West Texas Bird of the Day: Elf Owl

We set up near an old house with a telephone pole that had a perfect looking hole. As dusk settled, we spotted two Elf Owls on a wire near a different, distant pole, but they proceeded to fly right to us, with one landing first on the wire over our head and then entering the nearby hole, sitting there for prolonged scoped views with its head sticking out. With Lesser Nighthawks flying past and stars overhead, it was a perfect finish for our last night in Big Bend.

West Texas Bird of the Day: Common Black-hawk

Speaking of birds that do stuff, we were lucky enough to be at the Common Black-hawk nest in Rio Grande Village,TX when the pair changed places. One bird sailed in low over our heads (above) and the sitting bird left the nest and perched nearby as the incomer took its place. The former sitter roused and preened as if very glad to have a break from incubation. Very cool!

Today we're off to the desert on this Audubon Naturalist Society/MG Nature tour.

West Texas Bird of the Day: Greater Roadrunner

 I love it when birds do stuff. We spotted this Greater Roadrunner in Rio Grande Village, TX, and watched it for a while from the van-come-bird blind. That's key, we watched it, we didn't just look and drive on. And low and behold it leaped forward and snatched a lizard from the leaves and proceeded to make a great show of smashing it senseless against the ground before running off triumphantly with it, perhaps to a nest. Fantastic - I chuckled all the way home to the Chisos Lodge.

West Texas Bird of the Day: Black-crested Titmouse

[Black-crested Titmouse, Davis Mountains, TX April 23, 2013. Click to enlarge.]

Tomorrow we hike to Boot Spring, or as far as we need to to see Colima Warbler. Won't be carrying the camera for that little 11 mile expedition. . . .

West Texas Bird of the Day: Scaled Quail

 [Scaled Quail, or "Cottontop," on the campus of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, TX, Sunday April 21, 2013. Click to enlarge photos.]

[Bonus bird of the day: this lovely adult Swainson's Hawk soared over our Odessa, TX hotel.]

Greetings from the hot, dry, and only somewhat birdy Davis Mountains, TX, where the Montezuma Quail elude us thus far but Scott's Orioles, Mountain Bluebirds and others have been nice consolation prizes. I'm leading a tour here with Mark Garland, and as such won't have much time for blogging, so I'm going to go with a "Bird of the Day" theme, and see where that takes us.