Cleburne State Park

The shelter in place restrictions have given me a serious case of cabin fever. No gym, no going out with friends, and the general lack of other normal aspects in life makes me want to bird even more. One of the best places to get out and socially distance are our state parks. I am trying to visit all state parks, so there was an obvious choice: Cleburne State Park.

My dad and I decided to head out and see what it's all about. Golden-cheeked Warblers breed in the park and have been reported. This seemed like a great opportunity to go out and get some early migrants.

The rain was awful on our way over, and we almost had to pull over since we couldn't see anything. It let up pretty quick and we have some blue sky at the start of our hike. We wanted to do the Limestone Ridge Outer Loop, a 2 mile hike where the birds were reported. The trails are a winding, confusing mess. My recommendation is to head west towards the spillway, which is the clearer path. We got on the inner loop trail by accident.

Despite getting on the wrong trail, the hike was beautiful. Lots of post oak underneath ashe juniper. The most abundant bird was Northern Cardinal followed by White-eyed Vireo. Bird activity picked up as we climbed higher up the ridge. A buzzy "zee zee zoo weeeee" rang out, Golden-cheeked Warbler! We climbed down and back up to try and get on them, but they stopped singing before we could get on them.

Northern Cardinal

After finishing the trail we hiked to the spillway, which is stunning. The cascading waterfall was gorgeous, and the various pools were very scenic. We had a FOY Chimney Swift at the top, and this small hawk glided into view. I had never seen this before. It was small hawk with no barring on the wings, but black primaries. LIFER BROAD WINGED HAWK! I really had been missing this bird over the years, so it was a really welcome surprise to pick it up.

We stopped by Lake Pat Cleburne to scan for any ducks but we didn't have much luck. Red-winged Blackbird was singing, Canada Geese flew overhead, and we had some cormorants of both species, but that was about it.

Spillway at Cleburne State Park

In general I would say this is an excellent park for general outdoor recreation, but birding wise I think Dinosaur Valley, 20 miles away in Glen Rose, is probably the better place to visit. I'll probably make a mid-May visit out there. But now with migration about to begin my focus will be on that. I'll try some migrant traps in Dallas, but I'll also be spending at least two weekends in Houston in the next month visiting Sarah Grace so I'll definitely have to convince to go to the coast with me!

Three Weeks, Three Chases

Normally I would be worn out and birded out. I'll normally take a week or two after a big trip and skip out on birding as I get back in the swing of things. But there was no desire to rest. A rare Black-throated Blue Warbler was being seen in a Dallas yard, and fortunately this yard was a stone's throw from my parents' house in Dallas. I had to go. This stunning warbler typically spends the winter in the Caribbean islands and along the coast of Central America. They like to breed in hills and mountains starting from the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and up through the Great Lakes and Northeast. Their migration path takes them out of range of Texas. The TOS Handbook says they're rare migrants on the Texas coast, and even rarer off the coast. Seeing one in Texas is a big deal, seeing one in Dallas is nuts.

The local bird happened to be seen in the side yard on the corner of a street, and the owner was really cool about people seeing it. I made the quick drive over and after about 25 minutes of waiting I got amazing looks at a gorgeous male Black-throated Blue Warbler. It is one of the most stunning birds I have ever seen, and I can't believe it stuck around for so long!

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The next week I texted an old high school teacher, Matt DuRoss, to see what birding he was up to since early migrants were starting to trickle in. He invited me to join him on a chase to Austin to look for the first state record of White Wagtail. As tired of driving as I was, I couldn't say no. Early on Saturday Matt, Peter Billingham, and I set off for Roy Guerrero Park.

The day started out pretty rainy, and we started at one end of the park, which happened to be the wrong end. We had some great FOY records like Barn Swallow, Purple Martin, and Little Blue Heron, but we also had some lingering wintering birds like Vermillion Flycatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, and American Wigeon.

After finding out the bird was seen on the opposite end we rushed over to start scanning for it. Whoever found this bird deserves major props because it was impossible to find until someone pointed it out to us. Scoping from a high ridge on the opposite bank of the Colorado River, this bird blends in perfectly. A little movement caught my eye in the scope, and there is was! White Wagtail! This is the best Texas bird I have ever seen. In terms of rarity I will never see a rarer bird than a first state record, so we had to admire this one for a while.

White Wagtail. Doesn't get any better than this!

After lunch at Terry Black's Barbeque, which is totally deserving of its reputation as one of the best barbeque places in Texas, we set off for Hornsby Bend, a wastewater treatment plant that is well known for some good birds. It's a pretty good spot, and I think if we were a little later in the month we would have had some amazing shorebirds. Eared Grebe was still lingering and we had Crested Caracara as well as a huge flock of Sandhill Cranes flying over. Overall a very successful day in Austin!

Just when I thought the birding would slow down, it picked right back up. Midweek a pair of Red Crossbills were reported at Lake Ray Roberts State Park in Denton County. A front was moving and on a rainy Saturday morning my dad and I made decided to make the trip, fully expecting them to be gone.

Red Crossbill is a very rare bird in the state. They are resident in the upper reaches of the Davis and Guadalupe Mountains, but that's about it. Occasionally an irruption will occur and they will invade the state, but this was not the case. To get a Red Crossbill in east of the Pecos River is amazing, so we had to take advantage of this.

You can juuust see the cross in the awful lighting

As bad as the rain was we had great luck. We pulled in, and within 10 minutes we had Red Crossbill! They were right by the entrance where they somehow stayed. We also had a possible Bronzed Cowbird, but in the bad light we could not be certain. Overall the state park has some birding potential. There are some good trails that go through woodlands and the edge of the lake. Despite the awful weather we still had 32 species, including a FOY Black-and-white Warbler and 5 Common Loons.

Common Loon

3 chases is a pretty fun stretch, and it's even more fun when they're all successful. And I'm sitting 141 year birds before spring migration has even started, which I will happily take.

Panhandle Birding: Caprock Canyons State Park

With one last leg of the trip to go I pretty much wrapped up my birding. My last stop, Caprock Canyons State Park, was not really a birding destination, but it has been hailed as possibly the best state park in Texas. Having been to Palo Duro already I was skeptical, but open to putting it to the test.

I arrived pretty late at around 4:30. I checked in and immediate was astounded by the bright red rock on the canyons. It looked like Mars. One of the cooler things about Caprock Canyons are the mammals. The state park is home to the state Bison herd of Texas, a wild herd of bison that live in the park, as well as prairie dog town. The bison roam the park, and when I found them wandering through a campground I was stunned. The symbol of the American West right there in front of me! It was magical, almost as cool as seeing Grizzly Bears in Denali. You're probably thinking "dude, it's just a bovine," but you have to go see them. It'll rock your world. Just a few minutes down the road was the prairie dog town. Although they're on the opposite side of the size spectrum they make up they are equally as fun to watch. I sat there for about 30 minutes just watching them lounge and screech to each other. Having been alone for nearly a week it felt nice to get some social interaction with the bison and prairie dogs. Sad, I know. 

The wind was whipping all night, and the windchill really got to me in the morning. It wasn't cold at all, but a cold front was on its way later that night. Fortunately the cold wind was the only issue, the day was clear and I was ready to taking Haynes Ridge and the Upper North Prong Canyon Trail. The wind was actually really nice as I got started and it kept me cool throughout the hike. The elevation gain was unreal, but the views were stunning. The birds were not as plentiful due to the wind, but the views made up for it. I did have a pretty pleasant surprise in Bushtits at the beginning, and Chihuahuan Ravens were abundant as usual. As I got further in the canyon I got Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, and Field Sparrow. The real treat was the Fern Cave at the halfway point, followed up by the views from Haynes Ridge. I think this may have Palo Duro beat. After a steep descent I finished the 6.5 mile round trip hike hungry and ready to get home. I said bye to my prairie dawgs, stopped at Galvan's in Turkey (a must stop with incredible gorditas), and made it home by about 5. What an exhausting, amazing trip.

View from Haynes Ridge

Overall I think I did this trip about as well as anyone could. Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons aren't all that amazing for birds, but the views were good and I still was able to get a few lifers. While a little trippy to camp at, Thompson Grove is a must stop and will have some good birds. If I had more time I would have hung around west of Buffalo to look for Lesser Prairie Chicken, although outside of booming season, which will be starting soon, they are very hard to find unless you have connections to find a lek. The Panhandle is so big that you can't hit it all in one trip. I missed Lake Meredith, Lake Marvin, and Lake McClellan, but that'll be my next loop.

American Goldfinch

Bird wise I got a lot of birds I wanted. Golden Eagle, Mountain Bluebird, Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Common Merganser, and American Tree Sparrow were the highlights. Rarity wise I think Cactus Wren had them all beat. The big misses were Northern Shrike and Rough-legged Hawk. I think I was just too late for Northern Shrike. According to the TOS handbook they start migrating in early March, and I think the time of year made them harder to get. I think if I was a little earlier I would have had them. I am 99% sure I had Rough-legged Hawk, but I can't count it because I couldn't ID one. Overall, an incredibly successful trip. Can't wait to get back up there!

Upper North Prong Canyon

Panhandle Birding: Rita Blanca National Grasslands and Palo Duro Lake

Rita Blanca National Grasslands is a flat, empty landscape. It was created in the wake of the Dust Bowl when farmers started abandoning their farms. Now there is just open, empty land. But with the empty land comes many perks. One of them is interesting birds.

Rita Blanca is mix of private and public property and there isn't a ton of hiking to be done. The place to go is the Thompson Grave Picnic Area that doubles as a campground. Thompson Grove, true to its name, is a grove. But why is that noteworthy? Well, in a grassland a grove can bring in different habitat for unique species that may normally not be found. The rain was strong, but a massive glided into view. I slammed on the brakes. GOLDEN EAGLE! This was an amazing Texas lifer for me to get and it was one that I wanted to get on this trip.

Rita Blanca National Grasslands. Nothing in sight for miles.

I got to Thompson Grove and found the area empty. No surprise. The wind was howling and the rain was lashing. Thankfully I had cell service to keep me entertained. No birding was done as the sun set early. I settled in for the most terrifying sleep of my life. This place was empty. The weather was awful, and I was completely alone. I'm not really a fan of the early sunsets of winter, especially when the weather is bad. But this reminded me that I was out here by myself in February. I settled in around 9, but a blinding light woke me up around 10. Another car was driving in. They wheeled up real close to my car before turning around and driving off. What. Talk about scary. Wind at over 30 mph, roads in and out are muck, and this person rolls up at 10 PM? And they came back at 11. Looking back on it it was probably a cop, but in that moment I thought I was going to die.

Eventually the need for sleep overcame the need to stay awake. I woke up around 6:30 to a clear sky and numb toes. It was 24 degrees but there was no wind. Perfect for winter birding. The target bird here was American Tree Sparrow. This was on the far southern range for them in the winter and this is a hard to find bird in Texas. But here in Thompson Grove they're regularly seen.

I started my walk surrounded by Western Meadowlarks singing. Then an odd wren caught my eye. It looked like it had a black bib, but it looked way out of place to be a Cactus Wren. Then it gave the distinct Cactus Wren call. Maybe I wasn't going crazy. For about 90 minutes I wandered the grove, surprised I couldn't find my American Tree Sparrow. I did get a group of 8 Northern Bobwhites which was awesome, though. The day was getting too old for me to wait, so I made one last lap. This time I heard a new call and saw a small bird in a bush. You already know what it was. Gimme that Texas lifer American Tree Sparrow! Next stop: Palo Duro Lake!

American Tree Sparrow

3.5 hours later I made my next destination after a lot of trouble due to a ton of trouble finding the park entrance. Word to the wise: if your map doesn't take you through Spearman then you won't have a good time. I drove over ATV tracks, nearly got stuck, but I eventually found my way. Palo Duro Lake had great habitat for Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk, and Common Merganser. On the drive in I had a flock of Mountain Bluebird, a bird I will never get sick of seeing in Texas, and American Kestrel. There was also another mystery hawk. It was a dark morph of something. In my stupidity I didn't even think dark morph Rough-legged existed. Turns out it does, so there's one potential lifer missed.

Anyways, Palo Duro Lake is another interesting stop on any birding trip around these parts. It's a small lake, but it's a lake and that's big. The Panhandle isn't known for its water. That means when there is some you can expect an abundance of waterfowl, especially waterfowl that may be from out of range. A recent rarity in the last few years was a Golden-crowned Sparrow, but Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, and other rare waterfowl were all remote possibilities.

Common Merganser, but this shot was taken in Alaska

Although  I was in the perfect habitat, no Northern Shrike. The lake itself was pretty productive. Lots of ducks with Northern Pintail and Mallard dominating. A large flock of Canada Geese was at the back of the lake (where I had been an hour ago with nothing in sight) and it looked like a Cackling Goose or 3 were mixed in. But it was right on the edge of my scope's range and although you can usually tell, I couldn't. I wanted to count it, but looking back at the field guide that night it looked way too close to a Canada subspecies to tell the difference. Oh well.

Some ducks were swimming in a clump of tree and I had my hopes up. From the naked eye a green head indicated Common Merganser. I got my scope on it and got...Hooded Merganser? Weird, but let's go! That's a pretty unexpected, but welcome bird. I wheeled the scope over a little and got Common Merganser, a Texas lifer! With the day getting old it was time to head to my final stop, Caprock Canyons State Park.

Pandhandle Birding: Buffalo Lake to Dalhart

I got up early from my campout at Palo Duro to being leg 2 of the trip that would take me from Palo Canyon to Buffalo Lake NWR, then Dalhart, then Rita Blanca National Grasslands. I left Palo Duro with a little hesitation because the camping was outstanding with the wind whistling down the canyon at night and the sun rising along the walls of the canyon was a sight to see. But I also had birds that needed to be seen!

The drive to Buffalo Lake is relatively short, only about 40 minutes. Normally this would be a good day trip spot from Palo Duro, but it was right on my way to my next stops. Buffalo Lake is not a lake, but a canyon carved by Tierra Blanca Creek. There were rumors of a Northern Shrike being seen, and this was prime prairie birding habitat. The weather was a little uncooperative, with the wind being pretty crazy. There is a birding trail at the entrance dominated by Starlings, but looking over the prairie American Kestrel and Northern Harriers were flying everywhere. Snow Geese were flying continually overhead as well.

Ferruginous Hawk

The species diversity was not super high. I suspect a lot of this had to do with the very strong winds (more on that later). I drove the auto tour and saw next to nothing, until a dark hawk was flew up. I couldn't get glass on it to tell. It was not a big hawk, which ruled out Ferruginous. I still have no idea what I saw. But as I was looking something else caught my eye in the distance. No doubt about it with the white tail, Ferruginous Hawk! Lifer! This was one that I came up here specifically to see, and on a day that had so far been dead I was thrilled to get it. Onward to Dalhart!

The Panhandle is known for its wind, so on a clear day I thought nothing of it. But checking my weather app on my phone I noticed the Dalhart area was going to get hit with a few hours of rain in the afternoon. I sped up, hoping to hit the feed lots before the rain.

Northern Harrier

One place that was suggested to me was a series of pastures and feed lots outside of Dalhart near Perico. This was prime area for rare species like Black-billed Magpie or even Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. Dalhart is very close to the corner of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Then Colorado and even Kansas are short hops from there. For reference, Black Mesa State Park in Cimarron County, Oklahoma is less than an hour away and birds like Western Screech-Owl, Black-billed Magpie, and Pinyon Jay, the latter 2 of which are big deals in Texas. Other locally rare birds like Townsend's Solitaire, Juniper Titmouse, and Sage Thrasher are also up there. If I wasn't as short on time it would have absolutely been worth a stop.

Anyways, the previously mentioned birds are very close to an area of Texas that is similar in habitat and is a pretty underbirded area. It is very likely that some rarities stray across the border and just don't get caught. And this place was mentioned by a Texas birding expert as a place to check. Of course, I had to.

It's a bad picture, but it's identifiable. Prairie Falcon!

With the wind whipping I made my first stop and honestly felt a little weird. Texas farmers can be pretty defensive of their livestock so I thought any moment I would be told to leave. But that never happened. I scanned every cow hoping for a magpie, but all I had were Chihuahuan Ravens and starlings. Another dark hawk caught my eye. Was this maybe Rough-legged or was it just a Red-tailed? It wasn't Ferruginous, because a very cooperative one was sitting on the telephone pole in front of me. Rain started falling as I went towards the second stop, and a lone bird sitting in the tree caught my eye. In terrible lighting I could tell it was a bird of prey, but not a big one. Unfortunately my binoculars couldn't get me a view, so I busted out the scope on the edge of my window. All the markings were there, lifer Prairie Falcon, another bird I came up here to see!

All the other birds were starlings and HOSP. Nothing stood out and by now the rain was really coming down and I wanted to get to Rita Blanca before the rain got worse. My last bird was a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants that I just caught running into the tall grass. This was another one I came up to see, as it was a Texas lifer for me.

The rain only got worse, and incredibly strong winds made it impossible for me to even pitch a tent at Rita Blanca. So I settled in to sleep in my car, hoping that tomorrow would not be as gloomy...

Panhandle Birding: Palo Duro Canyon

I officially moved to Dallas last Thursday. I had enough time to set my stuff down, grab dinner with my parents, and go to bed. Friday morning was the start of my Panhandle birding adventure. The first stop was Palo Duro Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Texas. Palo Duro doesn't really have the birding reputation of other state parks in Texas, and I have to confess birding wasn't really my primary goal. I wanted to hike The Lighthouse and experience one of the natural wonders of the state.

My first view of Palo Duro Canyon from the rim

As far as birds go the Panhandle is a very unique birding area in Texas. Due to being much farther north compared to the rest of the state it gets some birds that you can't find in other areas of the state. Big draws are Cackling Goose, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Shrike, Common Merganser, and American Tree Sparrow. Interesting rarities can turn up at any time as well. Black-billed Magpie, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, Tundra and Trumpeter Swan, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Brant have all turned up at some point.

Additionally, the area is very underbirded. The population is low and private land is abundant, 2 things that make birding very hard. Then there's the weather. The weather on the plains can change in an instant and it can get pretty bad up there. Farther north means it's colder and snow and ice are common. So you can see why there aren't as many checklists for February. Part of my motivation here was to add some checklists and have these blog posts act as a way for future birders to get some tips.

Dark-eyed Junco. I believe this is the pink sided subspecies.

Anyways, I got to Palo Duro at about 4:00 and the wind was blowing strong. It would nearly grind to a halt as I descended into the canyon. This was my best shot to get Mountain Bluebird. First up, the Kiowa Trail that follows the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River (that really is more of a stream). 4:00 is not the ideal birding time, but there was some decent activity. Along the river birds were settling in for the night. Dark-eyed Junco was abundant, and a roosting flock of American Robins were making a ton of noise.Then I heard the highlight of the day. Chihuahuan Raven! Lifer! As the sun set I had a Hermit Thrush before rushing off make camp.

Pine Siskins

I woke early to start one of the Texas bucket list hikes, the 6 mile Lighthouse Trail. The trail itself is not the best trail for birds. On a Satruday morning people from Lubbock and Amarillo are all over the trail with their dogs. And these dogs love to bark at each other. There were still some good birds. Wild Turkeys greeted me on the trail, and Chihuahuan Ravens were always in sight above me. Woodhouse's Scrub, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and Canyon Towhee were on the trail, and those were some great birds. But the trail, wow. It's incredible. I almost like it more than Boot Canyon. Almost. Multicolored rock formations beneath the never ending Texas sky dominate every view. The Rocky Mountain Juniper adds a ton of green. This is a must do hike.

The Lighthouse

I spent the afternoon at the Trading Post Bird Blind with that had a lot of the usual suspects, although Pine Siskin was a cool find. Late in the afternoon I went to the Soapberry Day Use area hoping to get some birds near the water. I found some weird mass in the tree. Nest? Beehive? Owl? Porcupine! I'd never seen one in the wild before. I decided to go to Canyon for dinner, frustrated that I hadn't seen Mountain Bluebird. Once I got service at the visitor center I pulled up my post on Texbirds with recommendations on finding them. Of course, I had been looking in the wrong place. The tip said to check the power lines outside the entrance, then to continue to Sunday Canyon Road. I didn't even have to go that far. About .5 miles from the park entrance I had 2 Mountian Bluebirds on the power lines. Wingo, lifer! On my way in to Canyon I had one more good bird, a Great Horned Owl on the power line.

Mountain Bluebird

Overall I can't recommend Palo Duro Canyon enough. I probably could have seen more birds in another place, but the scenery and hiking quality can't be beat. Camping is outstanding as well. One full day is probably enough to do The Lighthouse and see the cave, perfect for a weekend trip. People also report Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and sometimes a Red-naped Sapsucker.

Northern Mockingbird

Before going I'd recommend reading Empire of the Summer Moon, an excellent book about the Comanches that were very acquainted with the canyon. Galvan's in Turkey is a fantastic restaurant to stop at as you come in, and Joe Taco in Canyon is another great eat to celebrate a lifer Mountain Bluebird.