Sunrise in Terlingua, TX, August 26, 2019

We found that leaving our porch light on brought us some very interesting visitors, like this walking stick.

The rock scorpion was visited by a katydid.

Male praying mantis on the wall outside our door

Moth

Katydid

Moth

Dobsonfly

A trail out into the field in front of our B&B

Looking west from the driveway back to the B&B

Our room was on the north end of the house.

Our Air B&B in Terlingua, TX

An air-breathing fish in front of the house

Mary, standing outside the B&B

We had a couple of metal chairs and a fire pit in front of our room.

View of the B&B from the NE; you can see one of the 3 rain-capture barrels behind the building

View of the back of our B&B with our CRV and rain-capture receptacles

We parked at the back of the house.

The silver brontosaurus maintained its vigilance on the hill SW of the house.

Steve got out early to see what birds might be around the property where we were staying.

A Pyrrhuloxia flying by

A Scaled Quail adult with two chicks on the driveway

Scaled Quail

Black-throated Sparrow on ocotillo in front of the B&B

Nancy V points out something to Mary

Patti returns after a morning walk

Nancy V, Mary and Patti

Nancy V, Mary and Patti spied another Scaled Quail on a rock near the entrance to the B&B property

Wider view of Scaled Quail near the entrance to our B&B property

A rock squirrel on another rock outcropping on the property

Scaled Quail

We had looked for Cactus Wrens in the Ft Davis area and had not seen one, but then we found one on the property at the B&B.

Cactus Wren

Pyrrhuloxia

Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren

Mary, documenting the morning

Metal flower sculpture

Green metal flower structure

A wildflower sprouting from the gravel

We spent the day at Big Bend National Park.

Landscape in BBNP

We were warned, but we didn't see any big mammals.

BBNP Landscape

Following the road through BBNP

Our first stop was the Panther Junction Visitor Center.

There were lots of birds on the property at the Visitor Center like this Cactus Wren.

A pair of adult Scaled Quail with a juvenile

Adult Scaled Quail at Panther Junction Visitor Center, Big Bend National Park, TX

Juvenile bird? ID?

ID?

Chihuahuan Raven on a power pole at the Visitor Center

Curve-billed Thrasher

Bullock's Oriole with a disfigured bill
BD: might be juv male. Note trace of dark eye line and dark hood, possibly beginnings of molt into 1st fall.

Bullock's Oriole taking off from a branch

A pair of Cactus Wrens in the parking lot at the Visitor Center

Cactus Wren

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird
BD: compare to same species on Day 2

Cactus Wren with a fly

Cactus Wren

Black and yellow lubber grasshoppers mating

Patti at our next stop, a nearby campground in Big Bend National Park

Nancy R took a little respite from the heat in the shade of a tree across the parking lot.

Steve hiked up the road to reconnoiter and returned.

We decided to walk down the trail to a water treatment plant with Steve and Nancy V leading the way.

Nancy V and Nancy R

Nancy V found an interesting feather along the path.

Say's Phoebe

Townsend's Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

This Canyon Wren appropriately showed up in a small canyon off the trail we were walking.

The Canyon Wren moved on to an ocotillo along the top of the ridge.

Rufous-crowned Sparrow
BD: Note white malar and black lateral throat stripe, otherwise all gray from side. Note particularly thin bill for sparrow. (Compare to Day 2 RCSP)

Rufous-crowned Sparrow
BD: Note white malar and black lateral throat stripe, otherwise all gray from side. Note particularly thin bill for sparrow.

Adult female Western Tanager
BD: Bill shape is consistent with tanager rather than oriole. Notched tale is consistent with tanager rather than oriole. Other marks consistent with WETA. I would call this one a bright female rather rather than pale.

Dickcissel, note yellow tinge to long supercilium

Wilson's Warbler
BD: note bright yellow supercilium, white undertail rather than yellow. lack of bright yellow edges on secondary coverts and secondaries.

Steve steps off the trail to follow a bird.

Patti, along the perimeter of the water treatment facility (WTF)

Nancy V, looking for a bird around a retention pond outside and behind the fence around the WTF

Locked gate to the water treatment facility

On the way back up the hill from the WTF, we noticed this yucca with stringy filaments on the tips.

Interesting yucca

Western Wood-Pewee
BD: notched tail, some lightness at base of bill, smudged undertail coverts. Primary extension ambiguous, sort of intermediate between phoebe and pewee, but other characters are sufficiently diagnostic.

Western Wood-Pewee

Western Wood-Pewee

Oriole-looking nest

Mary, Nancy V, Patti and Nancy R at the turn back up toward the campground, coming up from the WTP

As we made the turn, we looked up through the trees.

Patti, Mary, Nancy V and Nancy R on the trail back up to the parking lot at the campground

Nancy R, Nancy V, Mary and Patti facing the sun

Patti, Mary, Nancy R and Nancy V on the trail ahead

When we got back to the top of the road, Steve went over to the edge of the ridge and took a photo of the WTP where we had just been.

Landscape and sky

This feature could be seen from all over the park.

After our walk, we went to the Chisos Mountains Visitor Center for lunch; this was our view out the restaurant windows.

On the wall outside the restaurant, Mary found an antique--a pay telephone--and had to try it out.

The view of the butte from the back side of the Visitor Center

The view in the opposite direction was through the gap to the valley below.

On the grounds, a katydid investigated a cholla flower bud.

After our late lunch, we stopped by a small oasis at Dugout Wells where a small stream of water across the road drew a wide variety of birds, including this female Painted Bunting.

Female House Finch at Dugout Wells

There was a road around the area and paths through it. I walked through the middle and found this Greater Roadrunner in a tree overhead.

Western Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Butterfly

Ladderback Woodpecker

Western Kingbird

Pink wildflower

Ladderback Woodpecker

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

House Finches

Greater Roadrunner

Lark Bunting at the little stream of water across the road at Dugout Wells, BBNP, TX

Lark Bunting

Lark Bunting

Lark Bunting

Lark Bunting

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Pyrrhuloxia

Mockingbird

Greater Roadrunner getting a drink in the water running across the road at Dugout Wells, Great Bend National Park, TX

Greater Roadrunner

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow--less of an obvious eyering than Vesper

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Juvenile Chipping Sparrow

Lavender flower

Lavender flower

On the way to Rio Grande Village, we came upon this tunnel and decided we needed to stop and take a few photos.

View of the tunnel from the middle of the road

We were traveling in Nancy V's CRV

Nancy R got out to get a photo of the information sign at Boquillas Canyon.

Boquillas Canyon sign

Steve, looking across the Rio Grande at Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend National Park, TX

Rio Grande flowing through Boquillas Canyon

Boquillas Canyon

Mary, at Boquillas Canyon

We drove through the Rio Grande Village campground and found several Greater Roadrunners like this one.

There were three roadrunners around these picnic tables.

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Male Vermilion Flycatcher at campground at Rio Grande Village

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Javelina

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Male Vermilion Flycatcher

Javelinas crossing the road in front of us

Greater Roadrunner

Willow Flycatcher?

Steve and Patti took a walk down to the water in the campground.

Dragonfly

Black-throated Sparrow

Dragonfly

Yellow tubular wildflowers

We got back to Terlingua after dark, but found a pizza place that was partially built into the ground. Nancy V waited patiently for food.

Nancy R studied local news articles about our restaurant choice while Mary looked on.

Nancy V and Patti, waiting for pizza

We got the friendly waitress to take a photo of all of us: Nancy R, Nancy V, Patti, Steve, Mary