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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3356987" data-attributes="member: 12449">24 December. Big Bend National Park.Christmas Eve, hot in the southern deserts. A hour or two pre-dawn, I emerged from my tent, fantasizing over the thoughts of encountering a Mountain Lion for a Christmas treat. Scanning the chaparral all the way, I meandered back towards the Chisos Mountains, Black-tailed Jack Rabbits and Desert Cottontails along the way. Still dark, I reached the lower slopes of the Chisos, eye shine revealing several Mule Deer. At almost 7.00 a.m., with light beginning to etch form to the hillsides, suddenly a big blob on a slope adjacent to the road, a big black blob with smaller blobs alongside. Oh giddy me, Mexican immigrants – Black Bears! Extinct in the Big Bend for half a century, Black Bears began to recolonise the Chisos Mountains from Mexico in the late 1980s, the population steadily rising since then. And as non-hibernators in these warm southern climates, I was watching a mama bear and three cubs slowly making their way up a shrubby clearing, the rapidly improving lighting showing them a treat. Good advert to oppose the building of the U.S.-Mexico border wall!Staying on the big critters theme, a Mountain Lion had been seen just after dawn two days earlier along the higher reaches of the Lost Mine Trail, other sightings also occurring in the weeks before. Thus, as the sun began to touch the high ridges, I left the bears and began this hike – Mexican Jays near the trailhead, a Hermit Thrush in a patch of deep forest. Meandering upwards, the path left the forest, crossed a relatively open ridge, then began a series of cutbacks as it climbed a steep lightly wooded slope. A pleasant dotting of birds, amongst them regular Mexican Jays, a flock of active Bushtits and quite a few Rufous-crowned Sparrows. Also Red-naped Sapsucker and, whilst scanning crags and slopes for a possible feline, I picked up my only White-throated Swifts of the trip, a flock of about ten soaring again a precipitous rockface on a distant peak. Mountain Lion was always going to be a long shot, so no big surprise that the only mammals I saw on the way up were three Mule Deer and a couple of Rock Squirrels. At the summit, marked by a large isolated boulder and expanse of exposed rock, views were splendid ...perfect Mountain Lion habitat stretching off in all directions. I sat quite a while and scanned, all to no avail, no cats moving on this morning. I did however, have a Canyon Wren come exploring, an inquisitive bird checking out cracks and fissures in the rocks just below my position – a new bird for me and quite a stunning one at that. Dark-eyed Juncos and Canyon Towhees also around the summit, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks circling overhead. A little bit further down, I also saw two Spotted Towhees and yet more Mexican Jays.As the first regular hikers of the day began to appear, I left the mountain and returned to the Rio Grande area, Inca Doves, Eastern Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher and Rock Wren the highlights. In my original plans I had intended to stay in the Big Bend National Park for four days, but with the superb weather of the first couple of days, I had effectively seen all the species I had hoped to, so I now decided to depart early and add the Davis Mountains to my itinerary.So, with temperatures up to 29 C, I took down the tents in the early afternoon, packed the car and began the drive north. Regular Greater Roadrunners on route, plus one Loggerhead Shrike, a few Black-throated Sparrows and, prize of the afternoon, a little covey of Scaled Quails scurrying across the road, thereafter poking about between scant bushes and a cactus. Twelve Collared Peccaries also nearby.Spent the night in small town of Fort Davis, rustic 'wild west' style hotel, everything else shut for Christmas Eve.25 December. Davis Mountains & McNary.Cold at dawn in these slightly higher altitudes, a pre-dawn hour or so on the roads failing to produce any hoped-for skunks or other nocturnal mammals. As dawn broke, I was at the McDonald Observatory, beginning a walk through a range of habitats from open lawns and scattered trees to lightly-wooded slopes. A good range of species here, including several new for the trip -  these including at least 40 Western Bluebirds, a dozen Western Scrub Jays, one Northern Flicker and three White-breasted Nuthatches. Didn't find any Montezuma Quails that sometimes occur here, so then tried the Davis Mountains campsite, another locality that sometimes gets them. Didn't see them here either, but did find an Acorn Woodpecker, my only one of the trip, plus Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, a Curve-billed Thrasher, stacks more Western Scrub Jays and hundreds of Pine Siskins at feeders near the visitor centre. Collared Peccaries in the campsite too, a pack of them upturning cooler boxes and generally helping themselves to Christmas morning treats.Montezuma Quail surely deserved a longer stay, but I was keen to push on, the borderlands near El Paso and thereafter New Mexico were both in my sights. Departed Fort Davis at about 11 a.m., taking a westward route via Highways 118, 166 and 90 that crossed the excellent grasslands near Marfa – oodles of White-winged Doves along this way, so too Chihuahuan Ravens and Greater Roadrunners, but even better, a flock of 16 Lark Buntings. Numerous Red-tailed Hawks winter in the area, occasional Ferruginous Hawks also ...I found many of the first, none of the second! Plenty of American Kestrels too, plus one Peregrine and six Northern Harriers.By late afternoon, with Marfa long behind me and corn dogs and coffees downed on Interstate 10, I reached the turnoff to McNary. One hell of a stink drifting across from a cattle station at the junction, the pause to scan the massive flock of attendant Red-winged Blackbirds brief indeed – a good thousand or so birds present, quite possibly harbouring a Yellow-headed Blackbird or two, but I really couldn't get a good vantage point, so departed before being over assaulted by the stench. Five minutes later, I was aside McNary reservoir, a large waterbody sitting just 300 metres north of the Rio Grande/Mexican border and a magnet to birds in this otherwise arid land. A car sitting aside the border is also a magnet to the U.S. Border Patrol ...within ten minutes of arriving, windows were winding down on a large Border Patrol vehicle, the face of an official appearing. No problem whatsoever, I guess the guys have seen quite a few birders before. So to the reservoir …jam stuffed with Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, American Coots and Common Mergansers, all bobbing on the water in their hundreds! Did a quick scan through, hoping to find a Clark's Grebes ...didn't, but remarkably found another Pacific Loon! These are supposed to be vagrants in Texas, but I had now bumped into two in the space of a week! Also Lesser Scaups, Hooded Mergansers, a flock of Snow Geese and assorted herons here, including five Black-crowned Night Herons.Leaving the reservoir, I decided to take the 'back road' towards El Paso, i.e. cut along the levees and dirt tracks that hug the river for a few miles until detouring back up to the Interstate. Needless to say, I got stopped a grand total of four times more by the Border Patrol, but credit them, even when I was right by the river, i.e. metres from the Mexican border, they were nothing but friendly – a quick chat and no problems at all about birding this area. And, zigzagging through a maze of small agricultural fields, super birding it was, dozens of Gambel's Quails, commonplace Chihuahuan Ravens, assorted raptors including both Peregrine and Prairie Falcon and, peeping up from a hole in one levee, one Burrowing Owl. Rather surprisingly, I failed to find any flocks of longspurs, larks or sparrows, all of which I thought I had a good chance of here. The only small passerines of note here were singles of Say's Phoebe and Black Phoebe.Eventually, I turned back onto Interstate 10, zipped west to El Paso and turned north to cross into New Mexico. Arrived well after dark in the town of Truth or Consequences. Ominous warnings of a massive winter storm approaching, media channels talking of blizzards, record-breaking snow and total chaos. Outside, the sky was clear, stars twinkled in the sky.</blockquote>

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