We drove from New Jersey to Texas, beginning birding at Aransas NWR on Sunday the 16th. We took one of the boat trips (link) to see the Whooping Cranes. The trip was $35/person and seemed to be worth it. We then drove down and camped at Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park (link) which was $15/night for tent camping. This is located to the north of the entrance to Laguna Atascosa NWR (link). We birded Laguna Atascosa on Monday the 17th, and then drove to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park (link) where we camped for three nights. The camping here was expensive, because they charge not only for the camping ($18/night) but also a daily entrance fee ($5/person), which means it cost the three of us a total of $99 to camp for three nights. I would think they could waive the entrance fee for those camping, or at least reduce it. We birded around Bentsen and visited Santa Ana NWR (link) and Estero Llano Grande State Park (link) during those three days. After this, it was time for Ai to leave us (she flew back to NJ as she had work to do), and Kenneth and I continued birding, driving toward Big Bend National Park and stopping at Salineņo, Falcon State Park (link), and the San Ygnacio Seedeater Park. We arrived at Big Bend (link) on Friday the 21st and backpacked for two nights in the Chisos Mountains. The entrance fee to Big Bend is $20 and a backcountry permit, good for 7 days I think, was $10. We left the park in the afternoon of Sunday the 23rd, and began the long drive back to New Jersey.
My total trip list for the state of Texas was 172 species (full species list at the end of the page). The species list would have been a little higher, but we were hampered by wind during the first three days (a consistent very strong east wind). Highlights included:
.......
Aransas NWR:
.......Whooping Crane
.......Roseate Spoonbill
.......White-tailed Hawk
.......
Laguna Atascosa NWR:
.......Buff-bellied Hummingbird
.......American Alligator
.......
Multiple places in the valley:
.......Green Jay
.......Great Kiskadee
.......Plain Chachalaca
.......Altamira Oriole
.......White-tailed Kite
.......Harris's Hawk
.......White-tipped Dove
.......Long-billed Thrasher
.......
Bentsen:
.......Elf Owl
.......Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
.......Gray Hawk
.......Armadillo
.......Collared Peccary
.......Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle
.......
Estero Llano Grande State Park:
.......Green Kingfisher
.......Diamondback Water Snake
.......
Salineņo:
.......Audubon's Oriole
.......Clay-colored Robin
.......Cinnamon Teal
.......
Big Bend:
.......Zone-tailed Hawk
.......Painted Redstart
.......Lark Bunting
.......Mexican Jay
.......Canyon Wren
Overall, it was a very successful trip. Following are a few scenery and bird pictures from the trip. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at blakemathys@hotmail.com.
Green Kingfisher
Whooping Crane
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Couch's Kingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Alligator
Ai looking for birds at Laguna Atascosa
Kenneth scoping for birds
Blake backpacking in Big Bend
Diamondback Water Snakes at Estero Llano Grande State Park
Big Bend
Big Bend
Big Bend
Big Bend
Big Bend
White-tailed Hawk
Green Kingfisher
Audubon's Oriole
Whooping Crane
Couch's Kingbird
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Black-chinned Sparrow
Elf Owl
Lark Bunting
Common Loon
Eared Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
Anhinga
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Wood Duck
Mallard
Mottled Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Green-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Lesser Scaup
Ring-necked Duck
Redhead
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Reddish Egret
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Harris's Hawk
Gray Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Plain Chachalaca
Northern Bobwhite
Clapper Rail
American Coot
Common Moorhen
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
American Oystercatcher
American Avocet
Black-necked Stilt
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Ruddy Turnstone
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Laughing Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Skimmer
Mourning Dove
White-winged Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Inca Dove
White-tipped Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Pauraque
White-throated Swift
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Great Kiskadee
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
Hutton's Vireo
Mexican Jay
Green Jay
Common Raven
Chihuahuan Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Black-crested Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Bewick's Wren
Cactus Wren
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Townsend's Solitaire
Hermit Thrush
Clay-colored Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Long-billed Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Painted Redstart
Pyrrhuloxia
Northern Cardinal
Spotted Towhee
Canyon Towhee
Olive Sparrow
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bronzed Cowbird
Altamira Oriole
Cassin's Finch
Least Grebe
Common Goldeneye
Verdin
.......
Nine-banded Armadillo
Mexican Ground Squirrel
Eastern Fox Squirrel
"Carmen Mountain" White-tailed Deer
Collared Peccary
Coyote
Raccoon
Bottlenose Dolphin
.......
Diamondback Water Snake
Texas Spiny Softshell
Red-eared Slider
American Alligator
Green Tree Frog