Pelagic Birding in Molly and Larry's Big Year Pelagic Birding

Across the United States Part 1 of #3  California to Texas April 16 to April 30

Time to Drive Back and Forth across the County.

Spring is approaching and even the most shy birds are calling and hustling about, just ready to be seen at a respectful distance.  The next two months from mid-April to mid-July are the sweet spot for birding.  And Molly and I are starting it all with a a quick five week drive back and forth across the country.

We started our adventure by heading down to San Diego for a family wedding.  One of my goals for a big year is to throw in as many family visits as possible along the way.  

Our first new bird was a 'Pee Stop Bird.'  We pulled off the Highway 5.  There were the Yellow-billed magpie birds found only in California that suffered from West Nile virus in the early 2000's but may be stabilizing.

Like their more populous brethren, the Black-billed magpie, they are raucous and found in landfill and rural farming areas in Central California. 

Next we went to look for the White wagtail again in the Los Angeles River.  Again no luck, we were to see it later in Gambell's Alaska.  Then we did some birding in Griffin Park.  As we headed back to the car this woman in the photo stopped us and she and her friends told us that she was releasing a new album and would we like a photo with Beyonce?  Is this really Beyonce or just Big Year strangeness?

After the wedding in the lovely mountain of Julian we headed back towards Arizona.  On our way we stopped in the hills east of San Diego along Kitchen Creek Road to find our annual Grey Vireo, a bonus Mountain Quail, and our first Nashville Warbler since our epic day at Santa Margarita Ranch in January.

Nashville San Diego mountains

Madera Canyon 

Certain places just cry birding.  Madera Canyon is home to hooting Screech owls and Mexican Whip-poor-wills, the startling Elegant trogon, a host of hummingbirds and others.  We slept at the very end of the road in the parking lot.  Sure enough a Mexican Whip-por-will and a Whiskered screech owl serenaded us.  In the morning we were eating breakfast when the bark of the Elegant Trogon rang out.  We hesitated just long enough to miss seeing the Trogon who must have been no more than 30 feet away in the bushes that lined the parking lot.

After a walk in the canyon we headed down to Santa Rita Lodge for the feeders.  The following new 'Year Birds' were congregating at the feeders.

Yellow-eyed (we prefer Crazy-eyed) Junco

Our favorite brown woodpecker: Arizona

Broad-billed humer (male)

After we headed out of Madera Canyon we went over to DeAnza Trail in Tubac.  The DeAnza trail runs from Nogales on the border to San Francisco.   Juan Baptiste de Anza followed his father's dream(his father was killed in an apache ambush when his son was three) in charting the west and taking a band of settlers to Alta California.  From the National Park Service website:

In March 1775, Anza assumed the responsibility of recruiting families and organizing supplies for this first colonizing expedition to Alta California. He spent many months preparing the newly recruited families for the difficult journey. Then, on October 23, 1775, the group left Tubac. For nearly five months they traveled by horseback, mule, and on foot; arriving at the Presidio of Monterey on March 10, 1776.

Today the De Anza trail, the short stretch in the Tubac area, is a great birding trail. 

 

                                                    Fly catchers Tubac: Vermillion and Western

This trip we did not linger in the Sky Mountains, (summertime will be our monsoon trip).  After we birded at our night spot of Madera Canyon we headed to Sierra Vista Arizona to see friends.  We have great friends who recently bought a lovely home after living for years in an excellent rental at the base of Ramsey Canyon.  The house included  a RV pad with a charger.  Woo, woo!

Rufous winged Sparrow Sierra Vista

My friend and I raced bikes together in our 20's.   He eventually moved south, learned Spanish, learned Central/South American birds and opened up a guiding business.   It is awesome to sit with his wife (an excellent birder) and Molly in their front yard watching their feeders and talking about birds while sipping coffee.  

This was a quick Arizona visit but we had to go to local Carr Canyon for the warblers.  (best with 4-wheeler). We did well getting our first Virginia, Graces, Olive, and Red-faced Warbler of the year.  But one of our favorite birds  the Buff Breasted Flycatcher was nowhere to be seen and heard.  We also did not get the Montezuma or Scaled quails in our quick visit.  

Chiricahua Mountains:  

We headed east towards Texas but first we really wanted to go to the one place that in the U.S. that you can find A Little Mexican Chickadee in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.

We camped up at Rustlers Park at 8,500 feet.  Molly and I had the spacious campground to ourselves.  The next morning we drove down to the intersection with Barfoot Park and saw the lovely black grey and white Mexican Chickadee.

                 We camped up high up in the Chiricahua Mountains. And in the morning we found our backlit Mexican chickadees.

The Chiricahua Mountains are a magical place And this year is their hundred anniversary. 

(From the Chiricahua's website)

A Wonderland of Rocks  

Explore the pinnacles, spires, and balanced rocks that originated 27 million years ago by a massive volcanic eruption. Hike within these formations that help protect the exceptional biodiversity of the sky islands region. Connect with the human history spanning thousands of years, encompassing prehistoric indigenous peoples, Chiricahua Apaches, Buffalo Soldiers, ranchers, CCC, and visitors today. 

Onto Big Bend April 25th Colima Warbler

Birding Big bend in a Big Year represents a pivotal moment. If you grab the Colima warbler in the Chisos Basin, the next day add some new species in the Rio Grande Village, you can keep dreaming of 600, 700, or more species for the year.  But if you hike up the steep switchbacks looking for Mr. Colima  and miss it, well do you really want to spend all that money to go to Gambell, Alaska at the end of May?  

Big Bend is in the far Southwest corner of Texas.  Every year a small group of Colima Warblers migrate up from Mexico to breed in the arid high mountains.  They start arriving mid April and you want to get there before the June heatwaves make the hike unbearable.

The scene at 6:00 in the morning in the parking lot at the base of Pinnacles Trail must be seen.  Big vans with Guiding logos roll in carrying nervous hikers, many of whom are probably approaching their toughest hike of the year.   Can the knees make it to the warbler? 

To see and/or hear the warbler you must climb up from about 6,500 feet elevation to over 7,000 feet or more.  Some birders hope that the warbler shows up along the Pinnacles trail and they can they head back down after only a four mile hilly hike..  Last year I got just a quick glimpse and a definitive recording of the bird.  This year I wanted more. 

We found no Colima Warblers on the Pinnacles trail.  We passed the turn for Emory Peak and continued onto Boot Canyon.  After we passed  a min-waterfall a couple of birders walked towards us.  They had heard the Warbler.  Then we heard the Colimas buzzy song mixed in with a Wilson's warbler. After starting on the trail for a bit I carefully climbed down.  There was a Wilson and a couple of Townsends.  Goldfinches attacked seeding flowers.  Then I heard, then I saw the warbler.  I told some quick photos from the awkward hillside and returned to Molly.

The bird of the day.  Just one and I had to climb down a ravine but it was so worth it.

But the hike turned out to be so much more.  We talked to a gentleman, who was doing day hikes out of a campsite, and he told us we had to go down to the spring at the end of the trail before we turn right to complete our long loop.  Just the place to have lunch and wait for thirsty visitors.

The Spring was our Walden Pond with all the birds photographed below, and bears! Perhaps the best lunch spot of the year.

Grosbeaks rule!

Baby

Big mama at Blue Creek Spring

hardworking Mexican Jay.

The wildflowers were timed perfectly once again.

Rufous Crowned Sparrows everywhere

My Second favorite warbler of the day. (Painted redstart)

The lovely Cactus Wren

We finished the loop down Laguna Meadows, continuing to see birds and wildflowers along the way.  Now it was time to have dinner at the lodge and plan, always planning, our next day at Rio Grande Village.

Oh and the wildflowers rocked the Basin.

Photo by Molly

The next day we camped at Rio Grande Village, which is right on the border and part of Big Bend.  It feels old school with minimal border policing and signs of commerce crossing the Rio Grande.  And the birds are sweet, starting with an annual pair nesting Common Black Hawks.  

At Rio Grande, you walk along the road which is lined by bushes.  The Bell's Vireos were singing like crazy, the Painted Buntings are numerous and then a surprise:  a Golden Winged Warbler, so far west!.

Black Vulture

The surprise of the trip so far, a Golden Winged Warbler in the western picnic area of Rio Grande Village.

Painted bunting

Common Black Hawk

Time for the Famous Texas Hill Birds

The best place to unwind after our hectic two days was South Llano State Park in the hill country of Texas.  South llano is full of birds and this year we had excellent views of a Tropical Parula.

                                            Scissor Tailed flycatcher

Summer Tanager

South Llano birders

One of the great things about South Llano is its proximity to my favorite Texas Hill County hotspot Kerr Wildlife Management Area.  

There are two species of birds that you must find and can only find in the Texas Hill Country:  the Golden cheeked warbler and the Black-capped vireo.  

Last year we walked two areas of Kerr: the Spring Trap and Schumacher Road.  In general Schumacher is better for the vireo and Spring Trap is better for the warbler.  But in our Big Year rush we hopped to get both up Schumacher.  And we did.

The beautiful vireo

Black and White Warbler

And our one photo this year of a Golden-cheeked warbler. (female) 

According to Texas A&M's (outdated but the only number I could find) 1987-1992 survey 358 birds bred in Texas.  Numerous sources cite the Golden-cheeked warblers as the only species of bird that nests exclusively in Texas.  The Golden-cheeked warbler weaves nest out of Ashe Juniper bark.  While, the Black-capped vireo has been taken off the endangered species act, the Golden winged warbler is still listed.

The following short news report is well done and at the end highlights a proposed law that could make things worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTrVoHHq9Jk

Onto Galveston:  Terns!!

After picking up the Blue Winged Warbler and another seven warblers north of Austin at Mill Pond we headed back down south to Galveston where a Purple Sandpiper had been found at the Texas Dike.  Seems like almost everyone found him!

We never found the darn Purple Sandpiper but we did grab some very needed terns and other birds in two visits to the dike.

Least and Ruddy turnstone

Royal tern with Sandwich terns

Least tern

Love the shrimp and hospitality at Boyd's

Black tern

Common ternAnd a Black crown night heron

In between visits to dike we stayed at Galveston State Park.  The second day we almost made up for the Purple Sandpiper. (I am haunted by the rare birds that others find and I miss)  The tails were ringed by high water.  We were about to leave when I saw an overlook platform.  We walked out toward the platform and a Black rail and a Sedge Wren both called clearly from the brush.  "Kickapoo," says the Black rail.  Two of the hardest birds to find and here they were together.  A great moment in a Big Year or any year.

Then I walked out to the platform.  Molly and another birder pointed to phalarope in the distance.  Best of all it was a Wilson's phalarope, the hardest of the three phalaropes for a western based birder to find.

     

          Wilson's Phalarope

April 30th Sabine Woods (Louisiana/Texas border)

We were going to finally bird at Sabine Woods.  I had noticed this hotspot on the Texas/Louisiana border several years ago.  It is one the best spots for migration resting birds in the United States.  Like the well know woods at High Island, Texas birds traversing the Gulf of Mexico often stop for R and F (rest and food) in the twenty-seven acres of Oaks.

However,  mosquitos were out, really out.  Molly lasted about an hour and a half  and I lasted about another hour.  The birds were amazing.  The bird I wanted to see most was the Gray Cheeked thrush.  There were three species of thrush present Gray cheeked, Veery and Swainson's.  After pondering and getting on a couple of thrushes that were not gray cheeks,  I found this bird:

First ever Gray cheeked thrush.And also the often elusive Louisiana Waterthrush

Unfortunately, Molly missed these two species.  And to be fair she is sweeter to mosquitoes to me and, actually to most people.

Well that was it for the first race through the meccas of California, Arizona and Texas.  Now for the rest of the south in Part 2 of Across the United 2024.