Texas hill county and Big Bend National Park -April 8-10

Golden cheeked Warbler, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

Golden cheeked Warbler, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

Golden cheeked Warbler habitat, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

A week long, whirlwind trip down to Texas and then over to Arizona via New Mexico began with an early morning flight out of Hartford down to Dallas/Fort Worth which meant a wake up call at just after 3AM. The trip was specifically planned to add a number of species of warblers for my big warbler year in the US. The two main targets for the Texas portion of the trip were Golden cheeked Warbler and Colima Warbler. The targets in Arizona (and perhaps New Mexico) included Virginia’s Warbler, Lucy’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler and Red faced Warbler. I also had the chance to turn up a couple of western species that would be just starting to move through including Hermit Warbler and MacGillivray’s Warbler although neither would be critical to miss as I should be able to get them later in the year when we stop in Oregon on our way home from Alaska in July. Besides the target warblers I would be looking for whatever else I may come across and exploring some new areas.  Thankfully the very early flight down to Dallas was on time and after getting through the airport and then a shuttle to the rental car center (no airport should have a shuttle for rental cars and I usually avoid any airports that have them but no choice this time). Eventually I got on the road around 10AM and then made the three and a half hour drive down to the area where I would be spending the night (an Airbnb in Liberty Hill to the northwest of Austin). Before going to the store for supplies and making it to the Airbnb I wanted to try to get some birding in. My main focus for this portion of the trip was Golden cheeked Warbler…an endangered species that only breeds in the area of central Texas. I was last down in the area back in 2017 (link to hill country post and Big Bend NP) and I remember having good luck at the appropriately named Warbler Vista area of Balcones Canyonlands NWR so that is where I headed. Trying to track down birds on a sunny afternoon with temps around 80 usually doesn’t produce much as the birds get much quieter compared to the morning. Nonetheless I managed to get a Golden cheeked Warbler fairly quickly and got a few photos and recordings. I heard a few others singing although trying to get more photos proved to be a fruitless endeavor for me. The only other species of warbler in the area (and the most abundant) were Orange crowned Warbler. I also tried briefly at Doeskin Ranch (another area of the Balcones Canyonland NWR) for additional Golden cheeked Warblers without any luck. By this time it was getting late afternoon and I still needed to drive a bit to get to my lodging so I headed out. 

Laddder backed Woodpecker, South Llano River SP, Junction, TX, Apr 9, 2026

Black capped Vireo, South Llano River SP, Junction, TX, Apr 9, 2026

My first full day in Texas would be filled with even more driving as I made the long trek out to Big Bend NP. The total trip took over six and a half hours…Big Bend is really in the middle of nowhere! I was out the door early and headed for South Llano River SP in Junction, about two hours away to break the trip up a bit. Not long before I arrived I ran into a few light rain showers and I had to deal with a little drizzle once I arrived. I explored the area for about two and a half hours before hitting the road again. Nothing really rare was found during my time there but it was great to get good looks at quite a few birds including Black capped Vireo. Eventually the sun came out as I travelled further west into more desert like habitat. I made it to my lodging in Terlingua in mid afternoon and settled in to prep for the big hike the following day. 

Colima Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Rufous crowned Sparrow, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Spotted Towhee, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Townsend's Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Bushtit, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Chisos Mountains, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Sunrise in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Friday was the day for a long hike at Big Bend NP to try my luck in finding a Colima Warbler. The species nest mainly in Mexico and only comes across the border to the US in the upper elevations of the Chisos Mountains within the park. The species usually starts to arrive around mid April with a few making it in around the date of my arrival. This year there were no reports so far so I was worried I would miss the species. I arrived in Chisos Basin to start my hike in the dark around 5:20AM and picked the steep Pinnacles Trail to get me into the habitat as soon as possible. I had a few Mexican Whip Poor Wills singing as I walked up making it to the pass right at sunrise. I then walked down Boot Canyon toward Boot Spring. As I picked up various species as they started singing I heard a Colima Warbler singing too. I made it down to the area where I could hear it better and started looking for it. I got a few recordings as I waited to catch a glimpse and eventually I got looks and some marginal photos…very happy to have found my main target and add one of the toughest to get species of warblers in the US for three year. After that everything would be much less stressful as missing the species would have ended my chance of seeing all the warblers in the US for the year. I possibly could have tried the following day if I missed it but that would be a tough proposition with having to drive down to the park again, hike up and back down, spend time looking for the warbler and then make the long drive to New Mexico. I had hopes of finding some more Colima Warblers so I continued on to Boot Spring (which was very quiet) and then started my long descent down via the Colima Trail and then Laguna Meadow Trail. I remembered well from my previous trip to the park that although that route is a bit less steep it is much longer in distance. I continued to add species on the way down and eventually ran out of water near the end. The biggest struggle was my right leg which started hurting not long as the trip down started and got worse the further I went. If I stopped to try to rest it it would stiffen up so I just kept pressing on and finally arrived back at the car around a bit after noon time. I had thoughts of making another few stops but my leg was hurting too much and I was done with walking after 10 plus miles with all of it on mountain trails with no flat areas. A full list from my time in Chisos Basin can be found at the following link: Big Bend trip report.

Total species for the Texas portion of the trip came to 78 species with nine of those species new for me in the state bringing my Texas state total to 279.  Full trip list from Texas at the following link.

More detailed info on warblers for the Texas portion of the trip can be found here: Texas warblers.

Brief trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas

Black bellied Whistling Ducks, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 18, 2026

I just finished up a short trip down to the far south end of Texas to the lower Rio Grande Valley.  I left early on the 18th and arrived into Harlingen in the middle of the afternoon, picked up my rental and then headed to my Airbnb in “beautiful”  Brownsville.  I had made previous trips down to the lower Rio Grande Valley in 2007, 2009 and 2011 (all between late October and early December) so it has been awhile since I have visited the area.  It has noticeable been built up since my previous trips down there.  My main goals for the short trip included finding my first Tropical Parula in the US (I have seen the species at many locations in the tropics but not in the US), locating a Mangrove Yellow Warbler, perhaps finding a Sprague’s Pipits overwintering in one of the vast farm fields and just adding some new species for the year.  The weather was hot and windy when I arrived and despite the conditions I tried my luck at the University Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) campus late in the afternoon after dropping my stuff off at the Airbnb.    It was just way too windy to see much of anything and I gave up after a bit.  

Tropical Parula, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Northern Parula, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

American Redstart, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Little Blue Heron, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Black crested Titmouse, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Mangrove Yellow Warbler, Queen Isabella Causeway east, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Brown Pelican, Queen Isabella Causeway east, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Marbled Godwits and Willet, Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Reddish Egret with leg bands, Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Laughing Gulls, Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Long billed Curlew, Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Black necked Stilt, Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Black Skimmer with leg bands (M45), Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Black Skimmer with leg bands (A45), Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

Black Skimmer with leg bands (U32), Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, TX, Feb 19, 2026

On Thursday the 19th I was out before dawn and headed back down to the UTRGV campus.  The wind was still strong before the sun came up and continued for my entire time there.  Once it brightened a bit I started getting some passerines.  Over the course of about two and half hours I found a number of rarities among the fifty plus species including a Tennessee Warbler, American Redstart, Tropical Parula and a hybrid Tropical Parula x Northern Parula.  The small area was really great for warblers with a dozen species and I can only imagine how much better it would be when there is no wind.  With my target Tropical Parula seen I decided to make the 45 minute drive out to South Padre Island and try my luck in finding a Mangrove Yellow Warbler.  Once again I had some great tips from Aidan on where to try for the bird (always nice to be able to pick the brain of a local birder and with Aidan spending the winter in south Texas he was the perfect person to ask).  Once I crossed over the causeway to the island I quickly found multiple Mangrove Yellow Warblers and got some photos of this recently split species.  At this point it was around 10:30 and seeing I was already on the island I stayed there and drove a bit further north to check out the boardwalk and mudflats near the convention center.  The boardwalk was slow for birds (due to the wind and nearby construction) but the mudflats were very busy and I had lots of different shorebirds, waders, gulls and terns (and others).  Although having a spotting scope would have been great, many species were in fairly close and allowed extended observation.  As I scanned through the birds I noticed first one, then two and eventually three Black Skimmers with colored leg bands.  After waiting for them to move a little to be able to read the unique numbers on the bands and reported them to the bird banding lab.  I also had a color banded Reddish Egret that I also reported.  Once I hear back from the lab I will update the details on each banded bird.  By early afternoon I worked my way back to my Airbnb.  I thought about possibly going back to the UTRGV campus to try to get photos of the Tropical Parula but honestly I did not relish dealing with the absolutely shitty roads of Brownsville.  The roads in Brownsville were a mess with poor conditions and signage and reminded me more of driving in a third world country than the US.  By the end of the day I topped just over ninety species with many new for the year for me.

Crested Caracara, Estero Llano Grande SP, Westlaco, TX, Feb 20, 2026

Mexican Ducks, Estero Llano Grande SP, Westlaco, TX, Feb 20, 2026

White eyed Vireo, Estero Llano Grande SP, Westlaco, TX, Feb 20, 2026

White winged Doves, Estero Llano Grande SP, Westlaco, TX, Feb 20, 2026

View toward Mexico, Santa Anna NWR, TX, Feb 20, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 20, 2026

Tennessee Warbler, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 20, 2026

Long billed Thrasher, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 20, 2026

Ladder backed Woodpecker, UTRGV, Brownsville, TX, Feb 20, 2026

For my last full day in Texas on Friday I headed west to visit a few spots away from Brownsville and was out the door before dawn to drive to Estero Llano Grande SP.  On my way I was able to find an American Barn Owl hunting some fields.  I arrived at the park a bit before sunrise and spent about three hours exploring the area.  I remember the park being very productive and it was indeed productive with nearly sixty species.  I added several new species for the year plus better looks at a few species.  It was mainly overcast with less wind than previous days, which made it quite comfortable (although mosquitoes then became more of a problem).  Once the sun broke through the temps rose quickly to around 90 and the breeze picked up once again.  I had a few choices of places to spend the rest of the morning and since I was already out in the area I drove another twenty minutes west to Santa Anna NWR.  The area was quite quiet during my time there and I’m sure the high temps and the fact it was almost ten played a big part in that.  As I left the refuge and started my drive back to Brownsville I made a detour to check some sod fields to try to find a Sprague’s Pipit and I was able to find at least one thus adding a new species for me and it became species #2187.  After a late lunch I decided on trying my luck once again back at the UTRGV campus to try to get better photos of the Tropical Parula.  I spent over three hours exploring the area through the afternoon without ever seeing the parula.  All was not lost as it was actually fairly active despite the heat and wind and I ended up with 55 species, including a couple unusual warblers.  Late in the afternoon I headed back for a refreshing shower and to pack up for my trip to Arizona.  Total species for the day came to 92 (matching the high temp for the day).

Great Kiskadee, Hugh Ramsey Park, Harlingen, TX, Feb 21, 2026

Plain Chachalaca, Hugh Ramsey Park, Harlingen, TX, Feb 21, 2026

Olive Sparrow, Hugh Ramsey Park, Harlingen, TX, Feb 21, 2026

Ringed Kingfisher, Hugh Ramsey Park, Harlingen, TX, Feb 21, 2026

Peccary, Hugh Ramsey Park, Harlingen, TX, Feb 21, 2026

I had a late morning flight out to Dallas and then onto Tucson to continue my vacation.  With a few hours available before needed to get to the airport I decided on birding Hugh Ramsey Park in Harlingen.  I was on the road early once again and arrived there before dawn.  I walked the various trails there for almost three hours before making my way to the airport.

Although it was a short trip I thankfully found all my major targets.  Overall I found a total of 140 species with a dozen new for me in Texas and one life species (Sprague’s Pipit).  My Texas list expanded to 270 species.  More photos and details on the warblers from the trip at the following link: Texas warblers.  Full trip report at the following link: Texas trip report.