Birding the Border, Del Rio, Texas

Day 0—Friday, April 19—Stillwater, Oklahoma

The day before lift-off I visited my doctor and got a shot in my knee, which, despite physical therapy after my hip replacement, was still giving me grief.

The night before lift-off, I packed my “jungle” pants, tees, rain gear etc. The next morning I filled my coffee mug and water bottle and loaded the cooler with horseradish cheese; small red, yellow and orange peppers; hummus; and apples and pears. I also stuffed sister-in-law Lois’s birdseed dry bag with oatmeal packets/nuts/raisins, crackers, pretzels, and two tall cans of vegetable beef soup for my evening meals on the two nights we would spend before our Birding the Border event, as well as a jar of peanut butter, a cutting board, a knife, and other utensils. Our birding the Border event was to headquarter in a Ramada Inn in Del Rio, Texas, which is located nine hours southwest of Stillwater on the east side of the Rio Grande, the river that serves as the border between Mexico and the US. Deb and I decided to bird our way to Del Rio.

Day 1A— Saturday, april 20—Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, OK; Wichita Falls TX Comfort Inn

At 7:00 am, I picked up Deb and then drove three hours to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma, first stopping at Sprouts to get some “vittles” for snacks and meals in our pre- and post-event motel rooms. Deb loaded up on cashews and a pound of cheese in quarter-pound packages. I added some mandarin oranges and a small loaf of raisin bread to what I’d already packed.

It was after 10:20 when we got to the Reserve. We were in search of the black-capped vireo a once near extinct species that was staging a comeback with the help of Audubon and other wildlife groups. Deb checked e-bird and found that black-capped vireos had been sighted west of the dam at Quanah Parker Lake, so we made this location our first stop. We parked and just as we were getting out of the car a large group of motorcyclists roared in. Nonetheless, we had barely walked across the dam and 100 feet of trail before I heard and then saw a black-capped vireo. These birds have very distinctive eyes as you can see in the Internet photo above. Deb has a mantra: “I want it. I need it.” Deb got the photo she wanted and needed. On this trip her mantra worked quite well because she managed photos of several other of her “wants” also.

Around noon the birds retired for siesta so Deb and I drove to the Meers Store & Restaurant, a ramshackle, run-down place famous for its “Meersburgers,” burgers and buns the size of the pie tin that they are served in. I was familiar with this restaurant and the refuge having camped and cycled through it on many tee shirt bicycle rides.

I had a mere Meersburger but Deb had the Seismic burger, a Meersburger topped with jalapeno peppers, bacon, cheese, sweet relish, mustard, dill pickles, tomatoes, purple onions, and leaf lettuce. I also ordered fried green tomatoes and lemonade. Deb had water. Both beverages were served in quart mason jars. I left most of the bun behind, and left with a take-out box of fried green tomatoes.

Here is a review: This is one of those Oklahoma staples that everyone has to try at least once. Don't expect much from the decor...it really is just an old shack with Rt 66 style, mix matched plates, plastic tablecloths, and t-shirt'ed wait staff. But that's what makes it great! My pro tip is to get the SeismicBurger and split it. You get more burger for your buck because you get all the extra toppings! The fries are a la McDonalds which everybody loves, duh. And they're also really well-known for their dessert...go for a cobbler, add a scoop of ice cream, and be prepared to share it with at least 4 people!

After lunch we re-entered the Refuge, birded some more but got no more “wants”; took some pix of the longhorns, bison, and prairie dogs (the large elk herd was nowhere to be seen); stopped at the Refuge Headquarters where I bought an olive green tee for birding; skipped climbing Mount Scott, at 2464 feet the highest peak in the Refuge; and headed for our Comfort Inn in Wichita Falls, Texas, about 80 miles southeast of the Refuge.

At the Comfort Inn, I opened one of my big cans of soup (after getting a paper bowl from the Inn’s breakfast room), and had to split the can into two bowls for heating in the microwave. Both of the two small bowls were very full so I had to handle them carefully to avoid spilling the soup. Before the second bowl was empty I was full, so took the bowl into the bathroom to flush the rest of the soup down the toilet. Instead, I tripped over an uneven tile and threw the soup all over the closed toilet, the floor, the wall, the shower curtain, and bath mat! It took me nearly half an hour to clean up the mess. I had to remove the shower curtain and reverse it to scrub it clean. Thank goodness the shower curtain was thin. By the time I had re-hooked it, it was beginning to dry. After our Birding the Border event, before we started home, I stopped at a Dollar Store and bought a glass bowl large enough to hold the other large can of soup.

DAY 2A—APRIL 19, EASTER SUNDAY—MARBLE FALLS, TX; INKS LAKE STATE PARK, JOHNSON PARK; BALCONES CANYONLANDS NATIONAL WR; QUALITY INN
The roadsides in southern Oklahoma and in Texas were afire with wildflowers: yellow and red Indian blanket, red Indian paintbrush, yellow coreopsis, some with maroon centers, all yellow coreopsis (tickseed), Texas bluebonnets of varying blues, plains verbena, Texas winecup, pink and yellow primrose, and more.

In Burnet we hung a right and drove twelve miles to Inks Lake State Park. Here we each paid a $10 entry fee and were given the choice of hiking two miles to the bird blind or driving to its gate. We chose the latter and were given the gate code. There were feeders and a drip water feature before the blind.

At the Inks Lake feeders we saw primarily  lesser goldfinch and  black-chinned hummingbirds (below). There were also several large butterflies that I failed to identify. Also at the blind we met a British couple who were going to bird High Island, Texas, next. I did not have the heart to tell them that they were probably going arrive too late for the migration fallout. We had heard from others that radar placed the most migrants streaming through Florida and up the east coast.

When we got to the Comfort Inn, we were too tired for more birding, but the next morning we drove to Marble Falls’ Johnson Park on the Colorado River. Apparently the river had flooded in the recent past because heavy equipment was working in one area, and the cliffs across the river had washed away, a house hanging off the top edge.
 

We had been here before on our first Texas birding trip to Padre Island. At that time Deb got a good “want”: an immature great horned owl peering from a hole in a park tree (below). This time I got cell phone pix of Egyptian geese with their goslings and of Muscovy ducks with their ducklings (above).

Guess you can tell the difference between
the photos I take with my cell and Deb's high res pix

The park was filled with the debris of Easter cascarones (confetti filled eggs). Colorful pieces of eggshell and confetti littered the ground. As we arrived, a truck piled with black plastic garbage bags of litter was leaving. I do not know what else was left behind but it attracted scores of black vultures that walked around pecking at each other and scavenging who knows what.

We also saw a Muscovy duck with “angel wing.” Deb explained that birds get these malformed wings when fed bread, popcorn or other human foods high in carbohydrates and sugars. The young birds grow faster than their wing bones can develop. Angel wing syndrome affects primarily aquatic birds, such as geese and ducks, in which the last joint of the wing is twisted with the wing feathers pointing out laterally, instead of lying against the body. The birds cannot fly.

After birding in the park, we traveled to Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge has been identified internationally as an IBD (Important Bird Area) an official designation indicating its unique importance to birds, specifically the golden-cheeked warbler and back-capped vireo. The rare and endangered golden-cheeked warbler nests only in the juniper-oak woodlands of central Texas, nowhere else in the world.

“Not so long ago the black-capped vireo nearly went extinct. Goats ate their way through this songbird’s habitat and brown-headed cowbirds commandeered their nests. In the late 1980s there were only about 350 birds known to exist, leading to its listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There are now more than 14,000 birds estimated across the vireo’s breeding range of Oklahoma, Texas, and Mexico.” (Internet)

We had been to Balcones Canyonlands NWR on one of our previous birding trips to Texas. On this return visit, however, it was hot, and though I had taken four Ibuprofen, my knee was still bothering me so we walked only the half-mile Creek Trail and saw few birds. At the end of the trail I sat on a rock and put my tired tootsies in the cool, crystal water of Cow Creek. The creek’s bottom looked like sand (right) but was solid limestone.

Leaving Balcones, we left Marble Falls for the 250-mile drive to Del Rio and the “Birding the Border” group. We had each paid $750 for this event, the fee covering bird & wildlife guides, our room at the Ramada Inn, all meals and transportation. It was money well spent. This group, led by Emily Grant, Val Verde County Extension Agent, was super organized.

The group turned out to be all female; guide Terry Hibbitts the only male. Some of the women on the tour were Texas Master Naturalists. Most were from Texas but two of the women were from Wisconsin. We were transported to our birding areas and ranches in a Ford fifteen-person van and an Expedition Max. Emily drove a pickup with a trailer attached. The trailer contained the accouterments needed for our al fresco meals (tables, folding chairs, tablecloths, utensils, cloth napkins, flatware, trenchers and porcelain plates, glasses) The food and beverages were brought to each of our birding sites by Donna, our caterer, in a 4WD pickup. How our van and the rest of the vehicles got up and down and over some of the “roads” we were on is a mystery to me. We were driven through water, over creek beds, over large stony areas, up and down hills with barely any track, through mud, etc. All part of the excitement.

Let me take a moment to tell about our exotic sightings. Several ranches in Texas keep exotic animals for trophy hunting. For example, the 18,000-acre Ox Ranch “is legendary for its Native & Exotic hunting” with over sixty exotic species available for hunt! One of the native animals is the white-tailed deer but another “native,” the large, spotted chital, or axis deer, was introduced in Texas in the1930s, and now competes with the white-tailed deer.

On our drive from Marble Falls to Del Rio, we came upon a group of blackbuck antelope. On the way home we stopped to photograph a group of Arabian oryx. A couple of years ago when birding coastal Anahuac, we encountered ngali, a large Indian deer that has escaped from trophy farms and is now proliferating in Texas. One can also hunt for aoudad, another Texas invasive species. During World War II, American soldiers stationed in northern Africa discovered aoudad and realized their potential as a game animal. After the war (late 40s and early 50s), these soldiers had some animals shipped to ranches in Texas. The animals escaped and have successfully reproduced. It has been estimated that the Aoudad population in Texas has grown 1,800% since 1963. Actual numbers across Texas are not known but have been speculated to be 25,000+ animals. Another invasive is the feral hog. Deb and I have seen many of them in refuges along the gulf, and we also saw feral hogs—and the damage they do—on this outing in western Texas.

Yes, trophy hunters no longer need to go to Africa, India or the Near East for trophy heads to hang on their walls. But shouldn’t there be an import quota or ban as Texas (and Oklahoma) is now battling several species of exotics? I don’t know how the trophy ranches work, but it is obvious to me that all sixty-plus Ox Ranch exotic species cannot roam together, even on an area of 28-plus square miles, so the ranchers must fence some—such as the blackbuck antelope and oryx we saw—but import other species on demand. I’m conflicted. On the one hand I hope the imported animals are free-range and thus have some chance of escaping the hunters. On the other hand, I hope they are carefully fenced so as not to become invasive species competitive with native species.

Day 1—Mon 22 Apr 2019
Pecos River Overlook, US90, Val Verde Co. Tx
We checked into the Del Rio Ramada where we registered and were given a coupon for breakfast and one for a free drink at the bar. Deb and I went to the bar, but since neither of us drinks, I had an alcohol-free Bloody Mary and Deb had an alcohol-free Piña Colada. .

At 5:30 we were driven to an overlook on the Pecos River. Here we 17 birders were introduced to Dr. Maureen Frank, assistant professor and extension wildlife specialist for Texas AgriLife’s Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department, and to Val Verde County AgriLife Extension Agent Emily Grant. We were welcomed by Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens and fed a dinner of hot chicken with fruit salsa, a carrot and rice mixture, dinner rolls/butter, chocolate cake and our choice of cold drinks. This was the first of fantastic, hot, al fresco meals served by Donna, our caterer.

We sat at long tables high above the river. Each table, as would be the standard throughout the trip, had a centerpiece, a tablecloth, stainless flatware and real china and glassware. On each of our chairs was a goodie bag containing a AgriLife tee, a nice metal water bottle, and Ecological Solutions Native American Seed Catalog.

19 species; Favs: Rock & canyon wrens, hooded oriole; dozens of black and turkey vultures roosting under bridge.

Day 2—Tue 23 Apr 2019
Morning at Dobbs Run Ranch
It was threatening rain when we left the Ramada the following morning at 6:30 am. We were driven to Dobbs Run Ranch, owned by Ernest and Paula Smith and their son Carter. The ranch spans approximately 5000 acres, bisected by the West Nueces River. Unique features of the ranch include paper shell pinon pine, several springs, and prehistoric Native American middens.

Three endangered species are found at Dobbs Run Ranch, two bird and one plant. Golden-cheeked Warblers (endangered) and black-capped vireos (recently delisted) both breed at Dobbs Run, and the Smiths have opened their gates to university graduate students who research these and other species. The ranch is also home to the endangered Tobusch fishhook cactus and Texas snowbell

The Smiths graciously opened their ranch house to those who needed to use the facilities and then, despite the light rain, we were loaded into ATVs and off we went. Paula drove our ATV in the lead with naturalist guide Terry beside her, Deb and I inside under the roof, and the two women from Wisconsin, Sue and Anita, seated unsheltered up top.

43 species; Favs:  Vermilion & Ash-throated flycatchers; Olive, Clay-colored, Rufous-crowned sparrows; Blue grosbeak

It was along the Nueces River that we came upon a feral sow and her three black piglets. These animals are large and can be dangerous but all four raced away and were not seen again.

The ATV ride was an adventure in itself. Sometimes we ascended or descended such steep, uneven terrain that Sue and Anita had to get down and walk. But, Paula was an expert driver and we had Terry in the front to identify all of our “what is it?” questions. Terry knew his birds but he also knew his plants and was a herp and dragonfly guy so we got to know frogs, toads, dragonflies and damselflies also. We saw no snakes on this trip, to Terry’s disappointment. We found a Texas toad along the trail and later at the Bader Ranch we also found a red-spotted toad and a spadefoot toad as well as goldenball lead trees and a horse-crippler cactus (below).

We had a hot lunch of spaghetti, tossed salad, garlic bread, and home baked chocolate chips or brownies with the usual table settings and drinks. While eating we listened to a presentation titled, “A Working Lands Success Story? Black-capped Vireos in Southwest Texas,” given by Dr. Kathryn Smith-Hicks of the Natural Resources Institute.

Day 2—April 23, Afternoon and Evening
Kickapoo Caverns State Park

After lunch we were driven to Kickapoo Caverns State Park. Formerly the Seargeant Ranch, Kickapoo Cavern SP consists of about 6,300 acres. The park was purchased from Tommy Seargeant in 1986, opened with limited access in 1991 and full access in 2010.

There are 20 known caves in the park, one of which hosts approximately one million Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bats. The park also hosts about 240 species of birds each year. At KCSP we walked several trails, one group walking nearly four miles with Terry in search of the golden-cheeked warbler, which went unseen at this spot.

We also spent some time in the park’s bird blind and Deb photographed a live nine-banded armadillo. I had spotted it nosing around a picnic area while Deb was on the miles-long hike. She was delighted to get a shot of her first live armadillo. (In Oklahoma most armadillo sightings are of roadkill, though anytime anyone wants to see a live one I will hand out flashlights and directions to my lawn at night. Also, last year I saw two baby armadillos crossing our lane. They looked just like the adults but shinier and smaller.)

After a delicious hot dinner of stuffed pork tenderloin, potato casserole, green beans and a cherry crumble desert, served again formally on tables in the shade, Terry tracked down an elf owl and we all had good looks at this tiny owl that feasts on insects. In fact, Deb and I thought that the group was harassing the owl because they spot-lighted it and stayed on it for a long time. Deb and I had seen our first elf owl just last April in Southeast Arizona’s Madera Canyon. It and its relatives had lived in a telephone pole there for over nine years we were told.

41 species; Favs: Elf owl; Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay; White-eyed, Black-capped, Bell’s, Hutton’s, and Blue-headed vireos; Varied and Painted buntings

When it was nearly dark, we drove to a cave to watch the bats leave the cave on their nightly hunt. I had watched this species leave caves near the Oklahoma panhandle’s Alabaster caverns and also on Sue Selman’s ranch where we hold the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Festival, but Deb had never witnessed this event and was nearly struck dumb. It is mind boggling.

We walked up a series of steps and found ourselves on a paved area close to and above the cave mouth. There was a man there who supervised visitors at the exit each night and while waiting he explained what was about to happen. Suddenly the bats exited the cave, looped north and continued on, streams and streams of them. A red-tailed hawk repeatedly flew into the bat stream and grabbed a meal (below).

The guide told us that it takes four hours for all of the bats to exit the cave. After they had been streaming out for awhile, he stepped toward the mouth of the cave and caught a bat to show us, but this bat was feisty and uncooperative, so he let it go and caught another more docile one, which he allowed all to pet and see the little guy close up. Bats are the only flying mammal.That’s Deb in the camouflage hat and me with my sunglasses atop my head and pink cheeks. Below: "Batman showing us the bat he had caught.

As we were leaving the bat cave, Terry heard a barking frog beneath the platform (below). I was not fast enough with my camera or I could have captured a photo of Terry flat on his face peering through the slats in the platform and inviting anyone interested to join him.

 Day 3—Wed 24 Apr 2019 

Morning in San Felipe Creek, Lions Park, Del Rio
This morning we birded San Filipe Creek in Lion’s Park. We walked a trail along the creek and also a meadow. The creek was an interesting blue color—undoubtedly caused by pollution. Several of the houses along it on the other side were large and elaborate, one having a pipe that was draining water into the creek. That’s an orange tree in the yard of the house to the right.

27 species; Favs: Spotted sandpiper, Yellow-crowned night heron, Ringed & Green kingfishers

Day 3—Late morning
Bader Ranch

After birding in Del Rio, we drove to the Bader Ranch, owned by Jim and Kathy Bader. Five generations have lived on the Bader Ranch in Kinney County raising cattle, angora goats, and sheep. The original house, built in the 1900s still stands on the property. Other activities on the land include dry land farming and the creation of wildlife habitat. Recently a small orchard was added, along with Kathy’s bird and wildlife garden. The garden’s feeders, water features, and bird boxes attract over 50 species just during spring migration.

On arrival, we piled onto a trailer on which were arranged hay bale seats and were driven on a big loop around the ranch property. On the way
to the Bader Ranch it clouded over and by the time we boarded the trailer it was raining, but we all pulled up our raincoat hoods and tried to ignore it (right).

On this ride we saw three jackrabbits chasing each other. They are huge and comical to watch. Their ears are so full of blood vessels that they look pink on the insides. The rabbit's large ears are their air conditioners and so veined to circulate blood and keep them cool in the deserty climes in which they live.


After the ride, Jim cooked hamburgers in the outdoor kitchen, and we lunched on these hamburgers with all the "fixings," strawberry spinach salad, and lemon bars for desert. After this feast we all sat sated and sleepy to listen to a program on “Beef, Birds and Butterflies: Sustainable Coexistence in an Agroecosystem.”

At the Bader ranch we saw 54 bird species, and Deb managed to get a photo of one of her "wants," a grasshopper sparrow.

54 species; Favs: Black-bellied whistling duck (1),Golden-fronted woodpecker (2), Crested caracara (3); Grasshopper sparrow [one of Deb’s “wants” and “gots”] (4), Lark bunting (5), as well as Bullock’s (6), Hooded (7), & Orchard (8) orioles

Day 3—Afternoon
Dos Palmas Ranch, Las Moras Creek

On arrival at the Dos Palmas Ranch, we were introduced to ranch owners John and Diane Brenan. The two had bought the 64-acre property in 2002 to build a beautiful home for retirement and to create a family retreat. Diane has particular ties to the property as her mother grew up on a ranch that borders the property and has two palm trees to remind her of her home in Corpus Christi—thus she named the ranch Dos Palmas.

The beautiful Las Moras Creek runs through the property and the Brenans have cleared non-native trees and shrubs to provide great habitat for wildlife. Over a mile of paths were created throughout the property to provide easy access to view all forms of wildlife. We birded these paths and along the river, seeing several axis deer—one with large antlers—in addition to thirty-two bird species.

After walking the trails, we gathered in the side yard, pulled up some folding chairs, cooled off, and did a little chair birding and feeder watching before dinner.

32 species; Favs: Two great horned owls (1), Black phoebe 2), Couch’s kingbird (3), Louisiana waterthrush (4); Yellow-throated warbler (5), Eastern wood-pewee (6), Summer tanager (7)

It was muddy after the day’s rain, so we were asked to remove our shoes and boots before entering the ranch. Dinner was served on the ranch’s large, tiled screen porch. In a corner of the porch the Brenans had a hot tub, which they said they used every morning before breakfast. Near our table, a fireplace burned merrily. After eating our delicious dinner of fajitas, rice, beans, and salad, we toasted marshmallows over the fire and made s’mores with Ghirardelli dark or light chocolate squares and graham crackers.

Day 4—Thu 25 Apr 2019
Morning: Nature Conservancy Dolan Falls Preserve

This morning we left early after being handed our breakfast tortillas to eat in the vans. We had a nearly two-hour trip to Dolan Falls Preserve. The preserve is not open to the public, but the Nature Conservancy gave us special permission to spend the morning birding this beautiful river area.

Here is how the Nature Conservancy describes this tract: “On the arid western border of the Texas Hill Country, halfway between Del Rio and Sonora in Val Verde County, lies one of the jewels of The Nature Conservancy: Dolan Falls Preserve. The preserve consists of 4,788 acres and is bolstered by an additional 129,521 acres that is either owned in fee or under Conservancy conservation easements along the Devils River. It is located at the intersection of three biological regions: the Edwards Plateau, Chihuahuan Desert and Rio Grande Plain brushland. This combination of terrain creates a landscape of outstanding beauty and diversity supported by the pristine waters of Dolan Springs, Dolan Creek and the Devils River.”

We spent a full but hot morning birding along the river, and enjoyed another delicious hot lunch there at a table on the flatish limestone rocks and tucked into the scant shade of the bank (below). Think I downed two bottles of “sweet” Tea.

19 species; Favs: White-eyed and Yellow-throated vireos; Blue-gray gnatcatcher; Northern rough-winged swallow

Day 4 Afternoon
Devil’s River State Natural Area

After lunch we were driven a few miles to the Devils River State Natural Area. Here our guides

stretched a rope across the river and we all waded across the river (about 50 feet) in knee deep water, all except Deb, who was afraid of getting her camera wet so rode across when Nora forded the river in her pickup. The bottom was limestone (as is everything in this area) and quite flat, though the current was strong. I rolled my pant legs up for the crossing but sloshed across with them down on the re-cross. They were dry before I walked the short distance to our transport.

I was particularly careful. I was wearing my Teva sandals—without the new $425 inserts—my knee was still acting up, and I did not want to fall on either of my hips, but particularly the one just replaced. In this day and age I think that if L. Frank Baum were alive he’d create a scarecrow who needed hip, shoulder, and/or knee replacement as well as a shiny new super sharp brain. I wouldn’t have minded falling into the water, however, because this day the heat was getting to me. It was fortunate that our first days were overcast.

After fording the beautiful and clear Devils River, we climbed up a rocky trail to a group of large, dark- green cabins. Here there was a restroom and a lookout, though the trees prevented much of a view of the river. We then walked a short piece of trail and descended giant steps, some nearly three feet tall. Emily and Maureen helped me down by taking my bins and walking stick etc. With my long legs, I could generally hold the rail and stretch to each step, remembering the hip precaution: down with the bad; up with the good. Soon hope to be able to walk stairs normally.

When we reached the river we were again on flatish limestone and close to Dolan’s Falls. It was time to suspend the birding for a bit and play in the water. Nora was the first to dive from the rocks into the deep, clear water below the falls. Emily and Liz followed after a lot of self-encouragement. None of the birding group jumped in, tho I would have liked to. Deb found a black phoebe to photograph. These birds eat the normal insects but also supplement their diets with small fish. The bird flew from rock to rock above the falls.

After an afternoon at the falls, we climbed the tall steps, re-crossed the river, and headed for the Val Verde Winery in Del Rio, for a wonderful closing meal of beef tenderloin with asparagus, double baked potatoes, salad, rolls, and delicious pecan crepes for desert. We were seated at tables on the winery’s back lawn before the vineyard—and, unfortunately for me, mostly in the sun. I tried to ignore the heat as we were introduced to the vintner and his family. The winery had been in the family since its inception in 1883 and is the oldest winery in Texas. Emily Grant, our tour guide/organizer, was like a family member. Members of the family brought out and explained each bottle of wine before pouring us a taste. I liked the rosé and port best but all had a distinct and delicious flavor. This was our last dinner together but not our last day as we had birding planned for the following morning.

Day 5—Friday morning 26 Apr 2019
Amistad National Recreation Area Below Amistad Reservoir Dam

Wikipedia: "Amistad Dam (Spanish: Presa la Amistad) is a major embankment dam across the Rio Grande between  the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahuila. Built to provide irrigation water storage, flood control and hydropower generation, it is the largest dam along the international boundary reach of the Rio Grande. The dam, over six miles long, lies mostly on the Mexican side of the border, and forms the Amistad Reservoir. It supplies water for irrigation in the Rio Grande Valley, 574 miles upstream of the Rio Grande's mouth on the Gulf of Mexico."

On the final day of the tour, the group headed to an area of National Park Service land along the Rio Grande below Amistad Dam. The area is usually closed to the public but we birded it escorted by a National Park ranger. We birded for quite a distance between cliffs and the Rio Grande with Mexico just across the river.

There was a whitetail doe caught between the steep dam sides and the barbed wire-topped tall fences that secured the dam. We passed her on the way in and she frantically ran back and forth behind the fence looking for a way out. There was no way out. When we exited, she again ran back and forth. After lunch, I talked to Karen who promised to call the dam administration to see if they would open a gate to let the deer escape her prison.

Oddly I do not have Terry’s e-bird sightings for this morning. On our cliff-side walk we saw many cliff swallows building their nests and also rock wrens. On the water we saw only a group of four Redheads. The water was high and we could not really get a good look at the full expanse of it.

Before leaving for the dam, Deb and I had packed our car and were ready for the journey back to Oklahoma. All said hasty goodbyes at the Ramada, Terry in a hurry to make his appointment to photograph a wedding that afternoon and return to his home in Brackettville. Connie Hoke, one of our guides, and Karen Gleason, a birder and writer for the Del Rio News Herald asked if anyone would like to join them for lunch. Deb and I and two other birders, whose names I cannot now remember, volunteered. Karen and Connie had promised Deb and me that after lunch they would take us to a good spot to see Morelet’s Seedeater. So, I followed Karen in her sporty white Mustang to a Mexican restaurant at the edge of town. We discussed why there were not more Mexican restaurants in this area with its large Hispanic population, and Connie, who speaks fluent Spanish as do many

who live near the border, guessed it would be like going to Paris and asking for American cuisine. The restaurant was packed and we waited some time for our food, which was delicious. Then we said goodbye to the mother/daughter duo who had joined us and Connie and Karen led Deb and me to an overgrown “park” area where we attempted to see a seedeater . . . to no avail.

Deb and I were informally interviewed by Karen (see her News Herald article at the close of this account), and then she led us to Hwy 90 from which we would catch Hwy 83 north. Everyone was envious that we would be driving Hwy 83. We knew why as we drove north through hills and what amount to mountains in this area and the roadsides were again covered with wildflowers.

Terry had given us a couple of good birding places along our route and we were not yet “birded out,” so we spent our first night in Uvalde and spent the morning birding Cook’s Slough. Uvalde is only about 70 miles north of Del Rio so I suggested that Emily add this place to the birding on their 2020 Birding the Borders event. Here we saw a couple of domestic geese and some waterbirds but nothing that we had not seen on the BTB tour.

On one of the trails, we met photographer Bob Rasa who birds the marsh daily. He led us to a place where he “always finds wood ducks,” but of course the ducks were not to be found or heard at this site. I’ve learned not to say, “This is where I always see a such-and-such” as the phrase seems to jinx seeing it.

All along this trip we have frequently seen vultures, great-tailed grackles, vermilion flycatchers, vireos, black-chinned hummingbirds, and summer tanagers, to name a few. At Cook’s Slough Deb got a great shot of a black vulture that sat for a long time atop a dead tree. The next time we looked a summer tanager was perched right next to it. We decided that they must have been buddies. Deb also found several black-bellied whistling ducks and their ducklings.

After Cook’s Marsh we headed for nearby Neal’s on the Frio River in Concan, as directed by Bob Rasa. According to Bob, it was a good birding place, so we were taken aback when we found a touristy place on the Frio River in Cancon, Texas. While I was finding a shady place to park, Deb entered the office at Neal’s, got a map, and paid the establishment $10 each to bird on the property, which consisted of a tourist trap souvenir/grocery store, 76 rental cabins, tube rental, dance hall, arcade, etc. It was located on but above the river but one had to pay extra to walk the trail along the river. So, we walked the map’s short $10-blacktop road through the cabins, but found the three bird feeding stations empty of feed and birds. Deb did photograph a rufous-headed sparrow and we both got a look at a golden-cheeked warbler atop a pole, but it flew before Deb could get a photo of it. 

We were told there was a trail on the other side of the highway but could not find it. When looking however, we found a large group of black vultures devouring an axis deer carcass. The deer appeared to have gotten tangled in a barbed wire fence.

I got diverted reporting the exotics we had seen on the way down so forgot to relate that we stopped in Fredericksburg, TX, at Wildseed Farms. While the roadsides were abloom with wildflowers, not so all of Wildseed’s fields. They had several fields of poppies, however, which were stunning. I bought two perennial lantana to add to the one we have at home which is full-flowered and attracts many butterflies. At the time I did not know that lantana grows wild in Texas, not that I would have dug up any on the ranches and protected lands we birded. Anyhow Lana and Tanna survived the hot car and the air conditioned motel rooms well. I planted them on either side of the door to the storm shelter when I got home.

Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Below some random photos and following them Karen's article.

May 2, 2019

Members of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s “Birding on the Border” event stop to watch a nesting colony of Cliff Swallows along the Rio Grande below Amistad Dam on Friday.

Photo by Karen Gleason

Birders from other parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin visited several private ranches and state parks in two counties as part of the annual “Birding on the Border” event held here Monday through Friday.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension “Birding on the Border” event drew 17 birders. The event was organized and hosted by Dr. Maureen G. Frank, assistant professor and extension wildlife specialist for Texas AgriLife’s Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department and Val Verde County AgriLife Extension Agent Emily Grant.

The event began with a dinner program at the Pecos High Bridge overlook, including a welcome by Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens.

“I’ve just never been on a birding tour that’s quite so well-organized. The food was fantastic. The drivers and guides were wonderful. It’s been a delight,” said Susan Walker, a bird watcher from Stillwater, Okla.

The group was guided by Connie Hoke of Del Rio and Terry Hibbitts of Brackettville.

The bird watching began in earnest Tuesday, with a trip to the Dobbs Run Ranch in Kinney County, featuring lunch and presentation titled, “A Working Lands Success Story? Black-capped Vireos in Southwest Texas,” given by Dr. Kathryn Smith-Hicks of the Natural Resources Institute.

In the afternoon and evening, the group spent time at Kickapoo Cavern State Park, where they stayed for supper and an evening of searching for owls. At Kickapoo Cavern, they were also able to watch the nightly emergence of the cave’s bats.

Walker said she was impressed with the tours, saying she thought the group “would just be walking around on ranches.”

“I had no idea that we were going to go to the kind of places where we have gone,” Walker said.

She added she enjoyed seeing the birds on the trip and was “absolutely thrilled” to see the bats at Kickapoo Caverns State Park.

“I also loved seeing the Elf Owl. I had seen one once before, but this time I really got a good look at it,” Walker said, noting she has loved nature and the outdoors since she was a small child.

“I became a serious birder when my young family and I lived in California, and I saw a Steller’s Jay and didn’t know what it was. I had to get a bird book, and it kind of started from there,” she said.

The group, which stayed at The Ramada Inn of Del Rio, set out Wednesday for two more Kinney County ranches, the Bader Ranch, where they heard a program on “Beef, Birds and Butterflies: Sustainable Coexistence in an Agroecosystem,” and the Pinto/Dos Palmas Ranch, where they ate supper.

On Thursday, the birders spent the entire day at the Devils River State Natural Area in central Val Verde County. When they returned to Del Rio, they were treated to a catered steak dinner on the grounds of the Val Verde Winery.

On the final day of the tour, the group headed to an area of National Park Service land along the Rio Grande below Amistad Dam, an area usually closed to the public.

Dr. Deb Hirt, another member of the tour, is also a resident of Stillwater, Okla., and said she, too, was impressed with the sites selected for the tour.

“This is an exciting area for me. Not only have I found some ‘old friends’ in birds, I also found some new ones. The highlight of the trip for me, though, was that I was able to find a live armadillo,” said Hirt, who photographs birds and other wild creatures.

Hirt, who writes a nature column for the newspaper in Stillwater, said one of her priorities is educating people about nature and the natural world.

“Ecology is every bit as important as the wildlife that we have here. We need to have native plant species to attract native birds and other animals. Native habitat is the key to keeping what we have, and if we are not able to so that, not only will we lose our present wildlife, we will also lose our own ecological wellbeing,” she said.

Asked if the border is an area to which she would want to return one day, Hirt said, “Oh, absolutely. Not only is this area good for birds and wildlife, it’s good for people, too, because it brings peace and connects us to the natural world.”