Texas Hill Country
April 16-21, 2011 - Trip Report
Guide Bob Behrstock with 6 participants

Report by Bob Behrstock

Saturday, April 16 Arrival in San Antonio/Off to Concan
With no major problems, all participants were picked up by 3 PM and we left the San Antonio Airport for Neal’s Lodges in Concan. With no stops, the drive takes about an hour and 45 minutes. In Castroville and Hondo, we paused for snacks, and some participants purchased spirits (Neal’s dining room is dry). Our first birding stop was the Driscoll Feedlot outside Sabinal where we viewed, among other more common species, our first Yellow-headed Blackbirds and our only Common Ground-Doves. We arrived at Neal’s Lodges shortly after 6 and were soon enjoying our first dinner together.

Sunday, April 17 Park Chalk Bluff / Rio Frio at Neal’s Lodges
We started with a 6:30 breakfast at Neal’s, then drove south to Uvalde. From there, we headed west to Park Chalk Bluff—named for the tall, white limestone cliff face just across the Nueces River. The park’s habitats range from Chihuahuan Desert to riparian within a span of a few hundred feet, and include groves of Live Oak and Pecan. We always encounter an interesting assortment of birds at Chalk Bluff, and today was no exception. Summer Tanagers were numerous, as were Bell’s Vireos. Couch’s Kingbirds, Blue Grosbeaks, and Vermilion Flycatchers posed for us. Yellow-breasted Chats revealed themselves, Yellow-throated Warblers were numerous (but upstaged by an eye-level male Black-throated Green feeding in Pecan catkins), and we were lucky enough to see a nest attended by a pair of Yellow-throated Vireos. After a lunch provided by the park staff, we returned to Neal’s and visited their feeding stations. The run on color continued with eye-popping Painted and Lazuli Buntings. Dinner was in Neal’s Dining room––flanked by feeders visited by Black-chinned and Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Black-crested Titmice, and Carolina Chickadees. Just off the restaurant’s balcony is the cypress-lined Frio River and Black Phoebes, Spotted Sandpipers, and a Belted Kingfisher were visible below.

Monday, April 18 Kerr Wildlife Management Area / Amazing Bat Cave Experience
After our 6:30 breakfast, we drove north, then east to Kerr Wildlife Management Area. Kerr’s thickets of juniper and oak host a large population of endangered Black-capped Vireos, but the site is home to many other species of birds. Our first order of business was to hear (easy) and obtain satisfying looks (less easy) at the vireo. With a little effort, everyone was able to see one or two males as they sang from various perches. Continuing northward on the main access road, we stopped at a muddy-edged stock tank where some sparrows were splashing at the water’s edge. Within the next several minutes, we saw bathing Chipping, Lark, and Field sparrows, Painted and Lazuli buntings, a Northern Cardinal and Summer Tanager, and Golden-cheeked, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Wilson’s, and Black-and-white warblers. Next to the pond, a male Golden-cheeked Warbler gave us stunning tree-top views, a turkey crossed the road, and a bonus Black-capped Vireo showed briefly for those with quick binoculars.

After a picnic lunch, we headed back to Neal’s, pausing for blooming Penstemons where Bob had staked out a patch several years ago, and an ice cream stop in the town of Leaky.

But the day’s excitement wasn’t over. Ten minutes from Neal’s is the Frio Bat Cave, popular ecotourism venue that’s visited by many birders. On the way to the cave, we were lucky enough to see three different Nine-banded Armadillos, a widespread southeastern mammal that’s become an icon of Texas natural history. These curious mammals are more often seen as road kill, so we were very happy to observe live individuals. The Frio Bat Cave’s population of some 12 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats is said to be the second largest aggregation of mammals on earth (second only to another Texas Hill Country cave’s population). Each night for approximately three hours, a river of bats issues forth from caves deep in the limestone. Before returning, the foraging bats will have eaten approximately one railroad boxcar-full of moths! As we sat on natural benches of limestone at the cave entrance, Bain Walker, a local naturalist hired by the landowner who protects the cave, provided us with an informal lecture on bat biology. Then, as the sun set, we watched the beginning of the exodus as an endless flow of bats disappeared into the darkness to hunt insects. On most nights, one or more species of birds of prey hunt the stream of bats, and our emergence included a close Merlin and a more distant Red-tailed Hawk working the stream of prey. As it became darker, unseen Poorwills called on the rocky slopes nearby.       

Tuesday, April 19 Lost Maples State Natural Area
After our 6:30 breakfast, we left for Lost Maples State Natural Area. Lost Maples is a popular spot for viewing Golden-cheeked Warbler—an endangered species that thrives in its sheltered canyon bottoms; however, after our great views at Kerr, we weren’t under pressure to find them and could simple enjoy the other birds and the park’s scenery. We first walked on the Maples Trail, a streamside hike that showcases an isolated population of Bigtooth Maples. The narrow canyon is also home to Scarlet Leatherflower, a low-growing clematis with red bell-like flowers. With a world range of only seven counties in the Hill Country, it is one of the area’s very special plants. With little searching, we saw a number of them, as well a vine of Pearl Milkweed, another Texas specialty. Along the trail, we saw a number of birds including: Red-eyed Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, singing male Indigo Buntings, Bewick’s, Carolina and (distant) Canyon wrens, a couple of Golden-cheeked Warblers, and one of the tour’s biggest surprises, a singing male Audubon’s Oriole that came in to Bob’s imitation of its whistles. Native to south Texas, this species has been spreading northward but is both out of range and out of habitat at Lost Maples.

After a picnic lunch and a brief rest, we moved to another trailhead. Feeders there offered Clay-colored, Chipping, and Lincoln’s sparrows, Painted and Lazuli buntings, and Blue Grosbeaks. Those who wished to take a warm afternoon hike walked to a pond—seeing a few additional birds en route. Highlight was a roosting Eastern Screech-Owl pointed out by a fellow guest from Neal’s to whom we had provided some birding information a day or two earlier––a good example of birding karma! Departing Lost Maples, we drove to the City Park in Utopia where we hoped to find Green Kingfisher. This was one of seven spots where we looked for this normally predictable species that eluded us for the entire trip. Instead, we called in a daytime barred Owl that was vocalizing in the park’s large oaks. The owl perched in view where we could easily ‘scope and photograph it for half an hour. We also saw Blue Jays here, a great bird for tour participants from the western U.S.

Dinner was at the Lost Maples Café in Utopia—famous for its pie, and it didn’t disappoint. Upon returning to Neal’s, we opted to do our list at a picnic table outside our cabins. As we assembled, a Long-billed Thrasher was singing from atop a nearby shrub and showed well in a hastily set up spotting scope.  

Wednesday, April 20 Fort Inge / Uvalde Fish Hatchery / Rio Frio
After our now standard 6:30 breakfast, we drove once again southward to Uvalde. First, we visited Fort Inge Historical Site County Park—site of a frontier fort that dates from 1849. Little remains of the fort—the habitat surrounding the ruins was our primary interest. Birds here included Olive, Lark, and Vesper sparrows, another Long-billed Thrasher, Bell’s Vireo, Orchard and Bullock’s orioles, Cactus Wren, Louisiana Waterthrush, Solitary Sandpiper, Green Heron, and a glimpsed Great Kiskadee. For the reptile enthusiasts, a large Diamond-back Water Snake was sunning on a log in the river.

Next, we visited the Uvalde National Fish Hatchery to pick up some waterbirds. Ponds there provided us with half-a-dozen species of ducks (including beautiful Black-bellied Whistling Ducks), Spotted and Least sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and White-faced Ibis. Butterflies at the hatchery were scarce—a casualty of the ongoing drought—but included a gaudy Great Purple Hairstreak seen nectaring along the trail to a pond-side blind, and several newly emerged Pipevine Swallowtails at the hatchery headquarters. From the hatchery we drove into town for lunch at a restaurant.

After lunch, we made a quick visit to Cook’s Slough, a park at the edge of town, adding Western Kingbird and the Audubon’s form of Yellow-rumped Warbler to our bird list, and getting close looks at several more Clay-colored Sparrows. At clumps of blooming sunflowers, we saw a couple more butterflies, including Variegated Fritillary and Bordered Patch.

Returning to Neal’s, we had some time to bird the lodge’s feeders for a final sparrow/bunting/oriole fix before dinner.

Thursday, April 21 Return to San Antonio
After our 6:30 breakfast, we loaded the van and drove to San Antonio, dropping off four participants with the earliest flights. Mary and Sylvia had a later flight to El Paso where they were continuing on Naturalist Journeys' Big Bend tour, so they and Bob birded for a bit at McAllister Park just north of the airport. After dropping them off at the airport, Bob returned the van (with no hunks taken out of it), picked up his car, and returned to Neal’s for a final evening before driving back to Arizona.

 

Photo credits
Coppery Dancer and Eastern Screech Owl, Bob Behrstock

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