27 April 08
West Texas Tidbits
This morning we were having side-by-side views of Brewer’s and clay-colored sparrow in the scrublands northwest of Uvalde, Texas. We arrived back this afternoon from our trip to the Texas hill country, Big Bend, and the Davis Mountains and quickly saw our familiar crows and yellow-billed magpies again — quite a change of avifauna!
Best bird of the trip: the Colima warbler. In the United States this birds is only to be found in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, and it takes a long hike to get to the zone where it was found. We had a long 12-and-a-half hour hike that day, but after much effort and careful listening, we caught up with the bird. This was Pica’s 700th species of bird seen in the ABA region.
Most obliging life bird ever: on the Colima hike, a Mexican jay caught up with us hoping to procure some trail mix. He followed us up a few hundred meters, and often got within several feet of us. This was my first Mexican jay ever — I wish all life birds were so accomodating!
Most amazing astronomical sight: since the Big Bend area and the Davis Mountains have the darkest skies of anywhere in the continental United States, I figured on doing some good stargazing. I saw the zodiacal light for the first time ever, but what was incredibly cool was seeing the intersection of the band formed by the zodiacal light with the Milky Way. The former follows the ecliptic, that is to say the plane of our solar system. The latter marks the plane of our galaxy. Incredible to see this intersection in the real sky rather than just on a star chart.
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I hadn’t realized the skies there were so dark, though that makes sense; of course, that’s why the observatory is there.
Sounds like a glorious trip. I’m so glad.
Congratulations!! Both on ABA #700 for Pica and some fantastic stargazing for Numenius. Sounds like you had a great time – wish we were there with you instead of ahead of you. We had the same Mexican Jay ‘harassing’ us too!
Sounds like a great trip all around! Congrats on the hike – its an accomplishment in itself! Pica – let the party begin!
Wow! What a fantastic trip…12 1/2 hour hike sounds…well for this couch potato…horrible, but I’m so glad to know you had a big payoff with #700 and I am educated, once again, by learning about Zodiacal Light…you guys are really terrific and I’m looking forward to those bird drawings!
I’m envious, with a capital E, both by the birds you saw and the dark skies for incredible viewing. It’s like living the show Cosmos without Carl Sagan beaming at you. ;)
Thanks, everyone, for the congratulations. I got twelve blisters for that Colima, one for each hour. (I do fine for five miles, then it all goes south. It’s genetic.)
Gainor, West Texas is beyond belief — I thought of Frances riding around her ranch with her hearing aid battery in her gun holster. I cannot BELIEVE she managed to eke out a living there. Unbelievable. It hasn’t changed much, though: nary a stoplight in five counties…
Welcome home!