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.

A three-day cold spell just swept through here, as it did a lot of the country. Went from the low 80′s during the day and 60′s at night to the 30′s and 20′s, with one day of light snow and sleet. It’s starting to warm back up now.

I often find good picture opportunities in inclement weather. Got the picture of the blue-gray gnatcatcher above, and the caracara below in the cold weather, as well as the roadrunner further down the page.

Came upon a large gathering of caracara’s. One adult had found something to eat, and caracara’s from all over landed nearby to see if there was anything for them (there wasn’t). There were a number of juvenile caracara’s (seen above).

Inca doves on a cold morning.

Vermilion flycatcher. Also saw juvenile vermilion flycatchers.

There are lots of young ones in the flocks of pyrrhuloxia’s (adult seen above).

Roadrunner. Initially saw it sunning itself after a night of freezing temps.

Falcon State Park is located near Falcon Dam at the southern end of a 60-mile lake created by a dam on the Rio Grande River. The park sustained damage from flooding secondary to Hurricane Alex, but some brushland areas seem to have benefited from the flooding. There are more birds here than I have ever seen before.

The murder of a man on a jet ski here last October has not affected visitation, at least by winter Texans. The park is nearly full and there are lots of boaters.

Berry war: There is a large flock of great kiskadees enjoying the berries on some bushes (top picture). They are continually being attacked by territorial mockingbirds. Usually one mockingbird will chase one shrieking kiskadee. Kiskadees are a little larger than mockingbirds, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. While I was taking pictures a hawk tried to chase down a kiskadee, but was unsuccessful. Maybe the practice of running from the mockingbirds helps keep them in shape to run from predators.

Berry update: Went back to the bush with the berries where I took the above pictures. All but a few of the berries are gone!

I’ve had three bobcat sightings, but just one picture. The above guy came to the edge of the brush near my rv, but quickly escaped back into the brush when it saw me.

A male (foreground) and female bobwhite.

A pyrrhuloxia. Falcon State Park is the main place I see them.

I put out grapefruit for the birds. Orange-crowned warblers are the main takers as well as being one of the more numerous birds here.

A deer surprised me by eating one half-grapefruit whole. When she returned later in the evening she didn’t want another one, but the young one ate part of one.

Have been at Falcon State Park for a week. This is where you start seeing pyrrhuloxia (above). They are one of the calmer birds who don’t fly away the minute they see you. An online article said they should have been named desert cardinals rather than pyrrhuloxia.

My first sighting of a northern bobwhite (above). Grackles imitate bobwhite sounds and search through the brush for nests with eggs.

Orange-crowned warblers are very common here.

Yellow-rumped warbler

Ladder-backed woodpecker with peanut butter.

Swamp sparrow

A hispid cotton rat. Looks like a hamster. There is lots of brush for them to hide in. Bobcats have been seen in the area and these rats are something they’d hunt for.

Birds seen in the area, but not pictured: one white-tailed kite, a pair of caracaras, cactus wrens, roadrunners, and several loggerhead shrikes. The shrikes were always perched on barbed wire surrounding private property. They are known for impaling their prey on barbed wire.

Below, a Harris’ hawk and a great kiskadee. I’ll miss seeing the kiskadees as I head north.

Spent two days at Hueco Tanks State Historic Site, 25 miles east of El Paso, Texas. I have been so happy with Texas State Parks in general, was curious about this one. Was surprised at how crowded it was in the middle of the week, as I was not aware it is a world renown rock climbing site. They have had problems from its being so popular and now limit the number of people that can enter the park. Only one-third of the park can be explored on your own, as the lone rock climber shown above is doing. For the other two-thirds, you need to have a guide go with you. There were people waiting to go climbing both mornings I was there. The campsites are beautiful, but they are in the restricted area. Bet people with kids have a hard time keeping them off the rocks.

Came across this article in the Los Angeles Times about the park: Ready to rock at Hueco Tanks State Park.

The park is a good birding site. Above, a verdin (top) and a pyrrhuloxia (bottom) flying under a water faucet just to catch a drip of water from it.

The way here: After leaving Big Bend stopped at Marfa, Texas. This is a great small town with a lot of artists and art galleries that blend in with the small ranching town. It has a movie history, with the James Dean film Giant filmed here, as well as No Country for Old Men.

On leaving Marfa, saw the below object. Have since learned it’s an aerostat used in anti-drug surveillance. There are 11 aerostat sites, mainly along the Mexican border, that are being used as an electronic fence. This has to be a lot better than trying to build a fence along the border that would cause a lot of environmental problems.

View from Sotol Vista along Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. Santa Elena canyon is in the upper right of the picture, around 14 miles as a crow flies. That is the end of the scenic drive.

The sotol plant, as seen in the above foreground, is part of what makes the desert so green. It is mostly seen between 4,000 and 6,000 feet.

Top picture, Santa Elena canyon; second one, inside the entrance; third one, looking out from it.

Spotted towhee

Hermit thrush (I think, by its’ red tail)

Along the drive, there is a stop at the Sam Nail Ranch. Settlers lived here in the early 1900′s. They dug a well and planted some non-native trees. The windmill and well still spit out water every time the wind blows. There is enough water to keep the trees alive, along with some birds. I just stood still at the small puddle where the water comes out and watched birds come to it.

The Salineño Bird Refuge (aka USFWS Kepler Tract) is some land next to the Rio Grande River a few miles from Falcon Dam and Falcon State Park. It belonged to some birders and was left to the government to be kept as a birding refuge that birders could visit. It is a place you can go to see three different orioles in one place.

Above, a great kiskadee and green jay enjoy some peanut butter.

Altamira oriole

Male hooded oriole (top) and female hooded oriole (lower).

Audubon’s oriole

Ladderbacked woodpecker

Thrasher

Ladderbacked woodpecker

Unfortunately inner Falcon State Park, away from the water, is overrun with mockingbirds that chase away a lot of the other birds. There are flocks of pyrrhuloxia. Have seen some roadrunners and quail, but they are pretty elusive.

Below, view towards Mexico at sunset.

I have moved 50 miles northwest to Falcon State Park. Was surprised to find the rv section about 80% full. When I was here last March it was already really warm, in the 90′s and 100′s, and was not nearly so full. Winter is the prime season here. A lot of the rv people still have their Christmas decorations out, so many have been here a while. The water & electric sites are pull-through and you have a lot of privacy. The full hookup area seems more dense with a lot of motor homes.

The way here: Highway 83 changes from an expressway to a regular highway with two lanes on each side, right after the turn off for the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. At the town of Roma, it becomes a two-lane highway. The end of the expressway is also the end of all the newly constructed national chain stores and fast food outlets. It is hard to even find a grocery store.

The bird above is a pyrrhuloxia, a member of the cardinal family. The main difference from a Northern cardinal is the yellow bill and the long pointed crest.

The water level in the reservoir is high and encroaching on some of the parks’ picnic and camping sites. The egret above is hunting near a picnic table with water lapping underneath it.

Update: Found out the high water level is from hurricane Dolly. There was a drought here for 10 years until Dolly brought a huge amount of rain within a short time.

Vermilion flycatcher above, cormorants below.