South and West Texas Trip ~ May 4, 1991

Scrub Jays, Canyon Towhees, and Yellow and "Audubon's" Warblers flew around as we packed up the car at the Indian Lodge. We left the lodge, passed through the campground, and went up Skyline Drive to the overlooks that offered fantastic views of the Davis Mountains and the surrounding area. To the northwest, the white dome of the McDonald Observatory was evident. Rufous-crowned Warblers were in the shrubs near the overlooks.

A view of Davis Mountains State Park showing the Indian Lodge (the white building at left center) and the McDonald Observatory (the small white dome atop the mountain at the right edge of the photo) near Fort Davis, Texas.

A view from the end of Skyline Drive in Davis Mountains State Park, Texas.

From the park, we drove north on Route 17 towards Balmorhea. A tall set of cliffs on the west side of the road were host to a swirling mass of Cave Swallows. Other birds seen along the road included Burrowing Owl, Common Nighthawk, Pyrrhuloxia, "Bullock's" Oriole, and both Lark Sparrow and Lark Bunting.

At I-10, we headed east for the long drive to Kerrville. Almost every underpass between Balmorhea and Sonora held a colony of Cave Swallows. At the Route 290 exit, we left I-10 and went through the town of Sheffield. A short distance past Fort Lancaster State Park, we pulled into a picnic area at the top of a hill. As soon as I got out of the car, I heard a 'lifer' calling across the road. Sure enough, after a fairly short wait, a Gray Vireo came up the steep hillside to greet us.

The Gray Vireo site east of Fort Lancaster State Park, Texas.

We continued east on Route 290 and hopped back onto I-10. We had been following a huge thunderhead for many miles, but luckily, it was moving ahead of us at about the same pace. We stopped a few times to take pictures of the wildflowers blooming in the median strip of the highway. When we did finally reach Kerrville, the rain had ceased and the storm continued to move on.

We checked into the Save Inn Motel and then headed south of Kerrville to the Dewberry Hollow section. Along East Spicer Drive, Babe picked up on the call of a Black-capped Vireo. We zeroed in on the singer, but even though we were within 25 feet of the bird, it took almost an hour before we actually got to see it. The nesting area consists of thick stands of 'shin oak', an impenetrable shrub that grows to about eight feet high. The birds use it well as cover, hardly ever coming out into the open. So, hearing one is fairly easy; seeing one is a different story altogether. I was elated to get to see both of these now-endangered Texas birds (the Golden-cheeked Warbler being the other one) on my first attempts.

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