February 16, 2003
Eventually, the freezing rain turned to snow as we crossed through Missouri. We took a slight detour off of I-270 and found several Eurasian Tree Sparrows at a backyard feeder in the West Alton area, just north of Saint Louis.
By now, we were hearing reports of a major snowstorm that was moving up the East Coast. We were hoping that we’d be able to get home before the storm hit, but that wasn’t the case. The farther east we went, the harder it snowed and the worse the roads got. We saw at least 80 vehicles that had either slid off the road or crashed. The crack in the bottom right corner of the windshield that we got in McAllen, Texas now stretched all the way across to the driver's side and we had to periodically stop to remove the ice buildup on the wipers. By the time we reached Zanesville, Ohio, we had no choice but to get a motel and hope that the weather would improve. We got a room at a Super 8 motel and stocked up on snacks at a local convenience store since all other businesses in the area were already closed down. We later heard that the state police were fining people who didn’t get off the roads and get a motel.
February 17, 2003
By the next morning, the snow had stopped. We dug the van out of the motel parking lot and headed for Pennsylvania. Eastern Ohio’s stretch of I-70 was still snow-covered, but once we got into Pennsylvania, we found a big improvement. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was in amazingly great shape, bare in most places. We eventually made it home by late evening, where we found the area covered with about 18 inches of snow. Despite the tricky driving conditions at the beginning and end of our trip, it was a great one. We managed to see almost every target bird that we went for. Since it was Ben’s first trip out west, he saw well over a hundred 'lifers'. I personally saw or heard a total of 223 species during the trip, of which 9 were 'lifers' for me.
Trip Itinerary
Day 1) Friday, February 7th, 2003 (Emmaus, PA to Alabama)
Stops: None.
Day 2) Saturday, February 8th, 2003 (Alabama to McAllen, TX)
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, TX.
Day 3) Sunday, February 9th, 2003 (Rio Grande Valley area, TX)
University of Texas – Pan American Campus (Edinburg);
Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, TX;
Anzalduas County Park, TX;
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, TX.
Day 4) Monday, February 10th, 2003 (Rio Grande Valley area, TX)
Corner of N. 10th Street and Violet Avenue in McAllen, TX;
Allen Williams’ residence in Pharr, TX;
Sabal Palm Sanctuary, TX;
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, TX.
Day 5) Tuesday, February 11th, 2003 (Salineno, TX to Patagonia, AZ)
Salineno, TX;
Chapeno, TX;
Falcon Dam, TX;
Zapata, TX.
Day 6) Wednesday, February 12th, 2003 (Patagonia to Continental, AZ)
Paton’s feeders, AZ;
Patagonia Lake State Park, AZ;
San Rafael Grasslands, AZ.
Day 7) Thursday, February 13th, 2003 (Continental / Madera Canyon area, AZ)
Florida Canyon, AZ;
Continental area, AZ;
Madera Canyon, AZ.
Day 8) Friday, February 14th, 2003 (Continental, AZ to Albuquerque, NM)
Florida Canyon, AZ;
San Xavier Mission, AZ;
Red Rock, AZ area;
Boyce Thompson Arboretum, AZ.
Day 9) Saturday, February 15th, 2003 (Albuquerque, NM to Missouri)
Sandia Crest, NM;
McLean, TX area.
Day 10) Sunday, February 16th, 2003 (Missouri to Zanesville, Ohio)
West Alton, MO area (north of Saint Louis).
Day 11) Monday, February 17th, 2003 (Zanesville, Ohio to Emmaus, PA)
Stops: None.
TX-AZ-NM Trip List - February 7th–17th, 2003
1) Least Grebe (TX)
2) Pied-billed Grebe (TX)(AZ)
3) American White Pelican (LA)(TX)(MO)
4) Brown Pelican (LA)(TX)
5) Double-crested Cormorant (LA)(TX)
6) Neotropic Cormorant (TX)
7) Anhinga (TX)
8) Great Blue Heron (LA)(TX)
9) Great Egret (LA)(TX)
10) Snowy Egret (LA)(TX)
11) Little Blue Heron (TX)
12) Tricolored Heron (TX)
13) Reddish Egret (TX)
14) Cattle Egret (LA)(TX)
15) White Ibis (TX)
16) Roseate Spoonbill (TX)
17) Greater White-fronted Goose (LA)(TX)
18) Snow Goose (LA)(TX)
19) Ross’s Goose (LA)
20) Canada Goose (VA)
21) Mottled Duck (TX)
22) Mallard (AZ)
23) Northern Pintail (TX)
24) Blue-winged Teal (TX)
25) Cinnamon Teal (AZ)
26) Northern Shoveler (TX)
27) Gadwall (TX)
28) American Wigeon (TX)
29) Canvasback (TX)
30) Lesser Scaup (TX)(AZ)
31) Common Goldeneye (TX)
32) Bufflehead (TX)(AZ)
33) Common Merganser (AZ)
34) Red-breasted Merganser (TX)
35) Ruddy Duck (AZ)
36) Black Vulture (LA)(TX)
37) Turkey Vulture (LA)(TX)
38) Osprey (LA)(TX)
39) Hook-billed Kite (TX)
40) White-tailed Kite (TX)(AZ)
41) Bald Eagle (MO)
42) Northern Harrier (LA)(TX)(AZ)
43) Sharp-shinned Hawk (TX)
44) Cooper’s Hawk (TX)
45) Harris’s Hawk (TX)
46) Gray Hawk (TX)
47) Red-shouldered Hawk (TX)
48) White-tailed Hawk (TX)
49) Zone-tailed Hawk (TX)
50) Red-tailed Hawk (LA)(TX)(AZ)(NM)
51) Ferruginous Hawk (AZ)(TX)
52) Rough-legged Hawk (TX)
53) Crested Caracara (TX)
54) American Kestrel (LA)(TX)(AZ)(NM)
55) Merlin (TX)(AZ)
56) Prairie Falcon (AZ)
57) Peregrine Falcon (TX)
58) Plain Chachalaca (TX)
59) Gambel’s Quail (AZ)
60) Virginia Rail (AZ)
61) Sora (TX)
62) Common Moorhen (TX)
63) American Coot (TX)(AZ)
64) Sandhill Crane (TX)
65) Whooping Crane (TX)
66) Killdeer (LA)(TX)(AZ)
67) Black-necked Stilt (TX)
68) American Avocet (TX)
69) Lesser Yellowlegs (TX)
70) Willet (TX)
71) Spotted Sandpiper (TX)
72) Long-billed Curlew (TX)
73) Short-billed Dowitcher (TX)
74) Common Snipe (TX)
75) Laughing Gull (TX)
76) Ring-billed Gull (LA)(TX)
77) Lesser Black-backed Gull (TX)
78) Caspian Tern (TX)
79) Forster’s Tern (TX)
80) Rock Dove (LA)(TX)(AZ)
81) Eurasian Collared-Dove (AZ)
82) White-winged Dove (TX)(AZ)
83) Mourning Dove (LA)(TX)(AZ)
84) Inca Dove (TX)(AZ)
85) Common Ground-Dove (TX)(AZ)
86) Ruddy Ground-Dove* (AZ)
87) White-tipped Dove (TX)
88) Green Parakeet* (TX)
89) Greater Roadrunner (TX)
90) Eastern Screech-Owl (TX)
91) Western Screech-Owl (AZ)
92) Whiskered Screech-Owl (AZ)
93) Great Horned Owl (TX)
94) Northern Pygmy-Owl (HNS)(AZ)
95) Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (TX)
96) Burrowing Owl (AZ)
97) Short-eared Owl (AZ)
98) Common Pauraque (TX)
99) Buff-bellied Hummingbird (TX)
100) Magnificent Hummingbird (AZ)
101) Anna’s Hummingbird (AZ)
102) Rufous Hummingbird (TX)
103) Ringed Kingfisher (TX)
104) Belted Kingfisher (TX)
105) Green Kingfisher (TX)
106) Lewis’s Woodpecker (AZ)
107) Gila Woodpecker (AZ)
108) Acorn Woodpecker (AZ)
109) Golden-fronted Woodpecker (TX)
110) Red-naped Sapsucker (AZ)
111) Ladder-backed Woodpecker (TX)(AZ)
112) Hairy Woodpecker (NM)
113) Northern “Red-shafted” Flicker (AZ)
114) Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet (TX)
115) Greater Pewee (TX)
116) Hammond’s Flycatcher (AZ)
117) Gray Flycatcher (AZ)
118) Black Phoebe (TX)(AZ)
119) Eastern Phoebe (TX)
120) Say’s Phoebe (AZ)
121) Vermilion Flycatcher (TX)
122) Great Kiskadee (TX)
123) Couch’s Kingbird (TX)
124) Horned Lark (AZ)
125) Purple Martin (TX)
126) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (TX)
127) Cave Swallow (TX)
128) Steller’s Jay (NM)
129) Green Jay (TX)
130) Brown Jay (TX)
131) Western Scrub-Jay (AZ)
132) Mexican Jay (AZ)
133) American Crow (LA)(NM)
134) Chihuahuan Raven (TX)(AZ)
135) Common Raven (AZ)(NM)
136) Mountain Chickadee (NM)
137) Bridled Titmouse (AZ)
138) Black-crested Titmouse (TX)
139) Verdin (TX)(AZ)
140) Red-breasted Nuthatch (NM)
141) White-breasted Nuthatch (AZ)(NM)
142) Cactus Wren (AZ)
143) Canyon Wren (AZ)
144) Bewick’s Wren (TX)(AZ)
145) House Wren (TX)
146) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (TX)(AZ)
147) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (TX)
148) Black-capped Gnatcatcher* (AZ)
149) Western Bluebird (AZ)
150) Mountain Bluebird (AZ)
151) Hermit Thrush (TX)(AZ)
152) Rufous-backed Robin* (AZ)
153) Clay-colored Robin* (TX)
154) American Robin (LA)(TX)(AZ)
155) Blue Mockingbird* (TX)
156) Northern Mockingbird (LA)(TX)
157) Long-billed Thrasher (TX)
158) Curve-billed Thrasher (TX)(AZ)
159) American Pipit (TX)
160) Cedar Waxwing (TX)(AZ)
161) Phainopepla (AZ)
162) Loggerhead Shrike (LA)(TX)(AZ)
163) European Starling (LA)(TX)(AZ)
164) White-eyed Vireo (TX)
165) Blue-headed Vireo (TX)
166) Hutton’s Vireo (AZ)
167) Orange-crowned Warbler (TX)(AZ)
168) Tropical Parula (TX)
169) Yellow-rumped Warbler (TX)(AZ)
170) Black-throated Green Warbler (TX)
171) Pine Warbler (TX)
172) Common Yellowthroat (TX)
173) Wilson’s Warbler (TX)
174) Painted Redstart (AZ)
175) Golden-crowned Warbler* (TX)
176) Northern Cardinal (LA)(TX)(AZ)
177) Pyrrhuloxia (TX)(AZ)
178) Indigo Bunting (TX)
179) Olive Sparrow (TX)
180) Green-tailed Towhee (AZ)
181) Spotted Towhee (AZ)
182) Canyon Towhee (AZ)
183) White-collared Seedeater (TX)
184) Abert’s Towhee (AZ)
185) Rufous-winged Sparrow* (AZ)
186) Chipping Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
187) Brewer’s Sparrow (AZ)
188) Vesper Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
189) Lark Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
190) Black-throated Sparrow (AZ)
191) Lark Bunting (AZ)
192) Savannah Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
193) Baird’s Sparrow (AZ)
194) Song Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
195) Lincoln’s Sparrow (TX)
196) White-throated Sparrow (AZ)
197) White-crowned Sparrow (AZ)
198) Yellow-eyed Junco (AZ)
199) Dark-eyed Junco (AZ)(NM)
200) Chestnut-collared Longspur (AZ)
201) Red-winged Blackbird (TX)
202) Eastern Meadowlark (LA)(TX)(AZ)
203) Western Meadowlark (AZ)
204) Yellow-headed Blackbird (AZ)
205) Brewer’s Blackbird (AZ)
206) Great-tailed Grackle (LA)(TX)(AZ)
207) Common Grackle (TX)
208) Bronzed Cowbird (TX)
209) Hooded Oriole (TX)
210) Altamira Oriole (TX)
211) Audubon’s Oriole (TX)
212) Bullock’s Oriole (AZ)
213) Cassin’s Finch (AZ)
214) House Finch (TX)(AZ)
215) Gray-crowned Rosy Finch (NM)
216) Black Rosy Finch* (NM)
217) Brown-capped Rosy Finch (NM)
218) Pine Siskin (AZ)
219) Lesser Goldfinch (TX)(AZ)
220) American Goldfinch (TX)
221) Lawrence’s Goldfinch (AZ)
222) House Sparrow (TX)(AZ)
223) Eurasian Tree Sparrow (MO)
* denotes ‘Life’ Bird;
(HNS) denotes Bird was Heard but Not Seen;
(VA) Virginia
(LA) Louisiana
(TX) Texas
(AZ) Arizona
(NM) New Mexico
(MO) Missouri
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