Abbreviations:
ALP-Alpine and immediate area
BBNP-Big Bend National Park
BBSP-Big Bend State Park
BL-Balmorhea Lake
BMSP-Balmorhea State Park
BSR-Boy Scout Ranch Road
CM-Christmas Mountains
DD-Double Diamond (NDD, MDD or SDD may be designated)
DM-Davis Mountains
DMSP-Davis Mountains State Park
EMWA-Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area
FD-Fort Davis (town area)
IR-Imperial Reservoir
MA-Marfa
MDD-Middle Double Diamond area
MP-Mile Post
NDD-North Double Diamond area
RGV-Rio Grande Village, Big Bend Nat'l. Park
SDD-South Double Diamond area
SRSU-Sul Ross State University
TR-Terlingua Ranch

First, a sighting of a VARIED THRUSH, confirmed with a clear photo, seen in Cottonwood Campground on 14 March, by Alec Dobson from Toronto Canada. He notified BBBirders yesterday and I sent the short e-mail and photo to Mark Flippo in BBNP. Mark was not aware of this sighting, but said that there had been 3 sightings of a Varied Thrush in Boot Canyon in the Chisos on 1-17, 2-01 and 2-17.

On 12 March Mary Ann Eastman reported that they had seen their first MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD of the season at their place in Davis Mountains Resort. It was the earliest ever. Marc had mentioned to me that sometime in mid-April was when they normally appeared.

On 17 March Carolyn Ohl sent this list compiled using Cornell's "e-bird" (which I reported on in the 9 March sightings), from her place in the Christmas Mountains, north of BBNP. The birds were seen on the 17th. 

She wrote, "I'm testing sending an ebird list. As you can see by the list, except for the hummers and Vermillion Flycatcher, all the birds seen today are winter birds. (An occasional warbler has been sighted off and on all winter.) I know 4 other species were present, but I didn't have the whole day to bird. If I had, I would've most likely been able to add a Rufous-Cr. Sparrow, Flicker, Raven, and Shrike to today's list."

Scaled Quail 50
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 2
White-winged Dove 2
Mourning Dove 50
Greater Roadrunner 2
Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Black Phoebe 4
Say's Phoebe 2
Vermilion Flycatcher 1
Verdin 1
Cactus Wren 1
Rock Wren 1
Canyon Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Green-tailed Towhee 2
Canyon Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 10
Clay-colored Sparrow 6
Brewer's Sparrow 20
Black-chinned Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 3
Black-throated Sparrow 20
Lark Bunting 2
Song Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 15
Pyrrhuloxia 3
House Finch 4
Lesser Goldfinch 3

Marty Hansen reported, "On Sunday, March 5, 2006 we went up Skyline Drive at Davis Mountains State Park to view the sunset. (It was gorgeous!) On the way down there were 3 Lesser Nighthawks on the road at different levels. (At least I assume they were Lesser Nighthawks. They looked like Lessers to me.)"

On 15 March, Dodge & Lorna Engleman and John Gee birded SW of Marfa, on the Pinto Canyon road all the way to the canyon, specifically looking for Baird's Sparrow. (One had not been reported in the area since Nov.) 

Highlight's of the sightings included: Prairie Falcon 1, Northern Harrier 2, Greater Roadrunner 10+, Western Screech Owl 2, (in the canyon along the creek), Flicker, Loggerhead Shrike 20+, both Chihuahua and Common Ravens, House Wren 2, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher 1, Hermit Thrush, Phainopepla 2 (canyon), Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Black-chinned Sparrow 1 (canyon), Vesper Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur 2, Lesser Goldfinch and the normally common birds. 

On the 16th they birded above Bridge Gap in the TNC's Davis Mountain Preserve. Following are the highlights of that trip: A pair of Common-Black Hawk (near nest-site along Limpia Creek), Stellar Jay, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch 2, Golden-crowned Kinglet 1, Western Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, and Green-tailed Towhee (H).

In the 9 March report, I omitted sightings sent in by Dale Ohl on 22 February, "On Sunday morning, February 19th, on my way to El Paso about 9:45 a.m., I easily saw both the male Aplomado Falcon and White-tail Kite near the intersection of 505 and Hwy 90 just east of Valentine. The falcon was an adult, I couldn't see a band on the leg. The kite was first seen sitting on a fence post quite close, and then it started hunting in the field." 

"I also had hummingbirds* on the 17th at my house here in Alpine along with a new yard bird, an Orange-crowned Warbler." (*Dale identified the hummers as Black-chinned but since Broad-tailed Hummingbirds normally arrive first, and the females look something like young male black-chinned, I wonder if she made the same error I corrected from my own sighting on the same date? ~cee)

Dale continues, "This morning at the city park, (22 February), there were Gadwalls and Mallards in the stream and I think a couple widgeons  took off. There were lots of juncos, at least one snipe and Yellow-rumped Warblers. I saw a Great Horned Owl in large trees near the lodge and noticed new leaves on several of the trees."

On 25 February and again 8 March I saw several Sage Thrashers at the tiny water feature just outside the CDRI headquarters (Outside Fort Davis). On the 25 there were as many as 12.

And several times in the first two weeks of March, John Gee and I have seen 20+ American Pipits, along with numerous Killdeer, and Meadowlarks on the ground on the soccer field at the Alpine city park after the sprinklers had drenched the area.

Mark Flippo from BBNP, sent me his December '05 - February '06 bird sighting report in addition to the Varied Thrush sightings mentioned above. An excerpt from that report is below:

"A female Rufous Hummingbird found nearly frozen, but still alive, on December 1 during one of the few cold fronts to push through the area was a distressing find. Fortunately the bird was revived and apparently survived to flee the area when warmer temperatures returned the next day. Other winter highlights include White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, Short-eared Owl, White-eyed Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and a lone male Purple Finch. " 

"Greater Yellowlegs and Ovenbird reports represent first winter records for the park. Finally, Eurasian Collared Doves (at least two) were present during the period at Rio Grande Village. Though this exotic has yet to establish a permanent presence in the park, there is a small, but thriving, population just outside the west boundary in Study Butte and Terlingua Springs. Given the presence of a pair at Rio Grande Village, a breeding population in the park is likely only a matter of short time."

We have some great reports here, keep 'em coming...

We have some recent sightings in and a correction. The hummingbird I reported at our house on February 17 was not a Black-chinned. Our local hummingbird experts the Eastmans questioned it being a Black-chinned because their long-term experience is that the Broad-tailed hummers arrive first. On closer examination, they were exactly correct. It was a female, Broad-tail, with the hint of a throat patch. However, this week, John Gee did see a Black-chinned hummer at our house.

On 2 March, Mary Ann Eastman wrote, "We had our first Broad-tailed Hummingbird of the season on 28 February. Now we have 2 Broad-taileds. Marc has 7 feeders out...We also saw our first TVs on the 28th."

On 4 February John Karges and Emily Alexander saw a Peregrine Falcon - adult actively cruising Peguis Canyon, south of Ojinaga on the Chihuahua hwy, before the Mexican aduana station.

On 15 February, J. Karges, Jason Wrinkle and James King found a large group of Long-billed Curlews foraging in stubble and barren fields in the Belding area, west of Fort Stockton, this flock was on the northside of Interstate 10 but likely forages in fields also along the Belding Road south of the interstate.

Also on 15 February, J. Karges, James King and Jason Wrinkle found an extended family group of Harris Hawks in mesquite/salt cedar woodlands of Leon Creek/Leon Lake area at the junction of Belding road (FM 2037) south of Interstate 10.

And on 17 February J. Karges, D. Riskind, J. King and J. Bauer  saw a Bald Eagle adult soaring over Laura's Rock on the northside of Baldy Peak (Mt. Livermore), DMP. This is another sighting of what may be the same bird seen by folks the day after the DM Christmas Count on Paradise Ridge in the Davis Mountains Resort, east of Mt. Livermore, and also at Point of Rocks by Bryan and Karges on 15 January, and then subsequently seen along 505. Perhaps these sightings are not the same bird, but the numbers of sightings is significant!.

Thanks to John Karges for these interesting and widespread sightings. (~cee, compiler )

Marty Hansen reported on 4 March, "I visited the Post Park outside Marathon with friends. We didn't see anything too unusual." Here's a list:

American Coot
Pied Billed Grebe
Killdeer (a pair courting)
Canyon Wren
Curve-billed Thrasher
Canyon Towhee
Lincoln's Sparrow (several feeding in the open!)
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Say's Phoebe
Vermillion Flycatcher (male & female)
Black Phoebe
Turkey (2)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cactus Wren

Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Pied-billed Grebe
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
Common Raven
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Verdin
Cactus Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Curve-billed Thrasher
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Pyrrhuloxia
Eastern Meadowlark
Great-tailed Grackle
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
Number of Species: 39

And some of you might be interested in this site, http://www.ebird.org that was on TexBIrds some time ago. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon have released a new version of eBird. It's much more user-friendly that their past program. You can use it (free) to record, archive, and share your bird observations. The information also provides researchers with a comprehensive picture of the abundance and distribution of birds. There are colorful new interactive maps and it's easier to input your data and you can set up your personalized "My eBird" pages to keep track of your life, state and county lists all generated automatically as your individual reports are entered.

You can search the data by species or location. For example, if you're planning a trip, you can view a list of all the species recorded near your destination. If you want to know more about a specific species, you can view maps and charts showing seasonal distribution and frequency of reports. eBird allows you to do more than just record sightings; it helps you understand how your observations fit into the big picture. To check it all out, go to http://www.ebird.org

I wanted notify all that our first hummingbird of the season appeared on Friday the 17th at our house south of Alpine! He is an immature male Black-chinned Hummingbird. We have had to bring the feeders in a night to keep them from freezing in our 20 degree weather and put them back out early. He is eager to feed at sunrise. Get those feeders cleaned and ready to use, other hummers will follow soon. 

On the 12th, Tom Hobby from Limpia Crossing posted this:, "We forget to post. This week we had a White-throated Sparrow and a Hermit Thrush, both of which are unusual at our place."

Carolyn Ohl sent this report  on the 18th, "A friend who has a ranch a ways north of Alpine has a nice covey of Bobwhite, however, I'm forbidden to disclose the name of the person or place. This is a 100% reliable source. Thought you might like to know they're there even if it can't be documented. He didn't import them; they're there naturally and have been for 5 or 6 years. (Northern Bobwhite are know from the SE part of the Trans Pecos and the Hill Country, but many private ranchers have introduced them over the past years. Since this covey is out of its historic range, I would guess that some rancher nearby introduced them at some point.~cee)

Yesterday John Gee and Carol Edwards went to the Post Park and the prairie dog colony about 7 miles north of the intersection of Hwys 90 & 385 outside Marathon. Given that it was mid-morning, we had a good number of interesting birds. We also found many fresh owl pellets near a huge cottonwood at the north end of the park and near the small pavillion, but we found no owl.) All birds listed below are from the park unless noted otherwise.

Pied billed Grebe 1
Red-tailed Hawks -several along the roads
Ferruginous Hawk -1 about a mile north of the hwy intersection and several miles south of the prairie dog colony
Wild Turkey 7 -on the hill south of the park
Scaled Quail 8 at the pd colony
American Coot 8
Killdeer 3
Mourning Dove 7
Greater Roadrunner - near the highway
Golden-fronted Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Say's Phoebe 1
Loggerhead Shrike - several along the park road and highway
Common Raven - along the road
Tree Swallow 3
Cactus Wren 2
Curve-billed Thrasher 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Canyon Towhee 3-4
Savannah Sparrow 2 - very dark brown with large chest patch
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow -several
Pyrrhuloxia 2
Meadowlark sp. presumed Eastern

On 5 February, just after I sent the last posting, I received sightings from Kelly Bryan, "On Tuesday, Jan 31 I went to Balmorhea to check out the lake and fields east of Saragosa. No Mountain Plovers were seen despite finding some recently flooded fields (lots of dabblers though). Only noteable birds were:

"Horned Grebe 1 (not found on CBC)
White Pelican 125 (numbers up considerably from CBC)

"On Saturday, Feb 4; Fort Davis to DMR then to Miller Ranch and back:
Peregrine Falcon 1 (just south of Fort Davis on 166 being chased by a male 
Northern Harrier)
Turkey Vulture 1 (just west of Crow's Nest)
White-tailed Kite (at 505 and 90, photographed)
Aplomado Falcon 2 (along 505)

"One other note; Jody Miller advises that lots of people are seeing and calling her about the adult Bald Eagle hanging out on the flats."

Kelly adds, "Since Friday there has been a White-throated Sparrow at the feeders at my house."

Greer Willis from Pecos sent this to Mark Lockwood who forwarded it to BBBirders: "I was in Rio Grande Villiage, in Big Bend, 14 January

Brown Thrasher @ the Daniels Ranch Building
Myiarchus flycatcher @ campsite #14?RGV? did not get a good look at the tail? It was Ash-throated or Brown-crested.
American Bittern on the RGV beaver pond boardwalk

Balmorhea Lake 7 February; Brown Pelican and White Pelican. Two women from Houston called my attention to the Brown Pelican.

And 10 miles south of Pecos on Hwy 17, 7 February White-tailed Kite?it sat in place and I scoped it thoroughly for ID and everything checked out ."

And Mark Lockwood sent in his own report yesterday saying, "I spent part of this afternoon (11 Feb) at Balmorhea Lake (Reeves County). The best sightings were an imm. Brown Pelican (present since at least 7 Feb) and a flock of Cave Swallows. Here is a list of highlights."

Western Grebe 75
Clark's Grebe 50
American White Pelican 98
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 22
Snowy Egret 9
White-faced Ibis 2
Snow Goose 67
Ross's Goose 6
Blue-winged Teal 4
Cinnamon Teal 6
Redhead 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Scaled Quail 75
Least Sandpiper 3
Ring-billed Gull 80
Vermilion Flycatcher 2
Tree Swallow 7
Cave Swallow 28
Common Yellowthroat 1

More reports coming in: Linda Hedges wrote, "One more Brown Thrasher for the list. Mark Lockwood and I have been seeing one near the Regional Office complex at Davis Mountains State Park sporadically since mid-December." 

And Eric Carpenter from Austin sent this to Texbirds and BBBirders. "I had some unexpected free time this past week so I decided to try some wintertime birding at Big Bend National Park (Brewster County). I spent most of the past six days hitting various areas of the park:

- January 30th - late afternoon at Cattail Falls, Sam Nail's Ranch; camped at Cottonwood Campground
- January 31st - morning at Cottonwood, midday at Terlingua Creek/Terlingua Abaja (or Abajo), afternoon at the Chisos Basin (the mostly dry sewage ponds, the Window Trail); camped at the Basin
- February 1st - early start hiking to Boot Canyon, spent most of the day there with side trips to upper Juniper Canyon and the South Rim; camped at Boot Canyon
- February 2nd - morning in Boot Canyon, afternoon at Burro Springs, Burro Mesa Pour-off, brief stop at Dugout Wells; camped at Rio Grande Village (RGV).
- February 3rd - morning at RGV & Daniel's Ranch; afternoon at Pine Canyon with brief stops at Gravel Pit and La Clocha; camped at RGV. I was planning on a visit to Hot Springs but it was closed due to a recent aggressive Bobcat in the area.
- February 4th - morning at RGV & Daniel's Ranch"

"I hadn't spent a whole lot of time at Big Bend during this time of year and was curious to see what I would run across. Overall, I ended up with ~95 different species with the following highlights:

- Lesser Scaup - 1 female on the river from boat launch behind the RGV store on 3 Feb; 4 females & 1 male at same spot on 4 Feb 
- American Bittern - one individual at the RGV nature trail/pond on 3 Feb
- Black-crowned Night-Heron - one individual at the RGV nature trail/pond on 3 Feb
- Eurasian Collared Dove - one between the RGV store and Daniel's Ranch on 3 Feb; 2 on telephone wires in front of the RGV store on 4 Feb
- Green Kingfisher - male at the RGV nature trail/pond on 3 & 4 Feb
- Gray Flycatcher - one at Cottonwood; another at Terlingua Creek - both on 31 Jan
- Gray Vireo - one at Burro Springs on 2 Feb.   I was aware that one was seen in this same area last winter by Kostecke, Best & Hewetson.
- Carolina Wren - one at Cottonwood (heard only); another at Terlingua Creek - both on 31 Jan
- VARIED THRUSH- in Boot Canyon on 1 & 2 Feb.   One of the park's Rangers (Dan Leavitt) had located a single male a couple weeks ago in the canyon (Jan 17th? - not sure of exact date) but it had not been seen since. I had two brief encounters with one (or maybe two) of the birds on 1 Feb around 11.30am between the springs/cabin and where the main trail first crosses the creek bed up-canyon from the springs. Early the following morning, I initially found one of the birds in the main canyon and eventually found 2 males coming into a water puddle 70 yards into a side canyon off of Boot Canyon, starting about 30 yards (up-canyon) from where the Juniper Canyon Trail comes into Boot Canyon.  A picture of one of these birds can be found at:

The highlights mentioned above that were seen at RGV & Daniel's Ranch are birds that have been noted by other visitors in the past few weeks.

"Green-tailed Towhees were seen and/or heard at most locations in the lowlands in some numbers. At one point I had a Brown Thrasher and a Crissal Thrasher within 10 feet of each other at Daniel's Ranch - a great contrast in east vs. (south)west birds at the edges of their ranges."

"Temperatures ranged from the low 80s during the day in the desert to the low 30s in the mornings at all elevations. Birds were most active/obvious around water sources. I had visited Terlingua Abaja/Creek at the suggestion of Mark Lockwood and found it to be very birdy, even with my visit being during the heat of the midday sun. There are a group of willows and tangles on both sides of Terlingua Creek some one-third to one-half mile or more upstream from the Abaja camping sites where I had most of my birds at that location. I don't think this site gets much attention (from birders) but is definitely a spot worth checking out at all seasons. From Santa Elena Canyon, it is just a couple miles north on the old Maverick Road."

Birding in the higher Chisos (Boot & Pine Canyon) was not spectacular though was probably typically for this season. The concentration of Acorn Woodpeckers in Boot Canyon is impressive, with up to 6 in one tree at various times. I had hoped to do some owling during my one night in Boot Canyon but was slightly hampered by strong winds all night that sounded and had me feeling like I was sleeping on a jetty with the strong roar of the surf crashing against my tent most of the evening." (Thanks Eric!)

NOTE: Marty Hansen sent me Christmas Bird Count summaries (using excel format), for Balmorhea and the Davis Mountains. If any of the list subscribers want copies of these summaries send me a personal e-mail at bbbirder@direcway.com or at the sightings address below.

The Balmorhea count had 118 species with birds of note being Turkey Vulture (4), Mountain Plover (5), and Barn Swallow (4). The total numbers of ducks and other species at the lake was below normal and it was foggy part of the day.

The Davis Mountain's participants found 116 species with the highlights being: Eurasian Collared Dove(new), Anna's Hummingbird (13), Broad-tailed Hummingbird (7), Rufous Hummingbird (8), Williamson's Sapsucker (2), Red-naped Sapsucker (17), Hammond's Flycatcher (1), Dusky Flycatcher (1), Red-breasted Nuthatch (3), Townsend's Warbler(1). Montezuma Quail and Bald Eagle were seen during count week.

And, the Red-tailed Hawks that have previous nested on the cliffs behind our property south of Alpine have been doing courtship displays and have started gathering sticks for their nest. 

Spring is on the way. Keep these great reports coming in.

Yes, Turkey Vultures are back!!! Several have seen them - see below. In Central Texas many TVs migrate, but all do not leave. Just after Christmas heading east, I saw the first one past Junction and they were in very small numbers until I arrived in Austin.

And, yes apparently we have had several sightings of Brown Thrashers! After I questioned the one in BBNP, Carl Lundblad wrote back, "Yes, the Thrashers around Rio Grande Village were definately Brown Thrashers. One was resident for 2 days in our campsite, #22. 1-2 were in the area from the store south to the Black Hawk nestiung area. A final one was near Daniel's Ranch. We also had Curve-billed and Crissal Thrashers in the areas. We saw no Sage Thrashers on the trip."

And Dale Ohl writes, "I too have been seeing Brown Thrashers at the Alpine City Park scratching in the leaf letter along side the creek. The first sighting was January 1, and again yesterday, January 30th. Good looks were had, and on the January 1st sighting there were 2 other qualified birders who had seen the Brown Thrasher several times during the 10 days they were here. "

"When I (Dale) had time to bird during the past years, if my memory serves me right a Brown Thrasher could usually be found at the Old Ranch, (Sam Nail Ranch) in BBNP by sitting near the windmill and wait for it to show up back behind the large agave plant. " 

And Dale sent this, "Several turkey vultures were seen on the 30th in and around Alpine. Pine Siskins, American Goldfinches, Wilson's Snipe, lots of Cactus Wrens, Vesper Sparrows, Curved billed and Brown Thrashers and more of the usual birds were quite vocal and easily seen at the park. " 

(As compiler I just want to be sure, people use field marks to correctly identify what they are seeing. See reports of uncommon, out-of-season questionable birds below. How much can we blame on global warming and how much is multiple guess? ~cee)

Caroln Ohl sent this report, "Hi, I just saw a Turkey Vulture working his way around in Alpine. Surprised me. Anyone else seeing them?"

Carolyn adds, "An acquaintance at Terlingua Ranch swears she had a Baltimore Oriole at her orange feeder a couple of weeks ago. I was very skeptical. She's a snow-birder (not a birder, per se) from Canada and is very familiar with the B.O. I pulled out my Sibley, and tried to convince her it was actually a Bullock's, but she remained adamant, that it definitely was a Baltimore. I guess I'll have to put out some orange slices and have a camera ready before I'll be convinced.

Dale Ohl also sent this as part of her report, "...a friend of a friend reported to me that she had seen a Scarlet Tanager just west of the old hospital entrance in the bushes. I questioned her as thoroughly as I could and she was adament. Personally I don't think it was, but I thought I'd tell you in case someone else reports one. Her sighting was on Sunday January 22nd." 

And John Karges is also reporting early TVs, "I too had an early January Turkey Vulture sighting, one soaring over Fort Stockton on January 10th, and then another soaring over my house in Alpine yesterday, the 29th."

Debbie Sebesta, a part-time resident sent this, "On January 28, my daughter and I saw an Aplomado Falcon on a power pole near the Ryan Ranch gate on Highway 90. We also saw a Prairie Falcon and a Ferruginous Hawk along the same highway. We were visiting our property in Davis Mountains Resort and saw a lone Turkey Vulture fly over." 

Mark Lockwood wrote on the 30th, "I hiked to Boot Spring on Thursday (26 Jan) and found the birding rather slow in general. It was rather cool and overcast during the morning. The best sighting was three Red-breasted Nuthatches. Here are the highlights:"

Red-naped Sapsucker 2
Hutton's Vireo 3
Mexican Jay 25
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 5
Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler 1

Finally I am catching up on the scattered reports coming in since the first of the year:

On 5 January, Mark Lockwood sent BBB a note that Dede Cruisinberry from Plano found a Ovenbird in the leaf litter along the Window Trail in Big Bend National Park (BBNP) sometime between 27-31 December. Both she and her husband saw the bird well and are sure of their identification. 

Today, 27 January John Gee saw a Turkey Vulture just south of Alpine. (Two or 3 were also seen near Balmorhea during the Christmas Bird Count. A rare winter bird in this area.) He also heard a Winter Wren in the yard earlier this week. And our Hermit Thrush continues coming to the pond. On 31 December we still had an Anna's Hummingbird at our house south of Alpine, but he left about 14 January.

Mark Lockwood also sent this report to BBB and Texbirds on the 16 January: Paul Sunby and I spend most of yesterday (15 Jan) and some of this morning birding the grasslands of northern Presidio and western Jeff Davis Counties. We were primarily looking for Baird's Sparrow (unsuccessfully), but found a few nice birds. The numbers of birds in these grasslands are very low at this time as the estimated numbers below will attest. There are also a couple of sightings from Kelly Bryan and John Karges.

Bald Eagle - 1 (adult 3 mi. e. of US 90 on RR 505)
another adult was seen 5 mi. w. of Fort Davis by Bryan and Karges
Northern Harrier - 10
Red-tailed Hawk - 25
Golden Eagle - 1
American Kestrel - common
Merlin - 1 (along RR 505)
Aplomado Falcon  - 1 (along RR 505)
Prairie Falcon - 1 (along RR 505)
Scaled Quail - 75+
Barn Owl - 4 (in Marfa)
Short-eared Owl - 5+ (near Valentine w/ Bryan and Karges)
Horned Lark - 100+
Western Bluebird - 5 (on RR 116)
American Pipit - 1
Cassin's Sparrow - 6
Brewer's Sparrow - 70
Vesper Sparrow - 30
Black-throated Sparrow - 1
Lark Bunting - 50
Savannah Sparrow - 30
Chestnut-collared Longspur - 125
Eastern Meadowlark - common

(Mark thanks for faithfully sending along all reports!)

On 26 January, Carl Lundblad from Las Cruces, NM reports that he and Danny and Sally Paez were in BBNP during the last week and these are their interesting sightings:

Santa Elena Canyon Trailhead: 1/21Carolina Wren(2+) 

Cottonwood Campground: 1/22 Ash-thraoted flycatcher and Gray Flycatcher. (He adds that apparently there are no Gray Hawks there.)

Rio Grande Village: 1/23- 1/24 Green Kingfisher Male 1/24, Black-crowned Night Heron(3) red Fox Sparrows, (3-4) Brown Thrashers****, and Ash-Throated Flycatcher.

(***Brown Thrashers are rare migrants in this area in winter, could the thrashers have been Curved-billed Thrashers, Crissal Thrashers, Sage Thrashers or even Long-billed Thrashers, which are rare to casual wanders in winter? ~compiler)

Carl Lundblad also reported from Balmorhea Lake seeing one male Common Goldeneye, an Osprey, Great Egret, 4-5 Red Breasted Mergansers and 4 Ross's Geese among about 100 Snow Geese. At the state park cienaga they saw 4 Sora, and 2-3 Green Herons.

(Carl we appreciate your sightings. We do not get many reports from BBNP given all the birders visiting there.)

On 27 December Carol Ohl wrote that she birded in Black Gap WMA east of BBNP the week after Christmas. Birds of note were:1Black Vulture, 3-American Pipits, 1Ring-billed Duck, 2 Black-chinned Sparrows, and 1Orange-crowned Warbler.

On 31 December and 1 January, John Gee birded our property south of Alpine and the Alpine park. Birds of note Wild Turkey, Audubon Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Bushtits, White-crowned and Chipping Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Pyrrhuloxia, Say's Phoebe, and Siskins. 

Special birds in the park were Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, Eastern, Vermillion Flycatcher, Black and Say's Phoebes, Bewick's and Cactus Wren, Verdin,10 American Pipit, Orange-crowned and Audubon's Warblers, Song and White-crowned Sparrows, American Goldfish, Siskins,  Brewer's Blackbird, and Common Grackle.