Sky Views

The view from the El Paso airport sky. I love how barren and empty the land looks. The desert scrub was really beautiful. Coming from Florida I can relate to flat land.


Our plane turned to the East and I could see the mountains that are in New Mexico. From my trip from Albuquerque I experienced a little bit of all of the climates, snowy mountains, green valleys, miles and miles of desert, and even the White Sands. New Mexico is truly a land of enchantment.

I took the photo below with crop circles and New Mexico alien sightings in mind. For some reason we didn't go to Roswell so this photo below is the closest I came to any UFO encounter.

Flying back home I was hearing reports of a cold front. South Florida is having one of the coldest winters on record. Below is a snowy photo of Dallas as I landed for my connection.

Hueco Tanks State Park

As I mentioned in the Coyote post below, Andy and I had a little trouble getting inside of Hueco Tanks State Park. We at first admitted defeat from the long line of cars and headed around the park on some side roads. We were wary of the No Trespassing signs so we didn't go far from the car. Before heading to El Paso we decided to give the park one more try but along the way we found a bridge with a dried up wash/river/creek. Feeling as if this was safe we decided to park and take a little hike.

Andy and I didn't see much in the way of birds on this stroll but we did see a sign for the Dead Snake Society on top of a trailer. About that time we also heard someone in the scrub so we high-tailed it back out. The last thing we wanted to do on our first day in Texas was offend the locals. Luckily for us the park wait was non-existent when we returned so we waited patiently until we were given the green light to go in.

Hueco Tanks S.P. is very much a climber's park. There were lots of trails and land but most of it was off limits if you were not on a guided hike/climb. However the amount of limited land we had we still had fun hiking over the trails (like the one seen below).

Huecos are natural water basins. This area has been a meeting place for Native cultures and then later the first white settlers that crossed the Southwest.

Walking around the rocks we saw many so many Dark-eyed Juncos (more than one color phase), White-crowned Sparrows, and American Robins that we almost that there wasn't much variety.

After scrambling some rocks and finding another trail we picked up a Canyon Towhee, my lifer Green-tailed Towhee, and a Black-throated Sparrow.

This park also gave us some really close up encounters with roadrunners. The photo below isn't very good but it shows you how close we were to it. The park provided classic scenery out of the Roadrunner cartoon so it was certainly fitting that we ran into not only that Coyote coming in the park but also had a chance to see the bird as well.

The Huecos have seen some human damage so we were forced to watch this video when we came in. I now have my official Hueco Tanks S.P. visitor orientation park pass. From what we heard you had to update your card every year to enter the park. I don't know if the video really works because Andy and certainly walked around some signs and went into some restricted areas. For 800 plus acres of park they only allowed us into a few areas. Certainly a climber's park, not a nature/birdwatcher's park.

On our last walk out of the trail Andy managed to find me one more lifer, a great look at my first Verdin. We left dehydrated and a little frustrated at the day but overall happy that we managed to find a few things before my flight out. In total on this trip I managed to see 28 lifers, a new squirrel species (Abert's Squirrel), and of course have my first taste of the American Southwest.

Coyote Encounter

On my Southwest Adventure I saw lots of cool birds but I would be remise if I didn't mention this really amazing mammal show. It was my last day and we had driven from New Mexico to Texas. I was to fly out of El Paso that afternoon but we decided to check out a local state park before I left. Hueco Tanks State Park is a really busy park due to the rock climbing fanatics and there was a wait list to get in but after awhile Andy and I managed to squeeze in the park. Before we even made it near the visitor center we saw our first Coyote of the trip. We had heard them barking at Bosque del Apache NWR but we didn't see them. This Coyote just stood there by the road in the bushes.


We were sitting in the car idling when a cyclist road by us. The Coyote became aware of the man on the bike and started a hot pursuit. We couldn't believe our eyes. This man was being hunted down by the Coyote.

We watched as the man weaved in and out, trying to shake the Coyote but the dog wasn't giving up his chase. He stayed close to the back of the bike. We decided then that perhaps we should interfere with the show.

We sped the car ahead and got very close to the Coyote. Realizing that it was sandwiched between a bike and a car it quickly stopped and turned by the shoulder of the road.

It just stood there for what seemed like a long time, staring us down as if to say, "Thanks for ruining my day." And then before we knew it, the Coyote trotted off back down the road behind us.

One of the best parts of birdwatching is that you never know where it will take you and what other surprises will abound. This was a great way to end my trip in the Southwest. And though seeing a Coyote wasn't that new of an experience (I've seen them in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida), this encounter certainly will be a lasting memory.

Top Ten Lifers of 2008: Number 5

I added over 100 birds to my ABA list this year so narrowing down the select few to ten is nearly impossible. Once again I'm going to cheat a little and name these Buteos or Buteo-like (as Sibley calls them) Hawks all under Number 5: Harris's Hawk, Gray Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, and Swainson's Hawk.

The first three hawks on the list were all picked up at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Harris's Hawks were nearly EVERYWHERE I went while in Texas but they have to make the list because they are such a beautiful hawk. I wish we had Harris's Hawks in Florida. My lifer Gray Hawk was probably one of the highlights of the Rio Grande for me. It was found on the Upper Rio trip and sat perched on a snag for over 30 minutes. Not many birds are that cooperative and I really had a chance to soak in this gorgeous bird. My lifer White-tailed Hawk was also a stunning bird to behold. What is even better about this sighting is that Bill of the Birds offered me his scope to watch this bird circle overhead. I could pick up every detail as it crossed our path. I may not have showed my excitement at the time but this was truly a wonderful gift on the King Ranch trip.

My lifer Gray Hawk perched on a snag by the Rio Grande.

The Broad-winged, Short-tailed, and Swainson's Hawks were all seen while birding with Andy. Really all the hawks on this list were found with him minus the White-tailed Hawk. I'm going to have to consider calling him my raptor magent. While Andy was living in Tallahassee, FL we successfully attempted a Big Day event where I picked up my first Broad-winged. Oddly enough it was our ONLY hawk of our Big Day, were we tallied over 100 species while fighting the rain and wind. The Short-tailed was seen circling overhead Matheson Hammock in Miami. It was one of those perfect birding experiences because a dark morph Short-tailed and a light adult were both in our binos at the same time. Comparisons like that are unforgettable.

The Swainson's Hawk was picked up just a few weeks ago in an agricultural field outside Everglades National Park. We were getting ready to leave, feeling defeated because the week before dozens of Swainson's were around when a large kettle of vultures emerged. After a brief bit of scanning I found my Swainson's in the mix. I love finding new birds easily but a little bit of searching makes the find so much more sweeter.

Tomorrow I will go back to my one bird format. The nice thing about making your own rules is you're allowed to bend them a little. The top 4 birds on the list are all singular in nature but superb finds for the year.

Top Ten Lifers of 2008: Number 7

For my Number 7 bird we will have to travel back to the Rio Grande Valley for my lifer Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl encounter.

My first Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was found at the King Ranch in the Norias Division while attending the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Our excellent guides, some of them you may know from the blogging world such as Bill of the Birds and Jeff Gordon, were very diligent in coaxing this bird out and giving us some great looks. I saw not one but two different Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls on this trip. We even had a couple of Great Horned Owls later in the trip which gave me a nice two owl day. That's certainly not something that happens very often.

The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl holds the number 7 spot because of it's limited range and difficulty in finding it but mostly because it's one helluva cute owl. Don't forget to click that Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl link up there to see a picture.

Top Ten Lifers of 2008: Number 9

Since January 2008 I have attended two phenomenal birding festivals (Space Coast and Rio Grande Valley), went on multiple weekend excursions, and have even chased a few rarities. Now my ABA list stands at 309 which isn't bad considering I started 2008 at 185. But really it's not about the numbers. To me the joy of birding comes from the moment you are totally focused on a bird. I love watching the movements, listening to the calls, and soaking in the details.

This is my list and I'm allowed to cheat so coming in at Number 9 are three Rio Grande Valley birds: Altimira Oriole, Audubon's Oriole, and Hooded Oriole.

That little speck flying above the Harris's Hawk is my lifer Altimira Oriole in Texas.

Really, how can you expect me to pick which oriole is the best? Each of these orioles gave me great looks at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. My first spotting of the three was on November 6th at The King Ranch were our group found an Audubon's Oriole high on top of a tree and directly in the sun. Thanks to Jeff's scope I could make out the colors and markings. On the Upper Rio trip I saw one in better light.

On the same day as my lifer Audubon's Oriole I also picked up my first Altimira Oriole, this one seen at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Kim and I hiked up the observation tower to a beautiful Harris's Hawk perched on a nearby snag. Almost instantly a Altimra Oriole came out of nowhere and chased the hawk off. Nothing like seeing a beautiful little lifer bird chasing a big hawk to make your day.

The third oriole would grace me on the Upper Rio trip. While sitting at some feeders checking out the Clay-colored Robins a lone Hooded Oriole swooped in. This great bird was only feet away from me. The details were superb in my binocs. This would give me an oriole trifecta for my birding festival. All three great birds and wonderful experiences with them to boot.

Come back tomorrow for Number 8, this time without cheating.

Walking Over to Mexico

On my last day in Texas I decided to take a little side trip to Mexico. I dropped Andy and Kim off at the conference center for their last field trip and in the early morning hours made my way to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico. After placing my quarter in the turnstile I simply walked across the Rio Grande and into another country.

It was early when I arrived and the streets were eerily quiet. I hit the main streets watching as shop owners opened up their doors and street crews washed the sidewalks.

Nuevo Progreso is littered with pharmacies and dental offices. Mixed in are tourist shops where I'm sure people like my self come to spend their money on inexpensive gifts. I didn't cross over with much money but you better believe I left with even less.

Since most of the shops were closed I went to Rene's for breakfast. I don't know if you have visited the Lower Rio Grande Valley area but people in that part of Texas drink horrible coffee. I would describe it as very watered down and luke warm. I really don't understand their taste but the coffee at Rene's made up for the sub par drinks I had sampled all week in Texas.

The coffee was just the right amount of jolt for my morning and the pastries there were divine. My service was very friendly and I was feeling much better about this little side trip. I only wish I could have stayed longer for margaritas in the afternoon.

After loading up on caffiene I hit the streets for some people watching and shopping. The street vendors were in full swing setting up their stands. Below are a few of the sights in Progreso. I'm not sure what kind of meat was cooking in that large pot below but it smelled good.

With only a couple of dollars left in my pocket I decided to head back home. I really enjoyed my morning in Progreso and even though I know it's not the real Mexico you would find elsewhere in the country it was just enough for my trip. I even had time to bird Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge again for an hour before picking up my travel buddies and going to the airport.

I didn't pick up any lifers in Mexico but I did add a few birds to my Mexican list like Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Mourning Dove. I think I left the country with 15 birds which isn't bad considering I wasn't actively birding. As for my ABA list I picked up 47 birds, 42 of them being lifers. With so many new birds it's hard to say which are my favorites. At the time that I saw them, each one was great. I only had a few new ones that I would put on the "better look desired" list. I don't know if I will be able to swing another trip to the festival next year but I certainly will put this area of the country on my radar for another trip one day. I still have a few birds I would like to see down there like Aplomado Falcon, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and Hook-billed Kite. Next time my friends I'll try to take more pictures. Maybe a new camera is in order before the next big trip.

Day Four in Texas

My last field trip of the festival would be to Weslaco. We spent most of our time at the Estero Llano Grande State Park which is the center of the World Birding Center network. The sunrise was beautiful and can be seen in this post. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were EVERYWHERE on the pond. Also seen on the pond were Stilt Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitchers, and Wilson's Snipe. A Ring-necked Duck sat out in the middle of the pond and with a little closer inspection we found some Northern Shovelers and a Fulvous Whistling Duck.

Once the sun was up we headed for a future section of the park that is still under construction. We found a few mixed flocks of warblers and also got great looks at a Black-throated Magpie Jay, which is probably an escaped or released pet. The most frustrating part of this trip was in our search for the Rose-throated Becard. It had been seen the week of the festival in this section of the park. While looking at the magpie jay one of our leaders glimpsed an unusual bird. About 4 of us quickly got on it and saw it move down a palm tree. After much searching we couldn't relocate the bird and no one else got a better look. At the time I wasn't positive of my ID but after scanning photos of the becard on the internet I feel pretty good that I saw it. However it was a horrible look.

After we called off the becard search we headed back towards the nature center. Some Plain Chachalacas were feeding on the platform. I saw these birds almost everywhere I went but they still were quite a sight. To end our trip at Estero we went to the scouted out area where not one but THREE Common Pauraque were sleeping. Below you can see two of our leaders, Jim White and Keven Karlson getting everyone on the birds. The look in the scope was simply amazing. I've seen a nightjar or two of my life but never a view like this one.

We made a quick trip to Frontera Audubon/ Frontera Audubon before leaving Weslaco. Jim helped me get my lifer Wilson's Warbler. I had killer looks of it near a brush pile. But most of the time at this park was spent photographing lepidopteras which hopefully one day I will identify and post.

After lunch Andy, Kim, and I met back up for an afternoon field trip of our own. Due to the proposed border wall construction I had heard that the Sabal Palms Audubon Center would be destroyed. So we decided to spend our last afternoon in Texas checking out the park. It was fairly quiet in the afternoon though we did find an armadillo. And Andy picked up a few new lifers at the park so it was definitely worth the drive. With the day fading quickly we headed out to the Rio Grande for some last looks before heading back to Harlingen and our keynote speaker, Kenn Kaufman.

Belly to Belly

After a busy weekend of working and playing hard I am going to try and sum up the rest of the Texas adventures this week. I even took a trip over to Mexico on my last day in town. So look forward to a few more posts before I head up to South Carolina for some Thanksgiving celebrations.

Day Three in Texas

Michael O'Brien scoping some brids for us on the Rio Grande.

The Upper Rio birding trip was by far the most action packed birding of my whole time in Texas. As soon as we stepped off the bus the bird species started flying by. Within minutes we had a list of over 20 species. And we were only a few feet away from the bus! After picking up things like Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuxloxia, and a Red-shafted Northern Flicker we walked down to the river for even better views of the flyovers.


The majority of the trip was spent right down on the Rio Grande, literally in the middle of it at times. The rock outcropping below afforded us great looks at waterfowl and kingfishers. We had time to inspect the cormorants and differentiate between Neotropic and Double-crested. We also had a nice look at Muscovy Duck. After seeing all the feral Muscovy in Florida it was really refreshing to see "real" Muscovy Ducks and add them to my ABA list.

Birding this close to the Mexico border also brought the Border Patrol out in full force. From time to time a vehicle would circle by, give us an once-over, and drive off. I guess 40 plus people with scopes and binoculars are a regular occurrence by this birdy river.

One of the best birds of this trip for me was a Gray Hawk that perched on the Mexican side of the river. Above I'm scoping my lifer Gray Hawk and below are a couple of digiscoped pictures. Now, I don't have a fancy camera and I don't know how to digiscope but I decided that if I was going to have all this time alone with a Gray Hawk and a scope I would at least attempt to capture it. The pictures don't do this bird justice. Seeing this bird and really studying it was a great way to end a fabulous birding day in Texas.

Skywatch Friday: Estero Llano Grande State Park

Sunrise at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas on November 8, 2008. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were on the pond in large numbers. Mixed in with them were Stilt Sandpipers, waders, teal, and Ringed-necked Ducks to name a few. Don't forget to check out other great Skywatch Friday posts today. And click the photos for a larger view.