Ben Lamb
03-19-2007, 08:58 PM
I'm noticed that no one seems to be using the Trip Reports forum, which is a shame because I enjoy hearing where people go and what they see there. It helps me decide where to go. (Our vacation to the pacific NW last year was based on Connie's mention of the 'Woodpecker Wonderland' trip that's planned for this year).
In the spirit of (hopefully) reviving this forum, here's a somewhat dated trip report. We spent President's Day weekend birding an area of Texas that seems to get less attention than some others - the El Paso valley.
Over two days we saw 65 species, including a bunch of life birds as it was our first time to bird a southwestern desert. We saw most of our target birds except for Crissal Thrasher and Phainopepla.
On Saturday we birded Franklin Mountains State Park (actually within the City of El Paso) where the highlight was a red-tailed hawk harassing a Golden Eagle. On Sunday we did a guided bird tour at Hueco Tanks SP and spent the afternoon at Rio Bosque Wetlands Park on the Rio Grande. Hueco Tanks was great, but the guided tour is the only way to get access as they apparently have problems with vandalism of the Native American rock art that the park is supposed to protect. There the unquestionable highlight was a pair of roosting Long-Eared Owls.
It made a great short trip; here is a list of what we saw (life birds for us marked with an asterik):
GB Heron
Great Egret
Am. Wigeon
Mallard ("Mexican Duck")
Cinnamon Teal
No. Shoveler
No. Pintail
G-W Teal
Ruddy Duck
No. Harrier
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle*
Gambel's Quail*
Am. Coot
Killdeer
Black-Necked Stilt
Least Sandpiper
LB Dowitcher
Ring-Billed Gull
Rock Dove
WW Dove
Mourning Dove
Gr. Roadrunner
Long-Eared Owl*
White-Throated Swift*
Ladder-Backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe*
Loggerhead Shrike
Am. Crow
Cave Swallow (winter colony at Rio Bosque)
Verdin*
Cactus Wren*
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren* (heard before, but never seen)
Bewick's Wren
Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher*
RC Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Am. Robin
No. Mockingbird
Am. Pipit
YR Warbler
Green-Tailed Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Black-Throated Sparrow*
Lark Bunting*
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow (a very good bird for the area)
White-Crowned Sparrow
DE Junco
Pyrrhuloxia*
W. Meadowlark
GT Grackle
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow
In the spirit of (hopefully) reviving this forum, here's a somewhat dated trip report. We spent President's Day weekend birding an area of Texas that seems to get less attention than some others - the El Paso valley.
Over two days we saw 65 species, including a bunch of life birds as it was our first time to bird a southwestern desert. We saw most of our target birds except for Crissal Thrasher and Phainopepla.
On Saturday we birded Franklin Mountains State Park (actually within the City of El Paso) where the highlight was a red-tailed hawk harassing a Golden Eagle. On Sunday we did a guided bird tour at Hueco Tanks SP and spent the afternoon at Rio Bosque Wetlands Park on the Rio Grande. Hueco Tanks was great, but the guided tour is the only way to get access as they apparently have problems with vandalism of the Native American rock art that the park is supposed to protect. There the unquestionable highlight was a pair of roosting Long-Eared Owls.
It made a great short trip; here is a list of what we saw (life birds for us marked with an asterik):
GB Heron
Great Egret
Am. Wigeon
Mallard ("Mexican Duck")
Cinnamon Teal
No. Shoveler
No. Pintail
G-W Teal
Ruddy Duck
No. Harrier
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle*
Gambel's Quail*
Am. Coot
Killdeer
Black-Necked Stilt
Least Sandpiper
LB Dowitcher
Ring-Billed Gull
Rock Dove
WW Dove
Mourning Dove
Gr. Roadrunner
Long-Eared Owl*
White-Throated Swift*
Ladder-Backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe*
Loggerhead Shrike
Am. Crow
Cave Swallow (winter colony at Rio Bosque)
Verdin*
Cactus Wren*
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren* (heard before, but never seen)
Bewick's Wren
Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher*
RC Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Am. Robin
No. Mockingbird
Am. Pipit
YR Warbler
Green-Tailed Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Black-Throated Sparrow*
Lark Bunting*
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-Throated Sparrow (a very good bird for the area)
White-Crowned Sparrow
DE Junco
Pyrrhuloxia*
W. Meadowlark
GT Grackle
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
House Sparrow