Finally made it to Davis Mountains State Park in Texas. A lot of people I’d seen in Big Bend also stopped here. At a mile above sea level, the landscape is made up of a oak trees, junipers, and grasses. They are in the midst of a drought and many oak trees have died in the Davis Mountains. Water is a precious commodity. Also, the two recent cold fronts that brought freezing temps to west Texas killed a lot of plants. While in a hardware store in the nearby town of Alpine, heard people say they lost most of their plants, including cactus and palm trees. During my visit, a red-flag condition was in place, with temps in the 70′s-90′s and the humidity around 4%.

The picture above was taken from a scenic viewpoint looking down at the Chihuahuan Desert near Fort Davis.

Spent a lot of time at a bird watching station hoping to see some Montezuma quail. It never happened, although some people were lucky enough to see them.

Again with the peanut butter! Although I didn’t see any Montezuma quail, was pleased with the birds I did see.  Shown above are a cactus wren, a black-crested titmouse, a ladder-backed woodpecker, a Bewick’s wren, and an acorn woodpecker.

An overabundance of white-winged doves were present. Their call sounds like “Give us this day” to me. I will definitely recognize a white-winged dove by it’s call from now on.

Above: a dark-eyed junco and a canyon towhee.

In Big Bend you were warned not to leave food out at night because of the javelina. Didn’t see any while I was there, but they did come around at night here. The javelina and the deer both visit the bird feeding stations for water (drinking all the water meant for the birds). The javelina trump the deer—the deer gave them wide berth when I saw them both there at the same time.

The deer above has it’s head in an oak tree.

Seen below, the campground at Davis Mountains State Park. The park was established in 1933/1935. The white structure is Indian Lodge, originally constructed in 1935 by the CCC. It’s a beautiful building. There’s a trail up the mountain nearby where you may see mountain goats.

My third and last week at Falcon State Park. One picnic area at the park has half of its sites closed off because of water damage (top picture). There were strong winds here one day that brought the water in close to the remaining sites. The park has definitely lost land to the water this past year.

There is a 3-mile trail around the park (lower picture) that shows the brush that is so easy for wildlife to disappear into. The brushland appears so desolate when driving through it, but a lot of wildlife depend on it to survive.

There are javelina here. Saw a group with one baby walk through my campsite one night.

The large flocks of kiskadees are gone, but you see individual ones around. Just this week started hearing and seeing cactus wrens (above). They are year-round residents, so they were probably here, I just didn’t cross paths with them.

On the park road, before you enter the park past the headquarters, I saw a group of chachalaca’s. Don’t recall seeing them here before. Know the bobcats would love the park to have a large population of them.

Meadowlarks are seen in groups and individually.

Have seen three pairs of roadrunners that come out to sun themselves in the morning.

Below, a blue-gray gnatcatcher and a pyrrhloxia.

Still at Choke Canyon State Park. It has been cool, but not freezing. Have not had to use much propane. I am the only camper in my section of the campground, which is nice.

Have not seen the bobcat again. It has been to cool to sit out and watch for him.

Above, scissor-tailed flycatcher and vermilion flycatcher.

Green jay with an acorn. Looking forward to seeing lots of green jays in the Rio Grande area.

In South Texas’ thorn forest it is easy for javelina and bobcats to hide.

Beautiful young white-tailed deer. Deer graze all around my rv. Enjoy watching them.

Egret with mouse. Have also seen heron’s hunting for them.

Harris’s hawk

The pictures above are of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. The first one is a view of the mountains from the west entrance of the park. The second one is the Chisos Basin Campground area. The campground is in the center of the picture, if you squint. The “V” in the mountain is a window to the Santa Elena Canyon area.

The park warns against trailers longer than 20 feet, or motor homes more than 24 feet, from driving up the mountain road or staying in the campground.  My not being able to stay at the campground is probable one reason I did not spend much time here. Next time I come here I’ll go on some of the trails. This was more of a get aquainted driving tour. Staying in the non-hookup Rio Grande Village, I did not want to leave my dog either in my rv or truck.

I did not see many javelinas. The park warns campers not to leave their pets unattended outside. Pets have been killed and eaten by javelinas. This is the first time I have heard of this, and I have been other places where they are. They may be coming into campsites looking for food and attack a curious dog. I recall my dog, Jake, barking at a javelina from my truck at a refuge. The javelina briefly showed its’ sharp teeth, then went back to looking for food.

The road from Lajitas to Presidio, Texas, goes through Big Bend Ranch State Park along the Rio Grande. It has 15% grades in some places. This is why I got a Ford 250, not the 150. I didn’t have any problem going over the grades. The road is like a roller coaster in some places, where water has flooded over it in the past.

At the top of one high grade, some people were looking up in the mountains and taking pictures. I would never have seen the bighorn sheep above if not for them. The sheep have a long way to go to get water at the river.

I am at the World Birding Center at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission, Texas. It is made up of a number of sites in the Rio Grande Valley, but this is their headquarters. Cars are not allowed in the park. A tram circles the road every half hour, so you get on and off where you want. Very nice for biking and hiking. Have to get a bike!

Above is a great kiskadee, a tropical flycatcher found only in South Texas in the U.S.

An altamira oriole

Chachalaca’s. They are a chicken like bird that moves like a road runner and likes to climb up trees.

A dove and a squirrel on a bird feeder.

A mother javelina grooming her child. The tourists here love seeing the javelina, but I noticed that nearby Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge considers them a pest.