BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

RARE BIRD RECORDS

MARCH - MAY 2008

**PARK**

**[SPECIES]{.underline} [\#]{.underline} [DATE]{.underline}
[LOCATION]{.underline} [OBSERVER]{.underline} [STATUS]{.underline}**

Snow goose 30 3/09 Terlingua Creek Kym & Mark Flippo rare

? 3/10 Dugout Wells JR Hoverman rare

1 3/15 Rio Grande-RGV Christina Rinas rare

Tyler Gorden

Common merganser 1m 3/03 Hot Springs Peg Abbott rare

Gambel's quail 2 4/30 Cottonwood Camp. Dan Reinking acc.

Eared grebe 1 4/30 Santa Elena Cyn Eric Haskell rare

American White

Pelican 50+ 3/06 Rte 11, MP 10 Christina Rinas acc.

Tyler Gorden

White-tailed kite 1 3/06 Grapevine Hills Deb Hurst acc.

1 4/11 Rte 13 MP 16 Cindy Drexler acc.

Harris's hawk 1 4/22 Cottonwood Camp Mark Flippo rare

Gray hawk 2\* 3/14-5/31 Cottonwood Camp Many observers unc.

\*nesting pair

2\* 3/29-5/31 RGV-Daniels Ranch Many observers unc.

\*nesting pair

Common

black-hawk 2\* 3/16-5/31 RGV COBH nest area Many observers rare

\*nesting pair

Golden eagle 1 3/23 Rte 13, MP 3 Mark Flippo rare

4/02 Rte 13, MP 3-4 William Evey rare

Aplomado falcon\* 1 3/01 Talley Camp Sam Fry ??

\*Status uncertain in park: restoration project north of park may be
source of wandering banded falcons.

Flammulated owl 2 3/25 Boot Canyon ? rare

1 3/29 Boot Canyon Maria Lavender rare

1 4/03 Boot Spring Lynn Barber rare

**N. pygmy-owl\* 1 3/28 Emory Peak Tr. Nathan Pieplow acc.**

**\*Texas Review Species: Report/recordings to TBRC:Lockwood. Accepted
6/25/08.**

**PARK**

**[SPECIES]{.underline} [\#]{.underline} [DATE]{.underline}
[LOCATION]{.underline} [OBSERVER]{.underline} [STATUS]{.underline}**

**Dusky-capped**

**Flycatcher\* 1 4/26 Window Trail Jody Telfair rare**

**Carolyn Whensmeyer**

**\*Texas Review Species: Report to TBRC:Lockwood. Pending review.**

Great-crested

Flycatcher 1 3/31-4/01 Chisos Basin Deb Hurst acc.

Couch's kingbird 1 4/22 Cottonwood Camp Mark Flippo rare

1 4/23 Cottonwood Camp. Jon Dunn, rare

Gavin Bieber

Black-capped

Vireo 1m 4/22 Blue Creek Tr Kirk Zufelt rare

2 4/23 Window Trail Ethan Goodman rare

1m 4/23 Laguna Mdw Tr. J. Dunn,G.Bieber rare

1m 4/29 Window Trail Eric Haskell rare

1m 5/12 Cottonwood creek Mark Flippo rare

Yellow-throated

Vireo 1 4/26 RGV-campground Mark Flippo rare

Cassin's vireo 1 4/23 Laguna Meadow Tr ?? rare

1 4/26 RGV-campground Mark Flippo rare

1 4/30 Window Trail Eric Haskell rare

Blue-headed vireo 1 4/18 RGV-campground Mark Flippo rare

Red-eyed vireo 1 5/12 Oak Springs Mark Flippo rare

W. Scrub-jay 1 3/18 Green Gulch Eric Wood acc

Purple Martin 1m 4/21 RGV-nature trail Mark Flippo acc.

Red-breasted

Nuthatch 1 5/26 Cottonwood Camp. D&L Engleman spo.

Carolina Wren 1 4/26 RGV-Daniels Rch. Jody Telfair rare

1 5/30 RGV-nature trail Jon Guenlaw rare

Golden-crowned

Kinglet 4 3/26 Lost Mine Trail Kim Manley spo.

Eastern bluebird 1m 3/30 RGV-store area Cathy Bell rare

1m 4/04 RGV-store area Mark Flippo rare

**PARK**

**[SPECIES]{.underline} [\#]{.underline} [DATE]{.underline}
[LOCATION]{.underline} [OBSERVER]{.underline} [STATUS]{.underline}**

Gray-cheeked

Thrush 1 4/29 Boot Springs Michael Kennedy acc.

Gray catbird 1 4/28 Window Trail Tom Headley rare

1 5/08 Campground Cyn Jim Hines rare

1 5/09 RGV-Daniels Rch F. Buckley rare

Sprague's pipit 1 3/24 RGV-store area Jon Quailey acc.

Larry Myers

Blue-winged

Warbler 1 5/13 Rio Grande Vill. Joe Grzybowski acc.

Magnolia warbler 1m 3/24 RGV-store area Larry Myers rare

Black-throated

Gray warbler 1 4/29 Chisos Basin VC Julie Van Moorhem rare

Black-throated

Green warbler 1m 4/30 Santa Elena Cyn Eric Haskell rare

Yellow-throated

Warbler 1 4/04 Cottonwood Camp. Cathy Bell rare

1 4/07 Panther Junction Mike Ermer,MFlippo rare

1 5/06 Dugout Wells Nancy Hannan rare

Grace's warbler 1 5/12 Laguna Meadow Duane & Lynn Brown rare

Palm warbler 1 5/15 RGV-Conc. Camp Carolyn Ohl rare

Worm-eating

Warbler 1 4/26 Panther Junction Angie & Rob Dean rare

Hooded warbler 1m 4/30-5/01 Dugout wells Bonnie Gall rare

Red-faced warbler 1 5/02 Colima Trail Joshua Malbin rare

1 5/04 Chisos Basin Deb Hurst rare

Painted redstart 1 4/03-5/31 Boot Springs Many observers spo.

Timberline

(Brewer's)sparrow 1 5/14 Window View Tr Joe Grzybowski ??

**Baird's sparrow\* 1 4/29 RGV-store area Mark Flippo rare**

**1 5/13 Rio Grande Vill. Joe Grzybowski rare**

**1 5/14 Sam Nail Ranch Joe Grzybowski rare**

**\*Texas Review Species: Reports/photos to TBRC:Lockwood. 4/29 record
accepted 7/14.**

**PARK**

**[SPECIES]{.underline} [\#]{.underline} [DATE]{.underline}
[LOCATION]{.underline} [OBSERVER]{.underline} [STATUS]{.underline}**

Chestnut-collared

Longspur 2 4/02 Rte 13 MP 13 Mark Flippo rare

Rose-breasted

Grosbeak 1m 4/22 Blue Creek Tr J.Dunn,G.Bieber rare

1m 4/22 Cottonwood Camp Mark Flippo rare

1m 4/28 Dugout Wells Dana Green rare

Lazuli bunting 1m 4/09 Persimmon Gap Jim Hines rare

1m 4/21 RGV COBH nest area Mark Flippo rare

1m 4/23 Rio Grande Village J.Dunn,G.Bieber rare

1m 4/29 RGV COBH nest area Mark Flippo rare

1m 5/07 Chisos Basin VC Mark Flippo rare

LaBu X InBu 1m 4/23 RGV-Daniels Rch J.Dunn,G.Bieber ???

Common grackle 1m 4/04 Rio Grande Vill. Mark Flippo rare

Hooded oriole 1m 3/24 RGV-store area Larry Myers rare

1m 3/28 Cottonwood Camp. Kim Manley rare

2m,f 4/09 RGV-Daniels Rch Mark Flippo rare

Baltimore oriole 1m 3/27 RGV-store area Cathy Bell acc.

1m 4/01 RGV-Store area Mark Flippo acc

1m 4/21 RGV Rick Taylor acc.

Attached is a list of observations reported by visitors and staff for
the period March 1 - May 31. I\'ve compiled only those observations for
species which are listed as **Rare, Accidental, Hypothetical** or **Not
included** (?) on the park\'s checklist. A \"?spr\" indicates a species
which is documented for the park but not in the spring season.

**[Spring Season: General Weather Patterns]{.underline}**

The dry trend of the winter continued into the West Texas spring season.
March and April brought almost no rain, with all stations recording less
than two-tenths total precipitation. May finally brought a break to the
heat and dryness with several fast-moving storms that dropped at least
two-thirds of the season's total rainfall to date. As can be expected
with such scant moisture, the landscape is dry and mostly brown with
very little in the way of wildflower blooms.

A comparison of year-to-date rainfall with the same time frame in 2007(+
or -) shows the continued trend to drought conditions.

**[Station]{.underline}** **[YTD Precip]{.underline}** **[Change from
'07]{.underline}** **[Mar-May '08 precip]{.underline}**.

Panther Junction 2.09\" -3.97\" 1.79"

Chisos Basin 2.12\" -5.41\" 1.57"

Rio Grande Vill. 0.91\" -3.64\" 0.83"

Castolon 1.93\" -4.60\" 1.74"

Persimmon Gap 2.91" -1.36" 2.45"

**[Spring Season: The Birds]{.underline}**

Three review species were reported this spring season: A single calling
**northern pygmy-owl** was reported by Nathan Pieplow on March 28, just
off the Emory Peak Trail. A tape of the calls was obtained and submitted
with report to the TBRC. The most recent previous report of this species
was in the fall of 2007, when two owls were located in Pine Canyon. On
April 26, Jody Telfair and Carolyn Whensmeyer observed a *Myiarchus*
flycatcher about two-thirds of the way down the Window Trail. Although
the bird did not call, they were able to compare the bird with numerous
ash-throated flycatchers for diagnostic field marks indicating a
**dusky-capped** **flycatcher**. At the time of this writing, a second
report has come in with photographs of what appears to be a dusky-capped
along the Pinnacles Trail, just below the Pinnacles Pass. Finally, three
separate reports were made of Baird's sparrow between 4/29 and 5/14,
dates well within the usual range of times for this rare species'
presence in the Big Bend. The first report unfortunately involved the
predation of the review species by a greater roadrunner, in full view of
some 25 people attending a birding walk. Nature is full of surprises...

Reports have been submitted for all three species to the Texas Bird
Records Committee and are pending review.

Two other observations stand out for the season, both representing forms
previously undocumented for the park. On April 23, Jon Dunn and Gavin
Bieber observed a **hybrid Indigo X Lazuli** bunting at the Daniels
Ranch picnic area. This same bird was observed by other birders who
initially thought it was a blue bunting until assisted by Dunn and
Bieber. On May 14, Joe Grzybowski, after documenting one of his Baird's
sparrows, observed, photographed, and reported a **Timberline sparrow**
in the Chisos Basin, just below the Window View Trail. Currently treated
as a subspecies of Brewers sparrow by the AOU, this

sparrow is known to nest in high montane habitat in western Canada,
Alaska and south into Glacier National Park. Its migration and wintering
habits are poorly understood. Oberholser (1974) cites two specimens for
west Texas; March 1934 at the Jeff Davis/Brewster county line, 10 miles
north of Alpine; March 1939 in Van Horn, Culberson county. Consider this
a heads-up for birders looking to be one step ahead of the AOU and the
ABA checklist committees...

Other highlights for the spring: A flock of 50 or more American white
pelicans flying over Tornillo Flat in early March, was a sight seldom
seen in the Big Bend. Two separate reports of white-tailed kite a month
apart were unusual during such a dry period. The common black-hawk pair
returned to their favorite cottonwood grove at Rio Grande Village and is
on nest at this writing. Likewise, two pairs of gray hawks returned to
their nesting sites, one at Cottonwood campground, and the second to a
nest at the Daniels Ranch picnic area of Rio Grande Village. A Couch's
kingbird is present at Cottonwood campground and defending territory
near the site of last year's first nesting for this species in the park.
Researchers Jeff Troy and John Maresh performed the annual black-capped
vireo survey in early May, and preliminary numbers indicate a record of
34 adult birds park-wide. A male purple martin at Rio Grande Village was
another good report. The warbler migration was better this year than in
more recent spring seasons, with many interesting species; blue-winged
and red-faced warblers being excellent finds. Colima warblers and
painted redstarts were present in Boot Canyon, although with the dry
conditions, the Colimas were very quiet and harder to locate this year.
Finally, a male Baltimore oriole that apparently over-wintered was
present in the same area of Rio Grande Village until April