM --------- TYPICAL OWLS ------------------------------------------- 07 06 01 Great Horned Owl Rock House Road, Portal AZ 07 02 01 Burrowing Owl Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- GOATSUCKERS -------------------------------------------- 07 05 01 Lesser Nighthawk I-10 near Sierra Blanca TX 07 05 01 Common Nighthawk I-10 near Van Horn TX 07 05 01 Common Poorwill Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX --------- SWIFTS ------------------------------------------------- 07 01 01 White-throated Swift Hueco Tanks State Park TX --------- HUMMINGBIRDS ------------------------------------------- 07 06 01 Blue-throated Hummingbird Stewart Campground AZ 07 02 01 Black-chinned Hummingbird Davis Mountain State Park TX 07 02 01 Broad-tailed Hummingbird Davis Mountain State Park TX 07 07 01 Rufous Hummingbird Pinery Canyon campground AZ --------- TROGONS ------------------------------------------------ 07 06 01 Elegant Trogon Sunnyflat Campground AZ --------- WOODPECKERS and ALLIES --------------------------------- 07 02 01 Acorn Woodpecker Limpia Creek nr DavisMtSP TX 07 05 01 Golden-fronted Woodpecker Rio Grande Village TX 07 03 01 Ladder-backed Woodpecker Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX 07 07 01 Hairy Woodpecker Pinery Canyon campground AZ 07 06 01 Arizona Woodpecker Stewart Campground AZ 07 03 01 Northern Flicker Stroud's, Hwy 166 TX --------- TYRANT FLYCATCHERS ------------------------------------- 07 02 01 Western Wood-Pewee LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX 07 04 01 Cordilleran Flycatcher Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 03 01 Black Phoebe Hwy 17 north of Ft. Davis TX 07 01 01 Say's Phoebe Hueco Tanks Road TX 07 05 01 Vermilion Flycatcher Rio Grande Village TX 07 07 01 Dusky-capped Flycatcher South Fork trail AZ 07 02 01 Ash-throated Flycatcher Davis Mountain State Park TX 07 06 01 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher Stewart Campground AZ 07 01 01 Cassin's Kingbird Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 01 01 Western Kingbird Hueco Tanks State Park TX --------- SWALLOWS ----------------------------------------------- 07 03 01 Violet-green Swallow Stroud's, Hwy 166 TX 07 01 01 Cliff Swallow Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 01 01 Cave Swallow Feather Lake, El Paso TX 07 01 01 Barn Swallow Hueco Tanks State Park TX --------- JAYS, MAGPIES, and CROWS ------------------------------- 07 06 01 Steller's Jay road to Barfoot Park AZ 07 02 01 Western Scrub-Jay McDonald Observatory TX 07 03 01 Mexican Jay Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX 07 02 01 Chihuahuan Raven I-10 near Sierra Blanca TX 07 04 01 Common Raven Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX --------- TITMICE ------------------------------------------------ 07 07 01 Mexican Chickadee Onion Saddle AZ 07 06 01 Bridled Titmouse Stewart Campground AZ 07 02 01 Juniper Titmouse Davis Mountains StatePark TX 07 03 01 Tufted Titmouse Davis Mountains StatePark TX --------- VERDINS ------------------------------------------------ 07 02 01 Verdin Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX --------- BUSHTITS ----------------------------------------------- 07 02 01 Bushtit LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX --------- NUTHATCHES --------------------------------------------- 07 02 01 White-breasted Nuthatch LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX 07 06 01 Pygmy Nuthatch Rustler Pk/Barfoot Pk jct AZ --------- CREEPERS ----------------------------------------------- 07 06 01 Brown Creeper Stewart Campground AZ --------- WRENS -------------------------------------------------- 07 02 01 Cactus Wren Road 118 south of Kent TX 07 05 01 Rock Wren Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX 07 01 01 Canyon Wren Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 06 01 Bewick's Wren Stewart Campground AZ 07 06 01 House Wren Rustler Park AZ --------- OLD WORLD WARBLERS and GNATCATCHERS -------------------- 07 03 01 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX --------- THRUSHES and WRENTIT ----------------------------------- 07 02 01 Western Bluebird LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX 07 04 01 Hermit Thrush Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 06 01 American Robin Deming NM --------- MOCKINGBIRDS and THRASHERS ----------------------------- 07 02 01 Northern Mockingbird Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX 07 08 01 Bendire's Thrasher McAvoy Road AZ 07 02 01 Curve-billed Thrasher Davis Mountains StatePark TX --------- SILKY-FLYCATCHERS -------------------------------------- 07 03 01 Phainopepla Hwy 166 TX --------- SHRIKES ------------------------------------------------ 07 03 01 Loggerhead Shrike Hwy 118, Ft.Davis-Alpine TX --------- VIREOS ------------------------------------------------- 07 05 01 Bell's Vireo Rio Grande Village TX 07 05 01 Plumbeous Vireo Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX 07 04 01 Hutton's Vireo Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 07 01 Warbling Vireo Pinery Canyon campground AZ --------- WOOD-WARBLERS ------------------------------------------ 07 08 01 Lucy's Warbler Foothills Road AZ 07 06 01 Black-throated Gray Warbler Stewart Campground AZ 07 07 01 Grace's Warbler South Fork Road AZ 07 06 01 Painted Redstart Stewart Campground AZ 07 06 01 Olive Warbler Rustler Pk/Barfoot Pk jct AZ --------- TANAGERS, CARDINALS, GROSBEAKS, BUNTINGS, SPARROWS ----- 07 06 01 Hepatic Tanager Cave Creek Road AZ 07 02 01 Summer Tanager Davis Mountain State Park TX 07 06 01 Western Tanager Cave Creek Road AZ 07 03 01 Northern Cardinal Davis Mountains StatePark TX 07 05 01 Pyrrhuloxia campground, RioGrandeVill TX 07 02 01 Black-headed Grosbeak Davis Mountain State Park TX 07 02 01 Blue Grosbeak Socorro Water Tr.,El Paso TX 07 04 01 Lazuli Bunting Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 05 01 Indigo Bunting Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX 07 02 01 Varied Bunting Road 2217 TX 07 02 01 Painted Bunting old McNary Reservoir area TX 07 04 01 Spotted Towhee Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 01 01 Canyon Towhee Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 04 01 Rufous-crowned Sparrow Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 02 01 Chipping Sparrow LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX 07 04 01 Black-chinned Sparrow Laguna trail to Boot Spr. TX 07 02 01 Lark Sparrow LawrenceE.Wood PicnicArea TX 07 06 01 Black-throated Sparrow Hwy 80 north of Rodeo NM 07 02 01 Song Sparrow Road 118 south of Kent TX 07 06 01 Yellow-eyed Junco road to Barfoot Park AZ --------- BLACKBIRDS and ALLIES ---------------------------------- 07 02 01 Red-winged Blackbird old McNary Reservoir area TX 07 02 01 Western Meadowlark Road 118 south of Kent TX 07 08 01 Yellow-headed Blackbird Sulphur Canyon Road pond AZ 07 01 01 Great-tailed Grackle El Paso TX 07 05 01 Bronzed Cowbird campground, RioGrandeVill TX 07 01 01 Brown-headed Cowbird Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 07 01 Hooded Oriole The Spofford's AZ 07 03 01 Scott's Oriole Window Trail, Big Bend NP TX --------- FINCHES and ALLIES ------------------------------------- 07 01 01 House Finch Hueco Tanks State Park TX 07 03 01 Lesser Goldfinch Davis Mountains StatePark TX --------- OLD WORLD SPARROWS ------------------------------------- 07 01 01 House Sparrow Geo. Bush Airport,Houston TX ============= Total = 137 =============