Big Bend Day 3: Rio Grande Village and Final Thoughts

There was no way I could top the prior day's birding effort. I had never been in that bad of pain from blisters so no long hikes were in play. I'm not exaggerating when I say I could hardly walk. That ended up being perfect timing for what he had planned to be a day not centered around hiking. If we could have we probably would have gone to Cottonwood/Santa Elena Canyon, but due to a wildfire that area was closed.

Our plan for the day was to walk around the Rio Grande Village and do the nature trail that follows the river before heading to the scenic Boquillas Canyon. After that we planned to cross the border into a tiny Mexican village. Our final stop was the hot springs along the Rio Grande. If we had time we would stop at Sam Nail Ranch to get some birds.

The Rio Grande Village area of Big Bend is a completely different world compared to the high Chisos. Desert replaces pine trees and Vermillion Flycatchers replace Mexican Jays. But the cool weather is also replaced by serious heat. By about 10:00 the temperature is already above 100.

View from the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail

We arrived around 10:00 due to sleeping in after our insane day the day before. On our way in we were greeted by House Finch and Pyrrhuloxia flying over the desert, but the real highlight was a Lesser Nighthawk that was still active.

The most productive place of the Rio Grande Village has always been the campground for me. Walking through we had Inca Dove, Common Ground Dove, the stunning Vermillion Flycatcher, Say's Phoebe, and Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Cliff and Cave Swallows flew across the river of the trail, and Black Phoebe's flitted around the slower moving parts of the river. But there was one unexpected call that raised my attention, the rattle of a kingfisher! Looking at eBird there was really only one of the 3 Texas kingfishers that it could be: Green Kingfisher, a fantastic surprise.

Vermillion Flycatcher from the Rio Grande Village Campground

On our way to Boquillas Canyon we stopped at the pretty reliable spot for Common Black Hawk. Unfortunately the nest was unoccupied, and we were to sweaty to scare. All that was there was the ever abundant Greater Roadrunner.

Boquillas Canyon is my favorite non-Chisos area in the park. It has high cliffs dotted with caves and the Rio Grande moves at the perfect speed. The silence is deafening but it is continually broken by the croak of a Common Raven or the descending call of Canyon Wrens. The rest of the day was spent not birding, but I highly recommend Boquillas del Carmen, a small Mexican village across the Rio Grande and the hot springs that also show ancient rock paintings. We were too tired and in too much pain for Sam Nail Ranch. It also started to rain, and we were just ready to eat some food.

Insane views of Boquillas Canyon

Time for the final thoughts. In review we got a total of 45 species of birds over 3 different days. The best birds were obviously Colima Warbler and Slate-throated Redstart. Green Kingfisher is a great bird as well. We did miss Ash-throated Flycatcher, a shocking miss. Last time I was there they were abundant. Painted Redstart is a somewhat disappointing miss and I think if we had been a bit more alert we would have found one.

Big Bend is a my favorite place to bird in Texas, but it does have one fault: there is too much to see and do. We easily could have done another 3 days. If we had more time I would have wanted to do Cottonwood/Santa Elena, Blue Creek Canyon, and Lost Mine in that order. Because of that fire we missed one of the best Lucy's Warbler spots in the state.

Rock art at the hot springs

Timing is also critical. We missed out on some birds because we got up late. I'm not complaining. I'll trade Ash-throated Flycatcher for Colima Warbler. I would also suggest going no later than Memorial Day weekend. The difference between the late May and early July temperature is stark, but even when we were there it was borderline uncomfortable in the desert. The afternoons were hot in the Chisos as well, which sapped our energy fast and probably led to missing out on some good birds. I'd say late-April is the sweet spot. You can get singing Colimas on territory and you'll probably get a few degrees cooler even in the Chisos. Plus plenty of migrants will be coming through and you can probably snag a Townsend's Warbler and Western Tanager.

Hopefully I can get a winter visit next. I'd love to chase Golden Eagles, Red-naped Sapsuckers, and Green-tailed Towhees without sweating every ounce of water out of my system. Until next time, Big Bend! Thanks for another stellar weekend!