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.

Canadian Rockies -June 23-27

Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Back from a recent trip to Canada with two legs to the trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary. The first leg of the trip was to the Canadian Rockies with a flight into Calgary and then a drive northwest to Banff NP, Yoho NP and Kootenay NP plus a few other nearby areas. The second leg was a trip to Vancouver Island. I will cover each stop with a separate post. This was my fifth trip to Canada and the longest by a long shot. I briefly visited Quebec back in 1990 and then stopped in British Columbia on a cruise in 2004 (our our honeymoon trip) and then did two cruises to Atlantic Canada (with stops in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) in 2005 and 2008. The trip out to Calgary was a bit of a stressful one. First the airline (WestJet) we were booked on had a looming strike that had the potential to cancel our flight plus I had a very busy shift at work with no sleep at all with high temps and humidity and a fire. Once I got out of work I headed home to do some last minute prep for vacation and then it was onward to Boston to make the flight out. Thunderstorms and possible tornadoes were in the forecast and it was tough to leave Wilson with those possibilities. Nonetheless we headed out and arrived to find our flight was a bit delayed (thankfully the possible airline strike was averted at the last minute). Eventually we got out of Boston an hour plus late and arrived in Calgary later than anticipated...thankfully the flight was smooth. We crashed out and tried to catch up on sleep before we would make the long trip west and north to the national parks in the Rockies  

Wilson's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Townsend's Warbler, Moose Meadows, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Mountains, Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Waterfall, Castle Junction, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Mountain to the north, Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Peyto Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

Dark eyed Junco 'oregon', Yoho NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 24, 2024

We started the drive out of Calgary a bit after 7:30AM and took our first walk in Banff NP around 10AM at Moose Meadows. Before arriving in Banff I added a number of species along the way.  Moose Meadows was an uncrowded hike with some typical western forest birds along the way. Another walk at Castle Junction featured many of the same species. We then stopped off for lunch in a very busy Lake Louise before continuing north along the Icefields Parkway toward Jasper. We gained elevation steadily and by the time we got up to our northernmost stop at Peyto Lake it was actually snow flurrying a bit and there was still snow in the woods. The area was very crowded but we wanted to see the lake so made the relatively short walk out and the view did not disappoint despite the myriad of people around. The stop also provided my first life bird of the trip with a couple of Gray crowned Rosy Finches that flew over.  We then started the long drive toward our lodging in Radium Hot Springs with several stops along the way including Bow Lake, the Hoodoo Trail in Yoho NP plus a few pull offs along the road. By the time we made the drive and got groceries it was after 6:30PM. We got settled in and had a late dinner and then headed off to bed. The first day in Canada produced 36 species…21 new for Canada for me including species #100 for my Canada list with a Cassin’s Vireo. 

Red necked Grebe, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

MacGillivray's Warbler, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Striped Skunk, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

After so much driving on Monday we decided to do less driving on Tuesday and stay somewhat local. I got up before dawn and headed to nearby Sinclair canyon to walk along the creek and had a bunch of birds singing, although the rushing river drowned out the songs at times. I added more species for the trip with some close looks at a few species. I also made a brief stop at a nearby pond and added several more species for the trip including a great close up look at a Red necked Grebe plus other marsh related species. 

Black Bear, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada

Kootenay Valley Viewpoint, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada

Cassin's Vireo, Old Coach Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Vesper Sparrow, Old Coach Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Mountain views from kayak, Columbia Wetlands, Invermere, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

White Common Loon, Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

White Common Loon, Columbia Wetlands, Wilmer, BC, Canada, Jun 25, 2024

I then headed back to the lodging for a short time and headed up in elevation a bit to the south part of Kootenay NP where we stopped at Olive Lake and then an overlook of the Kootenay Valley. To keep travel to a minimum for the day we then came back down the mountain into the valley to take a walk along the Old Coach Trail, where the highlight was a distantly calling Dusky Grouse. We wanted to get some kayaking in for the trip so we headed back to the house to change and then travelled south to Invermere to the Columbia River wetlands where we paddled for about an hour and half. By the time we finished it had warmed up into the 70’s and we had the energy for just one more short walk and we went to an overlook of the large wetland area and had numerous Trumpeter Swans and a group of three Common Loons that included a nearly white individual. I didn’t have my good camera so had to attempt photos with phone through binoculars. A very interesting looking bird for sure. Ended the day with 65 species in total. More photos and videos of the loon at the following eBird link.

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Common Loon with baby, Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

White crowned Sparrow, Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'audubon's', Emerald Lake, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Takakkaw Falls, Yoho NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Tennessee Warbler, Boom Lake, Banff NP, Alberta, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Black Swift, Marble Canyon, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

Pine Siskin, Marble Canyon, Kootenay NP, BC, Canada, Jun 26, 2024

On the 26th we headed out again for some long drives to hit a few more areas in the various parks in the mountains. The first stop would be Emerald Lake in Yoho NP, a spot that was about a two hour drive from our lodging. We left around 5:30 and arrived to find few people and immediately headed out for a walk around the lake. There were many species around the lake including a few Common Loons with one carrying a chick on its back. The lake was indeed impressive with fantastic photo opportunities as the conditions were calm. We ran across very few people until the end of the walk and it was a very relaxing walk. After nearly two hours at Emerald Lake we hit a few other spots in Yoho NP including Takakkaw Falls. Bird activity was fairly low but the views were impressive for sure. We then drove through the upper portion of Banff NP with a stop at Boom Lake before making our way into Kootenay NP as we slowly worked our way back to our lodging. We made stops at Marble Canyon and Numa Falls. These stops produced a few more species for the trip including my first Tennessee Warbler and Black Swifts. We finally arrived back in Radium Hot Springs in mid afternoon. Overall for the day with 48 species. 

Yellow Warbler, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Cedar Waxwings, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Lazuli Bunting, Sinclair Trail, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Low clouds in AM, Saw Mill Pond, Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

American Coot with young, Calgary Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

Swainson's Hawk, Calgary Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jun 27, 2024

On our last day in the Rockies I was out early with the hope I would beat the forecasted rain showers. It was sprinkling a little when I drove down to nearby Saw Mill Pond and it slowly picked up in intensity with a little thunder. The pond was quite productive with a few new species. I waited out the rain for a while and it finally slowed down. I made a few more short stops before headed back to the lodging. Not long after I got back the rain stopped so I headed out again to Saw Mill Pond and the Sinclair Trail. I then headed back to start packing up. At this point the threat of a strike with Westjet came back up again and threatened our flight over to Victoria the following morning. We had to come up with some contingency plans if our flight got canceled and none of the options were good. After some thought we stayed with our plan of heading to the airport and if the flight got canceled we would try to get out on another airline. With the continued prospect of on and off rain for the rest of the day in the forecast we decided to make the three hour drive toward the airport in Calgary where we would be taking a morning flight out on Friday. We wanted to split the drive up a little so we decided on a stop near the town of Banff where we walked the Ferland Trail. Despite the light rain at times the location was quite productive although most everything was heard and not seen. We thought of making another stop but the rain was just too much. We finally made it to Calgary around three and checked in to our hotel for the night. The small pond across from the hotel proved to be a great spot for waterfowl and I had ten species of waterfowl with eight of those being new for the trip. Although the rain was annoying at times and kept me from spending as much time outside as I would have liked the various habitats I did visit throughout the day led to the highest species total for a single day with 83 species. 

By the end of our time in the Rockies I had a total of 108 species with 76 of those being new for me in Canada and two being life birds (Gray crowned Rosy Finch and Dusky Grouse).

Full post on warblers from the trip at the following link: warblers on trip to western Canada

Journey to the eastern part of the state for warblers (and others)

Townsend's Warbler, Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Common Eider, Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Common Eiders, Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

White winged Scoter, Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

After a couple of planned attempts over the last week or two that I had to be cancelled for a variety of reasons I finally made a trip down to the eastern part of the state to catch up with some rare warblers.  My main target was a long staying Townsend's Warbler that has been coming to feeders in a neighborhood in the southeast part of the state (seeing it would add a new warbler species to ones I have seen in the state).  I also wanted to catch up with some other unusual species of warblers I have previously seen on earlier trips with including Yellow throated Warbler and Tennessee Warbler.  I left the house this morning well before dawn to make the roughly two hour drive and arrive near dawn.  I did indeed make it down before dawn and I immediately started looking for the warbler (as well as other unusual species that have been around).  Initially it was too dark, cold and breezy to expect to see the warbler so I checked out some nearby waterfowl including loads of Common Eiders.  Once the sun started coming out in earnest I stayed in the area where the warbler had been previously reported in the backyards of a few houses.  I only had a limited view of a promising looking backyard but after a bit of a wait I got a look (and some distant photos of the bird)...state warbler species #37.  Not long before I saw the warbler I had brief looks at an Ash throated Flycatcher which has also been hanging around the same area.  After looks at the warbler I tried briefly to relocate the flycatcher to get photos but no luck.  I really wanted to get moving to try to catch up with some other warblers so I left that area and headed back west with my next stop being an unproductive stop for a Pine Warbler that has been coming to a feeder in a private yard in Worcester County.  After almost an hour of waiting the bird never showed so I moved on to my next stop looking for the Yellow throated Warbler.

Yellow throated Warbler, Lancaster, MA, Jan 25, 2021

I arrived at the private residence a little before eleven.  I kept scanning the feeders in both the front and back yards from a vantage point that allowed one to see both sets of feeders and was rewarded with decent looks of the bird after about fifteen minutes of waiting.  

Tennessee Warbler, Athol, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Tennessee Warbler, Athol, MA, Jan 25, 2021

My final stop on my morning warbler search was to Athol to see the continued Tennessee Warbler.  Once again this bird was seen right away and provided great looks as it fed constantly at some well stocked feeders.  It is truly amazing to see this species trying to overwinter (so far successfully) this far north.  This bird should be in Central American at this time (as should I!) and it is not a species that is typically found anywhere in the United States in the winter.  Overall for the morning I saw a total of four species of warblers plus some other good stuff.  A thanks to all those who provided information on the Townsend's Warbler and to those who allowed visitors to their yards to check out these unusual warblers.

A much more detailed report from the day in regards to warblers can be found at the following link.