Big Bend
April 24 - May 2, 2010 - Trip Report
By Narca Moore-Craig
Guide: Narca Moore-Craig, with 6 participants and local guide Carol Edwards, Davis Mtns.

Sat., April 24 El Paso arrival / Van Horn via the El Paso Valley
After only a short delay in arrivals at the El Paso airport, seven of us began the windy journey to Van Horn, via the agricultural fields of the El Paso Valley. A stellar Harris’s Hawk set just the right note, hinting at the many regional specialties to come. On a reservoir en route, Clark’s and Western Grebes offered excellent side-by-side comparisons.

We stayed at a newly renovated, historic cattleman’s hotel, which served as a handy base for exploring a private ranch the next morning. Dinner at the original Chuy’s immersed us immediately in local border culture and cuisine.

Sun., April 25 Red Rock Ranch tour / Balmorhea / Fort Davis

Photo by Narca

Hosted by Darice at the ranch where she grew up, we were off to a rollicking start as we explored the Precambrian outcrops of this starkly beautiful ranch. Desert birds like Rock and Canyon Wrens sang, and an oasis sheltered Plumbeous and Cassin’s Vireos, Virginia’s Warbler and other migrants. As we bounced along in her SUV, Darice mixed fact and tall tales, delivered in the West Texas drawl that I grew up hearing. Late in the morning, the SUV’s transmission became as balky as a mule, and refused to proceed in any direction other than backwards. So back out we did, as far as the ranch house, with Darice driving full tilt and gesticulating as she went. Our brief stop at the ranch house (for another vehicle) yielded a male Hooded Warbler, to our surprise.

After a quick lunch, we continued (in my considerably more staid driving style) to Balmorhea State Park, a lush oasis formed by the millions of gallons of water discharged daily by the San Solomon Springs. We enjoyed waterbirds such as a closeup Green Heron and summer residents like an incandescent Vermilion Flycatcher. Native Comanche Springs Pupfish and Pecos Gambusia swam in the artesian waters with a small Blotched Water Snake. Cave Swallows swooped over the wetland, amid the Barn and Cliff Swallows. This year the show-stopper at Balmorhea was a stunning Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Photo by Narca

Plants put on a great show too, after a winter of El Niño rains in the Southwest: the Rainbow Cacti were in full bloom along the road to Lake Balmorhea.

Photo by Narca

In late afternoon we headed over Wild Rose Pass in the Davis Mountains, arriving in Fort Davis at another charming, historic hotel: the Limpia. Carol Edwards, who would accompany us next day to The Nature Conservancy preserve, invited us to her home-built-around-a-rock for a fine reception of wine and appetizers. People always enjoy Carol’s company and perspective!

Mon., April 26 TNC Davis Mountains Preserve / Davis Mountains State Park
It was a privilege to join Carol this morning in one of The Nature Conservancy’s premier Texas preserves.  

Photo by Narca

Encompassing Mt. Livermore, the preserve blends Rocky Mountain and Sierra Madrean habitats, and protects a suite of southwestern species. A Zone-tailed Hawk––and more unexpectedly, an Osprey––sailed just over our heads, while up the canyon a pair of Common Black-Hawks foraged at a pond. Mountain Chickadees, Grace’s Warblers and Hepatic Tanagers sang from the trailside.

Photo by Narca

After a fun lunch at the MacDonald Observatory’s Star Date Cafe and a siesta, we entered Davis Mountains State Park and checked the feeders at the host site. What luck! A pair of Montezuma Quail foraged beneath the feeder for perhaps a half hour, ignoring all the optical equipment trained on them. Just as we were considering dinner, an immature Cooper’s Hawk descended with the same thought, and targeted the male quail. The last we saw of the birds, the Montezuma Quail was holding a good lead as he sped over the nearest ridgeline.

Photo by Narca

After dinner, we waited in the campground at the cavity where an Elf Owl pair nested last year. An Acorn Woodpecker in the vicinity remained on guard until darkness was nearly complete. Then the tiny owl emerged and the two engaged in a prolonged squabble over rights to the cavity.

Tues., April 27 Davis Mtns. State Park / Fort Davis National Historic Site / Museum of the Big Bend / Big Bend National Park
A short hike around the state park campground netted us a surprise Cattle Egret and nice looks at Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds coming to the feeder. A Hammond’s Flycatcher provided a good opportunity to tease out the subtleties of identifying flycatchers in this difficult genus. Summer Tanagers and Scott’s Orioles flashed past.

Photo by R.T. Cox

Our second stop was Fort Davis National Historic Site, where bugle calls blended with the cascading songs of Canyon Wrens. The commissary had been recently restored, and we roamed through it and other quarters of the old fort, including the hospital with its forbidding collection of medical instruments from a (thankfully) bygone era.

In Alpine, the Museum of the Big Bend introduced us beautifully to the landscapes, history, people and fossils of the Big Bend region. Especially impressive was the long fossilized wingbone of Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur found in Big Bend during the Cretaceous period. The largest flying creature known, its wingspan was estimated recently at over 30 feet.

After a fine lunch of “cowboy cuisine” at the Reata, we continued the drive, past prairie dog towns and grazing Pronghorn, through the ancient Ouachita Mountains exposed in the Marathon Uplift, and into Big Bend National Park. The habitat shifted from semidesert grassland to splendid Chihuahuan Desert, complete with its characteristic indicator species: Sotol and Lechuguilla. Tall yuccas bloomed profusely. At the park entrance, masses of Strawberry Hedgehog Cacti blossomed in an unbelievable shade of rosy magenta. This winter’s unusual rains have nourished a blaze of spring wildflowers in the park.

Photo by Narca

We traversed an unusually green Green Gulch to our lodge in the Chisos Basin, a bowl situated high in the central part of the volcanic Chisos Mountains. Here we settled into comfortable rooms, each with a balcony overlooking the Basin and the Window, where a deep V-cut breaches the surrounding sheer cliffs.

Wed., April 28 Big Bend National Park, Rio Grande Village / Dugout Wells
Daybreak is the perfect time to venture into the low desert and the riparian corridor along the Rio Grande, and today we savored those cool early hours when Pyrrhuloxias and Cactus Wrens were catching the first sun rays. Inca Doves lamented, “No hope!”, while Yellow-breasted Chats cavorted in full display. Painted Buntings, joined by Blue Grosbeaks and an Indigo Bunting, stripped seeds from the grasses. A Brown Thrasher and an American Redstart added eastern spice to the day. Raptors also impressed us: a female Common Black-Hawk peered over the rim of her nest; a male Gray Hawk kreeeed from a telephone pole and hunted nearby. Black Vultures rode the thermals with the omnipresent Turkey Vultures.

We picnicked beneath shady cottonwoods for both breakfast and lunch. Our walks took us along the river, past the old Daniels Ranch, and behind the campground to a pond supporting another endangered fish, the tiny Rio Grande Gambusia. The imposing limestone walls of the Sierra del Carment brooded over Rio Grande Village, and over us as we hiked.

During the hottest part of the day, we returned to the high Chisos Basin for a nap –– or so I thought! Instead of napping, Rob and Steve B hiked the full 4-mile Window Trail and were back in time for dinner! Lisa and Steve T also ventured down the Window Trail and encountered an unconcerned Black Bear, suddenly appearing as they rounded a bend in the trail.

Photo by Narca

Soon after a good dinner at the lodge, we returned to the low country for another adventure with crepuscular and nocturnal critters. Dugout Wells has long hosted small owls. Although the Western Screech-Owls haven’t appeared for our most recent trips, the Elf Owl population there has grown. This year was exceptional: at least three of the tiny owls (the world’s smallest!) were peering out of three cavities, all in view at once, and other Elf Owls were chuckling nearby. As night deepened, the Lesser Nighthawks began to flit past, one nearly colliding with Rob!

Thurs., April 29 Pinnacles Trail / Boot Springs
Today Jim and Linda opted to walk trails closer to the lodge, and they enjoyed close encounters with several Javelina and a Rock Wren. The rest of us tackled the steep Pinnacles Trail, a demanding nine-mile effort necessary to reach the moist woodland habitat of the high Chisos Mountains. Low on the trail, we were very surprised by a female Black-capped Vireo, briefly seen; she and another unseen Black-capped Vireo exchanged sputtery calls and likely represented a pair of this endangered species.

The way up was shaded, and within a couple of hours we had reached the woodland of Graves Oaks and had begun to hear Colima Warblers. Then, at the base of three towering hoodoos, a territorial male Colima gave us splendid looks. He perched atop some bare twigs, just below eye level, and sang intensely, crest raised and glinting rufous in the sunlight. In the US, this small warbler only breeds in Big Bend National Park, and it is a highly sought-after prize. Our feet were light for the rest of the day, as we wound through hoodoos, over Emory Pass, and past the Boot, to picnic at Boot Springs. Here two male Blue-throated Hummingbirds contested their territories and migrant Townsend’s Warblers foraged. Where the trail wound past precipitous cliffs, White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows flashed past.

Tonight’s rest was well-earned!

Fri., April 30 Sam Nail Ranch / Cottonwood Campground / Santa Elena Canyon / Castolon
Another beautiful day dawned, under a gibbous moon––warm but not too hot, breezy but not too windy. We began with an early morning stop at the oasis of Sam Nail Ranch. Varied Buntings glowed as they perched in the tops of shrubs. A male Western Tanager, singing Pyrrhuloxias and other beauties graced the waterhole. Further on, at Cottonwood Campground, we were able to study in the scope the differences between three of the kingbirds: Tropical, Couch’s and Western. All were vocalizing, which aided greatly in identifying the Tropical and Couch’s! We picnicked under the cottonwoods and big mesquites, where a Lucy’s Warbler thrilled Jim, Rob and Steve, and a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak appeared just as we departed.

We appreciated today’s relative coolness as we hiked into the mouth of spectacular Santa Elena Canyon, where sheer walls 1500 feet high contain the entrenched Rio Grande. As the fossil-bearing limestone here was uplifted along the Terlingua Fault, the ancestral Rio Grande kept pace with the uplift, and in the process carved magnificent Santa Elena. Linda and Jim stood at the tip of the sandbar jutting into the river, taking in the scene, while Lisa, Steve T, Steve R, Rob and I climbed to a higher, swifts-eye view.

Photo by Narca

Nightlife was on tonight’s agenda, as we descended on the Starlight Theatre in Terlingua: not only was the food superb, but Cowboy Doug held sway at the microphone, singing classics in a voice reminding us of Willie Nelson. Jim was especially intrigued to see “The Porch” outside the Starlight, where locals gather each evening to quaff beer and solve the world’s problems. Terlingua is a unique and hospitable West Texas outpost!

Sat., May 1 –– Blue Creek / Drive to Marfa
For our last morning’s outing, Blue Creek beckoned. We were very lucky in that a pair of Gray Vireos foraged and sang from nearby as we descended the slope into Blue Creek––usually it’s necessary to walk quite a bit further to find this scarce vireo. Blooming Ocotillo accented the hillsides with red flags, and Linda and Lisa especially enjoyed the myriad of more subtle, small blooms that blanketed the desert floor.

En route north we encountered an unseasonable rainstorm––in the desert we never complain about rain!––before Alpine rewarded us with a new discovery, an excellent new lunch spot which will definitely be on future itineraries. Marfa was our afternoon destination. We stopped briefly at the Chinati Foundation of Modern Art, so that everyone could see the huge, concrete, rectangular boxes by sculptor Donald Judd installed in a field next to the museum, and the 20-foot-high horseshoe (“Monument to the Last Horse”) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Moving from modern minimalist expression to the grace of a former era, we checked into the Paisano Hotel, a National Historic Landmark that hosted Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson for the filming of the movie Giant. Our farewell dinner at the hotel brought more fine conversation and more great food!

Sun., May 2 Return to El Paso and home
Migrating Swainson’s Hawks and roving Chihuahuan Ravens escorted us back to El Paso, where we bid farewell to our new friends and began enthusiastic speculation about future journeys. Happy trails!

Photo by Narca

 

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