Guadalupe Mountains National Park

 I’ve been all over the state birding, except for one place: Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It’s one of the least visited parks in the country, and for reasons that aren’t it’s fault. It’s very isolated and there are no restaurants nearby, no showers, and the weather is not favorable for half the year due to crazy amounts of cold and wind. It’s not as popular as it’s neighbors Carlsbad Caverns or Big Bend, but it should be. 

Spotted Towhee

Making the effort to get out there is very rewarding from a birding perspective. The higher reaches of the Guadalupe Mountains offer unique habitat that can’t be found anywhere else in Texas. High elevation pine forest is scarce outside of the Davis and Chisos Mountains, but the Guads are more similar and closer to the Rockies. In fact, most of the tallest peaks in Texas are in the Guadalupe Mountains. As a result you get some birds that you can’t find in the other two. For example, this is the only place in Texas you can find Pygmy Nuthatch, and one of two places for Mountain Chickadee and Steller’s Jay (high up in the Davis Mountains is the other place).

I always have a top 5 of ABA and Texas birds that I want to tick, and the Guads had some of those. My top 5 for Texas was Williamson’s Sapsucker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, and Crimson-collared Grosbeak. 

My flight from El Paso arrived Friday night and I made the drive towards the Guads. Temps were dropping below freezing and wind gusts were 25+ mph. The nightly low ended up being 19° not including wind chill. I checked in at the ranger station and got my bearings. Starting at Frijole Ranch I did the Smith Spring loop. For the sake of length I’ll skim over this, but it’s a gorgeous trail and pretty easy. The wind was awful which kept the birds down. After that I hustled to Rattlesnake Springs just across the New Mexico to try for Blue Mockingbird, but no dice. That sucked, a definite brief low point of the trip. In hindsight I should have focused on McKittrick Canyon, that’s the spot to bird. Oh well.

Canyon Towhee

On to the really fun stuff. The Bowl is that area of pine forest that is so hard to find in Texas. Most people come to hike Guadalupe Peak, I came for the Bowl. Unfortunately it’s about 9 miles round trip and you gain 2,500 feet of elevation in 3 miles. It’s harder than the Colima hike. Side note: follow the wash to the frijole trail, I got confused but follow the Tejas Trail north. Anyways, the route I took up was Bear Canyon, the more direct, but steeper route. It took me about 2 hours and I saw no birds due to the insane wind. No worries, I was focused on just getting up. There’s a reason there are so few eBird checklists, especially in the winter, for the Bowl. But that’s why I decided to go in January.

View from The Bowl

My heart sank when I got to the top. The wind was worse than on Bear Canyon. I had the foresight to wear my light jacket and stuff my down sweater in my backpack, along with a balaclava and gloves. I was pouring sweat, but the wind and altitude cooled me off quickly and I needed both as layers for a chunk of the hike.

Way at the top is where the picture above this was taken

The birding was nonexistent for most of the hike due to the wind. I saw a flash of red at one point, which suggests Cassin’s Finch, but I couldn’t be sure. Still, the Bowl is enchanting. The tall pines do not feel like Texas, and despite no birds I didn’t want to leave. I could have spent all day up there, and I was the only person that made the hike that day.

This was the first time I’ve birded where I truly felt isolated. I was by myself in the mountains in the winter. Me, the bears, and the mountain lions. The feeling of being the only human up there is exhilarating. I resigned myself to not seeing any birds, which wasn’t that hard. The hike was worth it even if I didn’t see a single bird, which I didn’t until I reached an area that blocked the wind. 

Red-naped Sapsucker 

A Red-naped Sapsucker was the first identifiable bird I saw…an hour into the hike. It was a lifer, and one of the birds I came here to look for.  But what followed it up had me on the verge of tears. Another woodpecker started loudly calling and dropped. No way, a gorgeous male WILLIAMSON’S SAPSUCKER! 

Irregular in the Trans-Pecos in winter according to Nat Geo’s field guide, you have your work cut out to see one. The TOS handbook says that they are an annual visitor in very small numbers to West Texas. I dreamed of seeing one, but didn’t expect to. He was super cooperative and really allowed me to soak it in. To see it on a clear day in perfect habitat is indescribable.

Williamson's Sapsucker

I was high. This is why I’m a birder. The rush of the hike combined with the birds tipped me over the edge. This wasn’t some backyard feeder watching, “look at my redbirds” bullshit. This is the type of  birding that I want my friends to experience with me. It’s impossible to experience a moment like that and not love birds.

But I wasn’t done. A mixed flock turned up lots of usual suspects with a few Mountain Chickadees sprinkled in. Not a lifer, but a Texas lifer! No Pygmy Nuthatch, but honestly I ain’t even worried. I’m doing the Bowl again, maybe even later this year. 

Mountain Chickadee

Hiking down I paid no attention to birds because one false move was sending me down the mountain. Including early confusion, it took me about 2 hours to go up each way up and down, and I spent probably 3 hours in the Bowl itself, which is a pretty level trail minus one small part. 7 hours total to do about 9 miles, not bad. Next time I want to backcountry camp to spend even more time up there.

A surprisingly cooperative Sharp-shinned Hawk

I spent my last day in El Paso camping at Franklin Mountains. Overall a great park, the nature trail was productive and the Aztec caves were a great hike. I was able to add Green-tailed Towhee to my life list and Gambel’s Quail to my state list. 

Green-tailed Towhee

I spent my afternoon chasing Lewis’s Woodpecker at the El Paso Country Club. Finding one in Texas is a hard thing to do, and I somehow saw 2! My reaction is a little more muted because I saw it on a golf course and didn’t get great looks or photos. Nevertheless, I am HYPED to see one. 

Lewis's Woodpecker

The waning moments of my trip brought me to Rafa’s Burritos, which was 2 feet in length. Verdict: it slapped. Second best burrito after Roberto’s in San Diego. I wandered to Aguacaste Park literally along the border wall to work on my El Paso county list, where I may have gotten Greater Scaup but that is pending some photo reviews. By that point it was 3:30, time to head to airport and head home! To get 1 out of my top 5 is a good trip, 3 of 5 is mind boggling.

Texas Antelope Squirrel

I had high expectations for Guadalupe Mountains and I was still blown away. Birder or not, get there. It’s easily a three day trip between McKittrick Canyon, the Bowl, and Guadalupe Peak. I am really kicking myself for not doing McKittrick Canyon. You can even combine it with a trip to Carlsbad Caverns an hour up the road. The Guads having as little visitation as it has is honestly a crime, but it does give you some solitude that you can’t find at other parks. If you go, take me with you. I’m still digesting the experience, but it may be better than Boot Canyon. I’m not sure, the high hasn’t worn off yet. 

Black-throated Sparrow

Cold weather, high winds, it doesn’t matter. The challenges combined with the birds will make you feel more alive than you’ll ever feel.