Monday April 1 – Big Bend Ranch State Park
After a good night sleep we wake up and decide to visit another Texas State Park, Big Bend Ranch just a few miles west of Big Bend National Park. It’s the least visited of all the Texas State Parks yet is one of the largest. Services are limited but at the visitor center we secure a site at a very small primitive campground. There are 6 campsites and a pit toilet. Each site is somewhat secluded with a picnic table. What else could we hope for now! Last night two sites were used but when arriving we find we are the only ones here. After setting up camp we leave the trailer and head out for a hike.
Getting to any trailhead involves driving. We pick one a Ranger recommends that is good for birding. It’s about a 20 mile drive on paved road then 21 miles of rough gravel road out of the Rio Grande Valley. The hike starts in the desert and works its way up to a small canyon like area that has water and trees and birds. The trail apparently ends at a small falls and water pool but there’s little water flowing. We stop just short of the falls where the trail becomes a bit hairy knowing that there really aren’t falls to be seen.
Birds are plentiful but elusive to see. We get a view of a black chinned hummingbird. Wells first hears the hummer and wonders if in fact it was a hummingbird. After about 20 minutes we again hear the call and are lucky enough to gain a view of it. It’s fascinating that in this dry desert there are ecological oasis where available water creates a totally new environment.
We arrive at the truck and backtrack to the campsite where we are treated to more birds. Most views are fleeting but we see a pyrrhuloxia. What’s that? Basically you can call it a western cardinal.
Seeing North America 