Our 1,100 mile, 3-day sprint across Texas has come and gone. The birding was okay, not great. The weather was marginal at best which made the birding okay, not great.
At Lost Maples State Park we did get our two target birds as the drizzle moved in... the Black-capped Vireo...
... and the Golden-cheeked Warbler.
In the Davis Mountains, we found this pair of Canyon Towhees...
... and, this Curve-billed Thrasher. It was much obliged for the orange I placed on a fence in hopes of attracting some orioles. It did the trick last year but alas, no orioles this year.
It was all downhill from there as the rain set in on Friday. All downhill except for the 2,000 foot climb to Boot Spring high in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park the next day. We started our 10-mile hike at dawn with just enough light to see the trail. It was a brisk 46 degrees and fog was pouring over the rim of the canyon and down its sides.
We were serenaded up the trail by Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees and Canyon Wrens. Mexican Jays and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers also added to the ruckus. Otherwise, it was up, up, up.
Although we were a couple of weeks early for the spring cactus bloom, this one was already giving passers-by a show.
Unfortunately, our efforts were not rewarded with a Colima Warbler sighting. The best look of the day was probably this Tarantula that my son found along the trail.
Another bright spot was finding this Western Screech Owl snoozing in a thicket the previous day at Dugout Wells in Big Bend National Park.
We saw this group of White-faced Ibis standing in the Rio Grande River with Mexico behind them. Although they were standing closer to Mexico than Texas, I added them to my Texas count because I was standing in Texas.
So, you win some, you lose some. After completing our hike, we did the 410 mile drive from Big Bend to San Antonio to catch our flight home the next morning. While we did not take time to stop in Langtry, Texas to visit Judge Roy Bean's place, we did stop for Texas brisket and banana puddin' at Rudy's in Del Rio.
I did manage to add 67 new species for 2026 bringing the YTD total to 229. Given the weather conditions and our rapid pace, this was actually a pretty good number.
