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Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country April 25–May 5, 2019

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Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country April 25–May 5, 2019 BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK & THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY APRIL 25–MAY 5, 2019 Golden-cheeked Warbler near Leakey, Texas, April 27, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer LEADERS: BARRY ZIMMER & KEVIN ZIMMER LIST COMPILED BY: BARRY ZIMMER VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK & THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY APRIL 25–MAY 5, 2019 By Barry Zimmer At our first gathering on Day One of our trip, I told the group that this tour combined my two favorite parts of Texas—the Hill Country and the Trans-Pecos. By the end of the trip, I think everyone could see why these areas were my favorites. We scoured the state from San Antonio to El Paso and tallied an impressive 215 species of birds, enjoyed breath- taking scenery and wonderful wildflower displays, and saw a nice variety of butterflies, reptiles, and mammals, with almost all of it conducted under pleasant weather conditions. Our trip began with a drive from San Antonio to Uvalde. En route, we saw Scissor-tailed Flycatchers by the dozen, as well as several Crested Caracaras. At a small roadside rest area, we added Couch’s Kingbird, Cave Swallow, and Bullock’s Oriole among others. A short while later, we had arrived at our primary birding spot for the morning, Cook’s Slough. There we enjoyed a wealth of birds, including several South Texas specialties at the very northern limit of their U.S. ranges. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, White-tailed Kite, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed woodpeckers, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Bell’s Vireo, Green Jay, Long-billed Thrasher, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Olive Sparrow, and about a dozen dazzling Painted Buntings topped the list. Our arrival at the tiny town of Concan for lunch was greeted by a displaying male Vermilion Flycatcher and a very responsive, likely hybrid Tropical x Northern Parula that nearly perched on one of our vans! While it appeared to mostly be of Tropical Parula origin, it did have thin, white, partial crescents under each eye. After checking into our rooms and taking a midafternoon break, we still had the most exciting part of the day ahead of us—a visit to the nearby Frio Bat Cave. Almost immediately upon our arrival at the cave, the Brazilian Free-tailed Bats began to emerge by the thousands. Cave Swallows swirled overhead, and a gorgeous Canyon Wren serenaded us from a nearby rocky outcrop. We marveled at the bats pouring overhead, at times at an estimated rate of 2,500 per second. There are believed to be between 10 and 17 million individuals in this cave. A Red-tailed Hawk and a Swainson’s Hawk took turns diving into the river of bats. We watched, spellbound, as the flight continued until dark and beyond. Eventually we tore ourselves away and did some night birding. We quickly attracted a Common Poorwill that allowed scope views, and followed that up with an Eastern Screech-Owl. Thus ending Day One of our magnificent adventure! Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country, 2019 Brazilian (Mexican) Free-tailed Bats, Frio Bat Cave, Texas, April 26, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer We still had a day-and-a-half left to bird the Hill Country, and we wasted no time. Near the town of Leakey the next morning, we found our first Golden-cheeked Warbler—a lovely male that foraged no more than ten feet in front of our spellbound group. For the day, we would tally nine Golden-cheeks. The better part of the day was spent at a private ranch, where we found the other big Hill Country specialty, the Black-capped Vireo. We saw three vireos that day, two of which were wonderfully cooperative. Other highlights included Zone-tailed Hawk, Yellow-throated and Hutton’s vireos, Black-crested Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Yellow-throated and Black-and-white warblers, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, and Field Sparrow. Back at the grounds of our lodge, we strolled along the scenic Frio River and discovered a female Tropical Parula. No hybrid worries this time! Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country, 2019 Yellow-throated Warbler, Concan, Texas, April 26, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer Day Three was partially a travel day to get to Del Rio, but we managed a full morning of birding. As we left our lodge, an adorable Green Kingfisher flew in and perched on a wire over the Frio River right next to our vans! Minutes away, our second stop produced another Black-capped Vireo that sat out on bare branches and a rare (for the Hill Country) male Western Tanager. Nearby grasslands and pastures produced some great birds, including Cassin’s, Grasshopper, Clay-colored, and Lark sparrows and Dickcissel. At Park Chalk Bluff, we found Harris’s Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl (in broad daylight being mobbed by many birds), Long-billed and Curve-billed thrashers, Black-throated Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Pyrrhuloxia, and amazingly, a male Tropical Parula that posed for lengthy scope views! We finished off the afternoon with a visit to Kickapoo Caverns State Park, where we added the recently split Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country, 2019 Black-capped Vireo near Concan, Texas, April 28, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer The next day we had a full morning to bird the Del Rio area. This day was added onto the tour just three years ago in order to search for a newly found population of Morelet’s Seedeaters (formerly White-collared Seedeater) at their very westernmost and northernmost location in the United States. Our first stop yielded no seedeaters but did produce a pair of Barred Owls that appeared out of the creek side forest and perched right over our heads. They hooted and hollered for a good five minutes and were ultimately voted the favorite bird of the tour! Additionally, a pair of Mississippi Kites at this same location was a big crowd pleaser. A female Green Kingfisher highlighted our second stop. At stop three along the Rio Grande, it was do-or-die for the seedeater. We quickly had a fly-by Ringed Kingfisher and two Couch’s Kingbirds but initially no seedeater. Then Kevin heard one distantly in the cane along the river. After some patience and a little luck, a wonderful male Morelet’s Seedeater landed on the utility wire right in front of us. What a morning! The afternoon was devoted to traveling to Big Bend National Park. En route, we tallied Pronghorn, Loggerhead Shrike, Rock Wren, and the Lilian’s race of Eastern Meadowlark. The ascent into The Basin, where our lodge was located, was non-stop spectacular scenery. We ventured out after dinner for some owling and were rewarded with point-blank studies of a Western Screech-Owl and very good views of Elf Owl. Each new day seemed more exciting than the last! Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 5 Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country, 2019 Morelet’s Seedeater, Del Rio, Texas, April 20, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer The following day, we began our exploration of the park in earnest. In the morning we walked the Window Trail. Several plum-colored Varied Buntings topped the list, but we also had Greater Roadrunner, Mexican Jay, yet another cooperative Black-capped Vireo, Black-chinned and Rufous-crowned sparrows, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager, and a half-dozen Scott’s Orioles. At lunch, a confused pair of Hepatic Tanagers battled their images in the restaurant window as we ate. In the afternoon, we headed down to Cottonwood Campground and Santa Elena Canyon. It was our one truly hot time of the trip. We managed quick views of a Lucy’s Warbler (rare and localized in Texas) but little else at Cottonwood Campground. The scenic view of Santa Elena Canyon, with canyon walls rising 1,500 feet above the river, was alone worth the drive. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 6 Big Bend National Park & the Texas Hill Country, 2019 Varied Bunting, Big Bend National Park, Texas, April 30, 2019 ©Barry Zimmer The next day was the all-day hike up to Boot Springs in search of the Colima Warbler, the iconic bird of Big Bend. Not only did our hike produce three Colimas (with epic views of the second), but it also scored the very rare vagrant (from Mexico) Slate- throated Redstart that had been around for ten days or so, Blue-throated Hummingbird, eye level views of White-throated Swifts, a rare Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Townsend’s Warbler, and Painted Redstart among others. A tiring day, but an extremely rewarding one! Our final day in the park was spent at Rio Grande Village in the morning and Blue Creek in the afternoon. At Rio Grande Village, we found a pair of Common Black Hawks at their nest, Virginia Rail and Sora in the open, our only Inca Doves of the tour, a locally rare pair of Eastern Bluebirds, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Collared Peccary, and more Vermilion Flycatchers than you could shake a stick at. Along the Blue Creek Trail we located a male Lucifer Hummingbird and a squirrely Gray Vireo. Leaving the park the following morning, we visited the Christmas Mountain Oasis north of Study Butte. There we had prolonged studies of three Lucifer Hummingbirds, Scaled Quail, Bullock’s and Scott’s Orioles, and a migrant Green-tailed Towhee. An Eastern Collared Lizard on the way out was a bonus. Driving northward towards Fort Davis, we spotted a Burrowing Owl along the highway.
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