Texas Birding in April – the Road Home

Crested Caracara

Time to go home from my little Texas birding adventure. And, I had a heck of a time deciding which way to go. Ultimately, I didn’t make the best choices.

My options:

#1 Head west to Padre Island for some beach time. That would add a day, but a day on the beach would have been nice. I decided against the extra day. Bad call.

Padre Island National Seashore

#2 Head north to Colleyville to see if the Barred Owl had babies yet. I didn’t think it was late enough to see babies, so I decided against that. I was right on the timing, but later I did see some spectacular pictures taken that day. Bad call.

Barred Owl, Colleyville Nature Center

#3 Go to San Antonio and visit the Alamo. I opted not to because I think the Alamo would be more fun with someone else. So-so call.

Photo: thealamo.org

#4 Retrace my steps and go back to South Llano River State Park. I decided that I had probably seen everything there, so I didn’t go. So-so call.

South Llano River SP: Bell's Vireo, Painted Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Black-throated Sparrow

What I did do is head north to hit two additional Wildlife Refuges. The first was the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge.

Photo: Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR

The refuge is home to one of the last populations of the critically endangered Attwater's Prairie-Chicken (I have no clue why the refuge has no apostrophe or hyphen, but the bird’s name does). This ground-dwelling grouse was once one of the most abundant resident birds of the Texas and Louisiana tall grass prairie ecosystem. 

As farms, cities and industries grew – and as prairie fires were suppressed leading to vegetation changes, the open prairie shrank, and the bird populations diminished. 

By 1919, it disappeared from Louisiana. By 1937, only about 8,700 Attwater’s remained in Texas and hunting ended for a once common game bird. The bird was listed as endangered in 1967 and, in 1973, the Endangered Species Act gave it immediate protection.

Now, less than 200,000 fragmented acres of coastal prairie habitat remain, leaving the birds scattered among two Texas counties, and the Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken is one of the most endangered birds in America. The refuge is one of a handful of national wildlife refuges managed specifically for an endangered species.

I had to go. 

As I headed to the refuge, I got a treat – I saw a Crested Caracara – close enough to photograph. I hadn’t expected to see any on this trip and this was my second sighting in two days. I just love these majestic raptors.

Crested Caracara

A little later, I saw a very surprising sight. I was driving through flat farmland almost completely devoid of trees and I passed a dead Bear. A dead Black Bear on the side of the road. I never expected that in south central Texas.

Of course, I knew I was heading to a prairie chicken refuge at the wrong time of day. Grouse and their relatives tend to be seen at dawn. I arrived around 11 a.m. The ranger – who I don’t think sees many visitors – said my odds of seeing an Attwater’s were slim, but that the park was teeming with other birds. Not so much.

I drove the five-mile loop road twice and took a short hike over an old bridge to a pond. I saw no Attwater’s Prairie-Chickens (no surprise here), a few Dickcissals singing their hearts out …

A lifer

 … a few Scissor-tailed Flycatchers …

I don't recall seeing these when I lived in Texas

 ... a Northern Mockingbird copying the Dickcissal song …

Texas' State Bird

 … and several Upland Sandpipers. I didn’t get any Upland Sandpiper pictures because these birds only appear when startled from the underbrush and, then, they fly rapidly away. There is no way to predict where you will see them.

So, I decided to move on. I consulted my map and decided to check out Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, northwest of Austin. It was quite a drive – across plains and then into the craggy landscape that comprises the Texas Hill Country. And, somehow, even though I tried to avoid it, I ended up driving through Austin. And, that is never good, traffic-wise.

Hill Country

Balcones Canyonlands sits on "karst," limestone that, over time, has been eroded by acidic water into caves, canyons and sinkholes. It is the site of the Edwards Aquifer, the source of many Central Texas springs and Hill County rivers that eventually flow into the marshes, estuaries and bays along the Texas coast. 

Clear, clear water

According the its website, Balcones Canyonlands is home to Ringtails, Raccoons, miscellaneous frogs and salamanders and 245 species of birds, including rare Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo (you know, the ones I missed in South Llano River State Park).

Did I see any of those? No. 

Not even a colorful Finch

No animals and no birds except a few House Finches. It was a hot, hot day and everything was sleeping or hiding. 

Balcones Canyonlands did offer some pretty vistas and an extremely clear green creek. But, for wildlife viewing it was a bust.

So, at this point, I decided to just head home. The drive was generally uneventful except a few things ...

My car hit 150,000 miles. I had hit 100,000 in southern New Mexico near the Arizona border. I wonder where I’ll be for 200,000?

Cool!

My car also hit – and killed – a Greater Roadrunner. I was driving just above the speed limit, trying to find a place to pull over so that the semi-truck that was bearing down on me could pass. I mean, it was right on my tail. I came over a steep rise and saw a Greater Roadrunner standing in the road. I had nowhere to go and was afraid that the truck would hit me if I stopped short. I assumed the Roadrunner would run – I mean, that’s what they do. It didn’t. I think it may have been a recent fledgling that didn’t quite understand roads yet.

I swerved to miss it, but an explosion of feathers told me otherwise. I was then able to pull off and turn around to see if I had killed it or if it was injured. It was dead. I was devastated – but decided to make small donations to the Audubon Society every time I accidentally hit a bird (or one hits me).

Shortly after the incident, I saw another Greater Roadrunner – this one smarter. It was off the road.

Greater Roadrunner

The rest of my drive was pretty uneventful. The weather got nasty – cloudy, rainy and very windy and there was nothing particularly interesting to see.

I have to chuckle. I drove through the panhandle of Oklahoma into Kansas because I wanted to drive through Cimarron National Grassland. This thin strip of Oklahoma is only 34 miles wide and is called  “No Man’s Land” by the locals. I guess they just don’t feel the love from their state.

So, the last day did not live up to the rest of the trip – but, that’s OK. It was a great trip.

 

Red-eyed Vireo, Great-tailed Grackle, Blue Grosbeak with Indigo Buntings, Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Trip date: April 19-24, 2018