Road Trip USA, Birding the Southern Border. (4 Viewers)

[Jos Stratford]

19 December. Sulphur Springs Valley/Whitewater Draw

Truly one of the great spectacles of the southern United States - upward of 30,000 Sandhill Cranes, perhaps even 40,000, rising in huge flocks against the deep reds of the Arizona sunrise, hints of mist over ice-edged pools, an visual and auditory experience indeed.

For this dawn, I was at Cochise Lake, a shallow water body at the very north of the Sulphur Springs Valley, thousands of Sandhill Cranes still at roost a few dozen metres yonder, assorted American Wigeon, Shoveler and other ducks mingling among them. As light crept in, so the spectacle began, waves and waves of Cranes flying in from the south, presumably from both Willcox Playa and Whitewater Draw, the numbers in the sky were unbelievably high. All in high voice, soon joined by the Cranes roosting directly in front. For close to an hour these Cranes poured in, many of the southern birds dropping down to join the Cochise birds, even more simply passing over like squadrons of planes heading to war. Very beautiful.

And then they began to vanish, off to feeding grounds distant. And all too soon, it was a mere smattering of Cranes left, time for more general birding to begin. And quite spectacular this is too in the Sulphur Springs Valley - a very rich assortment of wintering raptors and passerines.

Began exploration around Cochise and the edge of the neighbouring golf course, highlights here included the first Chihuahuan Ravens of the day, a couple of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers and both Sagebrush Sparrows and Vesper Sparrows among the numerous White-crowned Sparrows. It was then a slow meader southward through extensive agricultural plains punctuated by occasional patches of native scrub - both were good for birds. Many thousands of Horned Larks seen in large flocks, plus a very nice selection of sparrows, not least a few dozen Lark Sparrows, 40 or so Brewer’s Sparrows, many Savannah Sparrows and a Black-throated Sparrow. Also both Curve-billed Thrasher and Sage Thrasher (4th thrasher species of the trip), 40+ Chihuahuan Meadowlarks (plus at least five Western Meadowlarks), a few Ferruginous Hawks (and considerably more Red-tailed Hawks), lots of American Kestrels, a dozen Loggerhead Shrikes and a couple of Greater Roadrunners.

Eventually, by now middle afternoon, I reached Whitewater Draw, the traditional hotspot for the wintering Sandhill Cranes. A short trail provides excellent views over the expanse of shallow water that, even in the middle of the afternoon, still held thousands of tightly packed Cranes, plenty more arriving near nonstop. Wandered around for an hour or so, added Vermilion Flycatcher to the day tally, then pondered whether to stay till dusk for the evening fly in.

However, options for the next part of the journey were being heavily swayed by politics in Washington - arguments in Congress were leading to what looked like an imminent government shutdown looming. I have experienced this before while travelling in the US, it means national parks and wildlife areas would or could close depending on local variables. With desires to visit both Bosque del Apache in New Mexico and Big Ben in Texas later in this trip, this was not particularly welcome news, even less so as it seemed it would start in little over 24 hours.

Due to this, as sun began to dip towards the horizon, I decided to hit the road and drive the 350 miles to Socorro, gateway town to Bosque del Apache - my visit to this great wildlife destination would be fast forwarded!

 

[dandsblair]

16 December. Salton Sea, Yuma, Spot Road Farm.

Up before dawn to drive a couple of dozen miles to the Sonny Bono Unit 1 area of Salton Sea, wafts of mist hanging over the serene pools on this fairly chilly morning, already chattering of Red-winged Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles noisily announcing the approaching day. The reward for getting up early was a true spectacle of sight and sound - a cacophony of 5000 Snow Geese rising from roost, waves of black and white catching the morning sunshine a treat. 50 or so Sandhill Cranes trying to make their voice heard too, plus plenty of other birds already active - primarily wildfowl such as abundant Shovelers, Green-winged Teals, Pintails et al, alongside a few Cinnamon Teal, Buffleheads, but also assorted extras including a Green Heron, three Horned Grebes (only ones of the trip) and raptors such as Northern Harriers. Also added Common Ground Doves, Gambel's Quails and several Abert’s Towhees at feeders at the park headquarters, as well as a couple of Verdin and overhead Rough-winged Swallows.

My most desired birds for this morning however were not in the wetlands adjacent to Salton Sea, but rather in the irrigated agricultural lands stretching to the south and east. Key target I hoped to find was Mountain Plover, a bird that I had previously seen only as a flyby - a flock of 13 birds some years earlier in Texas. Zigzagged across various fields to the direct north-east of Brawley town, all surprisingly rich in birds - as well as heaps of Great-tailed Grackles and Brewer’s Blackbirds, also saw a flock of Horned Larks, a peppering of American Pipits, 150+ White-faced Ibis and lots of American Kestrels. A true feast for the eyes however came when I stopped to scan one potential field for Mountain Plovers - no Mountain Plovers seen, but instead the amazing sight of about 350 Mountain Bluebirds, many sitting on the tilled soil, many hawking little sallies, many hovering, all looking quite stunning in the glow of the morning sunshine. A couple of miles further, the morning got even better - another recently ploughed field, but this one absolutely packed with Mountain Plovers! Strutting their stuff, a careful count revealed no less than 340, far above the number I had expected.

The morning was now qualifying as a success, so with this I turned the car eastward and headed for the Arizona border a mere hour to the east. Obligatory stop at McDonald's for a flavour of US culture at the border, then a fairly random birding break at the West Wetlands Park on the Colorado River in Yuma, this literally across a stone's throw inside Arizona. Pretty good birding, especially as it was now in the heat of the day, temperatures rising nicely to about 25 C. First Gila Woodpeckers and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers of the trip, plus the only Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the trip, a local rarity that had been present for a week or so previously. Two Crissal Thrashers were also very welcome, very engaging individuals hopping around a picnic area, as were the motley collection of added extras, not least Gambel's Quails, Common Ground Doves and Verdins.

It was then back to Interstate 8 and onward and eastward. Destination for the day was Tucson, another 240 miles. Seeing daylight would not last that long, I decided to break the journey midway with a small detour to ‘Spot Road Farm’ - an island of irrigated pivot fields in otherwise hundreds of square miles of arid desertlands. Mountain Plovers are frequently recorded here too - I didn't see any, but it was still quite productive birding: among the birds seen, hundreds of Horned Larks and American Pipits, plus smaller numbers of White-crowned and Savannah Sparrows, as well as a flock of Killdeers and both a Prairie Falcon and a couple of Northern Harriers.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, I headed back to the Interstate and continued the journey to Tucson, arrived about 7.30 pm local time.

Bet is was a lot colder than August / September when we were there (45C from memory) but we did get a single Mountain Plover in the nearby fields

 

[Jos Stratford]

Bet is was a lot colder than August / September when we were there (45C from memory) but we did get a single Mountain Plover in the nearby fields

I've been to the Salton Sea in summer too, far hotter and a stink of rotting fish ...very pleasant in winter, about 20-25 C and no fish smell 🙂

 

[Trinovid]

...Sandhill Cranes lay ahead. It is site to see thousands upon thousands of cranes either lift off to head to the fields in the morning or returning at dusk.

So that's where they go, I've only ever thought of Sandhill Cranes as an Alaskan bird, even though I did understand that they only came for the warmer months. Seen quite a few over the years, but never thousands!

 

[raymie]

So that's where they go, I've only ever thought of Sandhill Cranes as an Alaskan bird, even though I did understand that they only came for the warmer months. Seen quite a few over the years, but never thousands!

Always interesting to hear how someone has a different experience with a bird you're familiar with. No disrespect to the incredible Sandhill Crane, but here in Wisconsin they're extremely abundant for most of the year and are often very tame, having no fear of humans, nesting in people's backyards, rooting through trash, ect. "Only thinking of them as an Alaskan bird" (and therefore, unusual) is so strange to me.

 

[Jos Stratford]

20 December. Bosque del Apache

Another dawn start, this time in central New Mexico. In the still air of morning, a few degrees below freezing, yodels of Sandhill Cranes also echoed out here, but it was the Snow Geese that were the true spectacle. The roost shifts night to night, but I had struck it lucky, the pool in front of me was a glorious carpet of thousands and thousands of Snow Geese all murmuring as they contemplated the morning exodus, a casual scan through revealing a number of Ross's Geese in their midst. As the sun broke the horizon, immediately casting a degree of warmth to the day, so they began to rise, a mass clattering of wings and honking as several hundred took to the sky, these prompting yet more to rise. In moments, it was thousands, then almost the entire flock, an impressive sight of stark whites and vivid blacks catching the sun. Barely a goose remained behind, the final number left in the pool a group of about 40 Snow Geese and five or six Ross's Geese.

Geese gone, it was now time to explore the Bosque and its many other attractions. Meandering several times around the two vehicular trails spanning the north and south, passing large shallow pools and partially bushed grasslands, I actually managed to spend the entire day here. Among the many birds seen, an abundance of wildfowl including huge numbers of Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Shoveler and American Wigeon, plenty of Canada Geese and a few Cackling Geese, as well as American Coots and a scatter of waders such as Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe and Greater Yellowlegs.

A couple of White Pelicans didn't look too impressed to be sat upon a frozen pool early on, but as the morning wore on, it was soon back to tee-shirt weather and warm enough to even have three Coyote basking out in a meadow …a little bit to the annoyance of 800 Sandhill Cranes immediately adjacent!

With the warming day, also an impressive set of raptors taking to the sky - as well as six Bald Eagles (two adults, four juv), notched up no less than 15 Northern Harriers, ten Red-tailed Hawks, eight American Kestrels, two Sharp-shinned Hawks and one Cooper's Hawk. A reported White-tailed Kite eluded me.

Also seens included four Greater Roadrunners, both Common and Chihuahuan Ravens, one Curve-billed Thrasher and, at feeders at the reserve centre, no less than 30 Gambel’s Quails scurrying around in a mass of about 25 Dark-eyed Juncos, 15 House Finches and 100 White-crowned Sparrows. Surprise of the day however was a mid-afternoon Streak-backed Oriole in small trees alongside a pool - hadn't expected this species in winter.

Concluding the day, though the Snow Geese decided to roost somewhere else and all I saw was skeins heading off somewhere distant, the local Red-winged Blackbirds put in a nice display in their place, a minimum of 2000 descending in swirling flocks into the reeds, frequently rising to fly again. Three Yellow-headed Blackbirds in their congregation, 150 Brewer's Blackbirds too.

Departed Bosque del Apache, staff in the headquarters still had no idea if they'd be open next day, shutdown talks were going to the wire. Stayed a second night in Socorro.

 

[Trinovid]

Always interesting to hear how someone has a different experience with a bird you're familiar with. No disrespect to the incredible Sandhill Crane, but here in Wisconsin they're extremely abundant for most of the year and are often very tame, having no fear of humans, nesting in people's backyards, rooting through trash, ect. "Only thinking of them as an Alaskan bird" (and therefore, unusual) is so strange to me.

Most of my sightings of them has been out back in some open areas, usually just a few at a time, but also somewhat shy and prone to taking off unless viewed from a few hundred feet away. Interesting indeed!

 

[lgonz1008]

Most of my sightings of them has been out back in some open areas, usually just a few at a time, but also somewhat shy and prone to taking off unless viewed from a few hundred feet away. Interesting indeed!

Come to Florida, the local subspecies is incredibly bold, I've had them stop traffic in parking lots and even saw one trying to enter a grocery store!

 

[Jos Stratford]

21 December. Cibola National Forest, Elephant Butte & Percha Dam.

News on waking, last minute wrangling in Congress resulted in an emergency budget passed, government shutdown averted - the remainder of my trip could now proceed as planned.

Started the day with a side trip up into Cibola National Forest west of Socorro - an attractive area of stunted juniper and spruce/fir, home to quite a few species new for the trip. Settled on the Water Canyon area, a junction of two steep forested valleys, a light dusting of snow decorating the higher ridges.

With desires to get to Texas this day, I didn't have a massive amount of time here, but an enjoyable couple of hours produced plenty of birds. Starting in the campsite, near a dozen Steller's Jays and eight Woodhouse’s Scrub Jays, then quite a few very vocal Northern Flickers, plus three Hairy Woodpeckers. At the other end of the size scale, highly active bird flocks were a buzz of action on the steep canyon sides, Juniper Titmice and Bushtits the most abundant members of the flocks, but Black-capped Chickadees, Mountain Chickadees and Bridled Titmice all present too in smaller numbers. Several American Robins and plentiful Dark-eyed Juncos were in the same area.

Soon it was time to depart, but a half hour hike up one of the canyon trails added one final welcome addition - in an open area of juniper, joining several White-breasted Nuthatches, a flock of seven very quaint Pygmy Nuthatches, a very nice species to conclude the walk. Returned to the car and exited the forest area, a flock of 40 or so Western Bluebirds and a Red-tailed Hawk bidding me farewell.

I now had a 410 mile drive to reach my next destination, so I trundled back to Socorro, then turned south and followed the Rio Grande valley - I would have two stops en route, first at the large Elephant Butte Reservoir, then at Percha Dam a little further south.

Despite being a massive water body, Elephant Butte is not a major birding hotspot - as on previous visits, oodles of Western and Clark's Grebes way out in the deep waters, as well as plenty of Shoveler, Green-winged Teals et al, but otherwise relatively few birds, a few White Pelicans, 30 Sandhill Cranes, one Bald Eagle and a Neotropic Cormorant being about best, plus three Sagebrush Sparrows in the neighbouring desertlands.

Didn't stay at Elephant Butte long and instead drove the half hour or so to Percha Dam Recreational Area, essentially a wooded campsite on the banks of the Rio Grande, nice thickets along the river. I was here to twitch a Brown Thrasher, a common enough bird in eastern parts of the US, but the only one that does not regularly occur in any of the areas that I was planning to visit. For me to have any chance of completing my mini quest of seeing all of the US’s thrashers on this trip, I really needed to see this Brown Thrasher (hadn't yet seen Long-billed Thrasher or Le Conte’s Thrashers, but they were still in the plans). Well, long and short of it, I couldn't find the Brown Thrasher! An excellent little site regardless, with plenty of other birds - not least my only records of Lawrence's Goldfinch and White-throated Sparrow of the trip, plus Curve-billed Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, a couple of dozen Western Bluebirds and both Belted Kingfisher and Hooded Merganser on the river. Arriving in the midday sun, however, was probably not the best idea for a skulky Brown Thrasher.

Gave up and hit the road, crossed into Texas, trundled ever eastward on Interstate 10. Way after dark, turned off the Interstate and drove the last few miles, Mule Deers on the road slowing progress. Fort Davis was my stop for the night, if all went according to plan, my number one target of the trip could be found here.

 

[Jos Stratford]

22 December. Day of the Quails (Fort Davis, Alpine)

Montezuma Quail, uncommon, restricted in range, pretty secretive in behaviour, stunningly unique with bold blacks and whites and the appearance of wearing a face mask. With the US distribution limited to a few discrete locations across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, this bird was my number one target on this trip, all the more so for having failed to find it on earlier trips.

Though one of my earlier failures had been at Fort Davis State Park some years earlier, this remains one of the top sites for the species in the United States, especially given a covey have been periodically visiting feeders for a couple of years due to unprecedented drought in their favoured grassland. So it was, early morning at Fort Davis, another minus 4 C dawn destined to rise to 25 C, Acorn Woodpeckers and Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays all over the place, lots of Canyon Towhees hopping around the campsite area, several Northern Mockingbirds too, as well as 30+ Western Bluebirds and a scatter of Northern Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxia.

The Montezuma Quails, should they chose to appear, had a tendency to visit feeders at the far end of the campsite next to a small visitor centre. Settled myself into place, a strategically placed blind overlooking the half dozen or so feeders, half full of grain, the others consisting of peanut butter mix stuffed into holes in logs. Plenty of birds present, Acorn Woodpeckers, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays and White-winged Doves almost nonstop, Black-crested Titmice Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos also very regular. In amongst these, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers on several occasions, one Bewick's Wren, at least three Hermit Thrushes and, joining the Chipping Sparrows,
two Clay-coloured Sparrows, my only ones of the trip.

As for the Montezuma Quails, according to the park ranger, the birds generally came in only once a day, usually between 9.30 and 11.00, sometimes as late as 12.30, but sometimes never. I settled in for the wait …and time ticked by, 9.30 came and went, so too the magic hour of 10.00, a Mule Deer hogging the feeders at that moment. But then, just after 10.10, a shuffle in the background, a scrummaging in the grass, out scurried six quite large dumpy birds, quails on steroids, mega looking birds. No fleeting views, these amazing birds, three males and three females, then proceeded to scratch around under the feeders for near half an hour at point blank range. They had been my number one target, they were now immediately elevated to top birds of the trip.

When they finally had enough of posing for their admiring audience (me and two other observers), off they went, slipping back into the grassland behind and immediately vanishing from view. Successful morning. Completed my visit to Fort Davis with a short hike up one trail - hot and dry, little seen, but Rock Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher and Phainopepla all added to the day tally.

With that, it was time to move on - destination for this day was Rio Grande campsite in Big Bend National Park, 150 miles to the south. I didn't actually have any specific plans for stops en route, but passing the small town of Alpine, I suddenly remembered seeing a report of Scaled Quails being seen somewhere nearby a couple of weeks earlier. Stopped and checked ebird and, low and behold, my memory had served me well - no less than 24 had indeed been noted in the town's cemetery two weeks before. Thinking how cool it would be to see this second quail species on the same day, I made the slight detour and parked up at the cemetery edge, the graves variously cared for, but basically nearly as dry and arid as the endless desert heading off in all directions. I walked along the rows of graves not really expecting to find the desired birds, but I was very pleasantly surprised to stumble across them almost immediately - a very active covey of about 20 hyper smart Scaled Quails raking up the loose soils of a family grave. Very nice habitat backshot, I was quite happy to get photos of the quails strutting along grave walls and peeking out from behind headstones. Eight Killdeers also called the cemetery home.

Celebrated with coffee in the local drive by, then hit the road again, the long open Texan roads taking me effortlessly down to Big Bend and onward to the Rio Grande. Early evening on arrival, but still some time for birds while setting up tent (home for next two nights), my first Black Vultures of the trip and a Greater Roadrunner the best. As dark fell, Coyotes appeared in the campsite, ever ready to scavenge, then I took a night walk along the Rio Grande, the only critter seen being a Raccoon actually on the Mexico side of the river.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Most photographs to follow later, but here are the quail:

 

[Jos Stratford]

Montezuma Quail

 

[Jos Stratford]

Scaled Quail

 

[Ignatius]

Oh man, you lucky devil are going through the most beautiful parts of the USA. Well, except OBX of course.

 

[Lisa W]

Happy to hear you got the Montezuma Quail, I saw them less than a handful of times when I lived in SE AZ.

 

[rkj]

A delightful report. I lived in Arizona for about two years and never had such a good view of Montezuma Quail as you had. I am surprised,however, to hear you describe them as quite large - they are similar in weight and somewhat shorter than other North American quail. My impression of them, the few times I did see them, was as being small for quail.

 

[Jos Stratford]

I am surprised,however, to hear you describe them as quite large - they are similar in weight and somewhat shorter than other North American quail. My impression of them, the few times I did see them, was as being small for quail.

Dumpy perhaps a better description 🙂
...but being a European birder, 'quite large' is also apt as they considerably bigger than the Common Quail of Europe (and even more dumpy). In all cases, real smart 👍

 

[Jos Stratford]

23 December. Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend National Park, a harsh arid land, scorching hot in summer, daytime temperatures still topping 25 C in winter.

For the winter visitor, birding is not overly productive in the open desertscapes, but is good both among the peaks of the Chisos mountains and in the riverine woodlands along the Rio Grande. Started this day with a drive through the darkness to reach the Chisos by dawn - a journey totally devoid of all signs of life bar one Desert Cottontail scampering across the road.

Having seen them here some winters ago, I had hopes of Black Bear at Chisos, but alas no activity on this day. Still, it wasn't too bad - all active in the general area around the visitor centre, an absolute minimum of 25 Mexican Jays in noisy gangs, plus about 15 Cactus Wrens, a half dozen or so Acorn Woodpeckers and a very cooperative Curve-billed Thrasher. Western Bluebirds and Canyon Towhees also common.

With the sun rising above the peaks and no sign of Black Bear, I then decided to return to the Rio Grande Campsite - this was a good move, the manicured lawns, well-spaced cottonwoods and thicket edges were really good for birds: all found with ease, several Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, one Red-naped Sapsucker, two Vermilion Flycatchers, a single Gray Flycatcher, plus the full trio of Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe and Eastern Phoebe. Also quite a few Western Bluebirds, several Hermit Thrushs and, plodding the campsite grass, a flock of Western Meadowlarks. In riverine marsh, Verdin, Marsh Wren and Common Yellowthroats were also added.

On top of all of these birds, one very welcome addition here was an out-of-range Brown Thrasher - having missed one a few days earlier, I didn't have any expectation of seeing this species, but here one was, a smart individual occupying a dense thicket almost behind my tent. Saw it briefly once, then right out in the open later which allowed Long-billed Thrasher to be excluded …the full thrasher set was now possible again.

Vying with the thrasher for the title ‘species of the day’, largely through sheer character and charm, were two birds that truly impressed - Greater Roadrunners. Though fairly commonly seen in the trip, these two were superb: first spotted at the opposite end of the campsite, I wandered over to photograph them, fully expecting them to run off as they usually do. Not these two however - they didn't give two hoots about campers strolling around. Lying on my belly to get low level photographs, I was left pretty much in awe as they simply came strutting up and ended up feeding even too close for my lens. At one stage, one of the Roadrunners was about foot and a half from me as I lay there in the dirt! Eyeball to eyeball with this great species, what a treat.

The day's treats were not at an end - to conclude the day, I decided to visit the nearby Boquillas Canyon. Arid and lacking cottonwoods, I didn't expect very much, but it turned out to be a really quaint stretch of river, not only picturesque, but also producing a few nice birds: seven Mexican Ducks and a Belted Kingfisher on the river and, even better, a stunning Rufous-backed Thrush in the small slither of greenery along the river bank - an ABA rarity from Mexico, but my second of the trip. Just to conclude things, three Black-throated Sparrows were found in an adjacent gully.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Boquillas Canyon, US to the left, Mexico to the right. Rufous-backed Robin was in the scant greenery at the river edge.

 

[Jos Stratford]

24 December. Big Bend National Park.

I had initially planned to stay in Big Bend till Boxing Day, but the riches of the Lower Rio Grande were calling, the birding far better down there, so I rejigged my plans yet again and designated this day as a big drive day - hopefully I would get as far as Zapata some 490 miles to the east, this then allowing me to spend Christmas Day at leisure at some fantastic birding sites.

So to this day, I spent the first couple of hours exploring again the Rio Grande campsite area, seeing one Red-naped Sapsucker, a Vermilion Flycatcher and the now familiar Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, as well as three Pied-billed Grebes on the river, these not seen in the days before, then packed up camp and departed.

Four hours later, it was time for a break, the Del Rio Reservoir an ideal place for this. Almost immediately scored big time with a cute Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo crossing the road, then mere moments later a Gray Fox doing the same! Tried a couple of spots for birds without great success, but it wasn't too bad at Governor's Landing, the rocky slopes here producing a range of dry country specialists, not least two Rock Wrens and singles of Canyon Wren and Cactus Wren, plus a fly-over Prairie Falcon. Precious little on the water, one Common Loon a nice addition, but otherwise just a bunch of Ring-billed Gulls, several Double-crested Cormorants, an Osprey and a scattering of herons and egrets.

With the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon, I thought it prudent to continue my journey From this point on, lots of Black Vultures settling on roadside poles to roost, but all too soon it was dark, the remainder of the journey hurtling eastward in the night, roads mostly quiet, but pretty choc a bloc around the border city of Laredo. Arrived late evening, checked into a hotel on the eastern fringe of Zapata.