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SCHOLARSHIP REPORTS 2007

2007 Camp Tejano

6-18 July 2007

By Matthew Daw

I signed up for this trip in 2006, and ever since then I had been looking forward to it. Upon arriving at the San Antonio Airport, I met the leaders; Victor Emmanuel and Barry Lyon. There was only one other camper there, but in our six hour wait for the rest of the group, we found our first birds of the trip in the parking lot area: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, swallows, Western Kingbird, Swainson's Hawk, and some city birds. Also in the wait, we met the rest of the group and our counselor: Amy Sugeno.

We arrived at Neal's Lodge in time for dinner and watched numerous Black-chinned Hummingbirds at the feeders while eating.

The morning of the first day was spent birding the property of Neal's Lodge. We came up with southwest and Texas specialties such as Olive Sparrow, Long-billed Thrasher, Bell's Vireo, Common Ground-Dove, Canyon and Bewick's Wren, Brown-crested and Vermilion Flycatchers, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Green Kingfisher, Cave Swallow, Black-crested Titmouse, Verdin, Hooded Oriole, Painted Bunting, and more. The afternoon was spent on a drive through the brush country, where we got Crested Caracara, Harris's Hawk, Bullock's Oriole, over fifty majestic Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Swainson's Hawk, Dickcissel, and others.

The next day was met with heavy rains all morning, and we could not go on our much looked forward to hike at Lost Maples State Park. Finally, in late morning, it stopped raining, and we continued our long morning drive, getting Common Raven, Vermilion Flycatcher, and more. We finally reached Kerr Wildlife Management Area; a place we weren't expecting to go, but Amy said had Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked warblers among other birds. We immediately liked the park when, upon stepping out of the vans, someone spotted a Zone-tailed Hawk flying over and we all got great looks. After much searching, our leader heard a Black-capped Vireo from the van! We all piled out and got great looks at three or four individuals, two singing. This tiny, active bird was one of my favorite birds of the trip. Another place about two miles down another road held a singing male Golden-cheeked Warbler, a beautiful and endangered bird.

The late afternoon was spent birding a pecan grove on Neal's Lodge property, where we got eastern birds including Yellow-throated Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak and such, as well as Ladder-backed Woodpecker and the only female Painted Bunting of the trip.

The next morning, after our routine shoveling down of cereal and fruit, followed by stuffing water bottles and snacks into our daypacks, we set off to Chalk Bluff with beautiful weather. Here we got great looks at Ringed and Green Kingfisher, Long-billed Thrasher, Couch's Kingbird, and many of the birds already seen. That evening, we set off again for the Frio Bat Cave, on the way getting Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel, Northern Bobwhite, and others.

Right when we got out of the vans, we heard a Black-throated Sparrow, and once the leaders called it in, we got great looks of this strikingly patterned bird at about 15 feet. At the cave, hundreds of Cave Swallows were flying around, and in and out of the cave, while Cactus Wrens, Black-throated and Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Painted Buntings sang from the brush. It was mostly dark before the first bat started emerging, but once they got going it was awesome. I estimate that we saw 5 million out of the 9 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats coming out of that cave in a steady stream. There were some Chuck-will's-widows calling before we left.

The next day was a travel day, we left Neal's Lodge mid-morning for Big Bend National Park, hundreds of miles away. We saw most of the roadside birds over, and some of the new birds we saw included Greater Roadrunner, Lesser Nighthawk, and Rock Wren, as well as many others. A stop at a cemetery got us great looks at a Great Kiskadee, we got views of its yellow crown patch many times. We drove over lots of open country during the later part of the trip, and saw lots of great scenery, especially after we entered Big Bend. That evening we ate dinner at Big Bend Lodge, and watched the first bats come out.

The next day was a great day, in the morning we drove to Rio Grande Village, getting Scaled Quail, Pyrrhuloxia, Scott's Oriole, Black-throated Sparrows and others on the way. Upon arriving, we were immediately greeted by a pair of Crissal Thrashers foraging in the lawn only twenty feet away! Many Bell's Vireos, Vermilion Flycatchers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos and other birds were in the trees, and a hike into the adjacent desert found us great views of the mountains and Mexico, as well as a wide variety of cactus species. A quick drive down to known nesting sites of Common Black-Hawks got us a juvenile Common Black-Hawk on the nest, and Gray Hawk with a nest. On the way out we got great views of a Roadrunner about 10 feet outside the van. We came back in the afternoon, and part of the group got good looks at an adult Common Black-Hawk. An owling excursion got us a tiny barking Elf Owl and some Western Screech-Owls.

The next morning we left fairly early for the Window Trail Hike, which had great scenery, and highlights such as Varied Buntings, Black-chinned Sparrow, a flock of over 110 White-throated Swifts, Gray and Black-capped Vireos, a rock rattlesnake and a very cool black bear climbing a hill. The afternoon held a herd of Javelinas with tiny babies, Black-headed Grosbeak and more.

Another early morning found us on the famed Boot Spring Trail. It wasn't long before we started to see birds. Acorn Woodpeckers, Western Tanager, Hutton's Vireo, White-throated Swifts, Spotted Towhee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and more. We soon had flocks of Mexican Jays and a stop halfway up the trail had a Cordilleran Flycatcher and Colima Warblers! A Peregrine Falcon topped it off on the top of the mountain. In the canyon, we had Zone-tailed Hawks, Band-tailed Pigeon, White-throated Swifts, White-eared, Magnificent, Lucifer, Blue-throated, Black-chinned, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Hutton's Vireo, Bushtit, Mexican Jay, Colima Warblers, and much more - the Colima warblers giving us extensive views.

The next day we drove to Cottonwood Campground, experiencing awesome scenery and seeing Verdin, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, and others along the way. At the campground we saw Gray Hawks, Couch's, Western, and Tropical Kingbirds, and much more. The afternoon was spent driving, with birds such as Cassin's Kingbird, Cassin's Sparrow, and Western Scrub-Jay being new. The David Mountains Preserve was very nice, and the coyotes howling at night made an interesting background noise. The first day there we didn't go far, but we got Western Wood-Pewee, Mountain Chickadee, Gray Flycatcher, Cooper's Hawk, numerous Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, along with a Rufous, Eastern Meadowlark, Violet-green Swallows, and others.

The rest of the stay at the David Mountains produced White-eared, Rufous, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Magnificent Hummingbirds, a brief Phainopepla, Rock and Canyon Wren, Western bluebird, Montezuma Quails that were calling but stayed out of sight and a male Calliope Hummingbird at Kelly Bryan's hummingbird feeders that sort of topped off the stay.

The next day was a travel day, and we had many of the same birds seen on the way to Big Bend, although a stop at a Black-tailed Prairie Dog town got us prairie dogs, Chihuahuan Raven, and Burrowing Owl. The trip unfortunately had to end, and the next morning saw us on our flights back to where we came from. This trip was an awesome experience, probably the best birding I have ever experienced, and I will definitely look forward to going on another birding trip again.

These young birders attended the camps/events they report on with the help of ABA scholarships.