Bulletin #81 – West Texas – Big Bend Nat’l Park #3

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
June 14, 2009


Bulletin #81 – West Texas – Big Bend Nat’l Park #3

Hello friends,

I had my first trip to west Texas. I went with Ed Arenson from Denver and we used Darrell Vollert as our guide. His web site is here.

We spent 2 days in Big Bend National Park and the adjacent Christmas Mountains.

It is always fun to find birds on their nests to photograph. Besides the Black-chinned Hummingbird nest with babies in Bulletin #79, we found 2 others.

The first was also a life bird for me, the Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus). This bird was in the cottonwood trees along the river in Rio Grande Village campground.

The other was a male Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Polioptila melanura). Here he is bringing additional nesting material to the nest. It is a male because he has the black cap.

We also found a pair of Elf Owls (Micrathene whitneyi). This is the smallest ABA owl at only 5 3/4” long. He was high up in a tree, but I did get a fair picture of him. This was another life bird and I’ll try to get a better picture of him in Arizona later this month.

Sometimes when waiting for a photo opportunity, you can find something interesting and unexpected. Such was the case of this Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). I was attempting to photography some sparrows in the grass, when the Roadrunner started to hunt the same sparrows.

In the first photo he walked out onto the grass area where the sparrows were feeding. In the second, he spotted the sparrows and walked into some longer grass to hide as he stalked them.

The next 2 photos he gets closer and closer to the flock of sparrows. In the second of these photos he was only about 20’ from me as I was photographing him and he was intent on his next meal.

He then ran the 5 feet to the sparrows, but just missed catching one of them.

This was my first time to see a Roadrunner hunting other birds.

A moment later, he was back in the short grass and raised his crest and tail for a final photo.

The last photo is a reptile, a male Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus). He is quite attractive with his orange and turquoise belly. He has a piece of grass in his mouth – looks like a cigarette dangling form his mouth.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

email: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.

David McDonald Photography
Friendswood Texas
May 20, 2009

Bulletin #79 – West Texas – Big Bend Nat’l Park #2

Hello friends,

I had my first trip to west Texas. I went with Ed Arenson from Denver and we used Darrell Vollert as our guide. His web site is http://www.darrellvollertnaturetours.com/

We spent the 2 days in Big Bend National Park.

There were several species of warblers in the park. The most important is the Colima Warbler (Vermivora crissalis). This was a lifer for me. It can only be found in the Chisos Mountains in the park and requires a vigorous hike into the mountains to find them (8 hours and elevation from 5400 to 7200 feet). I hauled the camera and tripod all the way around and was rewarded with a few good photos from the 10 different birds we found. Here is the first one we found. This warbler is gray with brownish back and flanks and yellow undertail.

Finally with the last one, he stayed close for a decent photo. I didn’t want to have to do that hike over again.

We also saw several Lucy’s Warblers (Vermivora luciae) and had one feeding a fledgling, but I was unable to get any photos as they stayed hidden in the mesquite trees. This was another lifer however.





I was surprised that we found a female Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi). They usually winter on the west coast of Mexico. She stayed about 15 feet away and worked in the pine branches.










Just outside the park, we also found a Virginia’s Warbler (Vermivora virginiae). This female is somewhat similar to the Colima, but is all gray and doesn’t have the brownish wash on the back and flanks. They have yellow above the tail and below the tail. The male would have a yellow area on the breast. The female here doesn’t. This was another life bird for me. Here is a second photo showing the yellow under tail.











I also got photos of 2 new vireo species. The first was the Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii). This bird was seen at both campgrounds along the Rio Grande in the park. He is IDed by the wing bars, yellowish flanks and dark line through the eye.

The other was Hutton’s Vireo (Vireo huttoni). This bird is drab gray, with 2 wing bars and pale lores. Perhaps it is best IDed by its voice.













The most beautiful bird found in the park was the Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor). The male is multicolored with a blue head, red nape of neck and purple breast. This was another lifer for me and the last of the 5 bunting species for me to photograph.










In the Christmas Mountains just outside Big Bend Park, I picked up 2 hummingbirds. The first was a male Lucifer Hummingbird (Calothorax lucifer). This was another life bird and it can only be found along the Mexican border, with this area the most reliable place to find it. The male has a purple throat and curved bill.








The other was the male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri). It also has a purple throat, but there is a black chin between the straight bill and the purple.














Here is a nest of the Black-chinned Hummingbird with 2 babies. I waited for ½ hour to try to get a photo of an adult feeding the babies, but they wouldn’t come to the nest when I was near it.







Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

email: davidkmcd@comcast.net

photos copyright 2009 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask for subscribe.