Big Bend National park - Day 2 and 3

The second day of the trip was supposed to start early. The plan was to trek the Boot Canyon Trail to find the Colima Warbler which can be found only in the mountains along this trail in the entire US. It was high on my wishlist. Along with this we could find the White-throated Swifts in the trail. The plan was to try our luck with both the birds. I was also hoping to see some of the other Big Bend specialties along the way.

Started at around the 6:00 AM in the morning. The trail was long hence decided to start early. Also wanted to cover some distance before the heat started kicking in. On the trail the first interesting bird I sighted was a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers. It was interesting to see them busy in the morning trying to cleanup their storage space. The next bird I saw was a Crissal Thrasher. Again Big Bend specialty which I was very fortunate to find. The light was very bad but it was good enough to see the bird for the first time. Along the way saw some Rufous-crowned and Chipping sparrows. Here I got to see my first Mexican Jay as well.

Acorn Woodpecker

Crissal Thrasher

Mexican Jay

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

The trek was difficult with the heat but sighting of all these birds kept me up in good spirit. There was always some activity every few yards. Here I got to see my first Black-tailed Gnatcher and the Black-chinned Sparrow as well. I saw quite a few flycatchers which I could not ID confidently. The other local specialty which I got to see was a Canyon Towhee. Just before I reached the peak I saw some swifts flying over. It was difficult to ID them from long distance but thankfully a fellow birder helped with his scope to ID the bird. We also got to see the Colima Warbler for a brief period. Without the fellow birder I would never have been able to find and ID the bird. Could not thank him enough. On the way back got to see some Orioles and Towhees again. 

Black-tailed Gnatcher

Hermit Thrush

Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-chinned Sparrow

Bewick's Wren

Spotted Towhee

Canyon Towhee

Say's Pheobe

In the evening visited the Waste Water treatment plant. I was told it was another good spot to see some birds. I was not disappointed. Here I saw some Acorn Woodpeckers again along with some Tanagers.  A Greater roadrunner gave a quick visit before going back into the bushes. I could see some Clay-colored sparrows, Goldfinches and Warblers. I was told a Varied Bunting visits this treatment plant and would be a good place to spot this bird. I tried to spend some time here but could not find the bird anywhere. It was getting late hence decided to head back. On the way back found the Scott's Oriole. Another lifer for the trip. The second day of birding again ended on a very high note with the sighting of this bird.

Acorn Woodpecker

Summer Tanager

Greater Roadrunner

House Finch

Chipping Sparrow

Scott's Oriole

White-winged Dove

The next day we were supposed to head back home. But I decided to make a quick dash to the Rio Grande Village before heading back home. I was told we could see the Common Black Hawk here. It was about an hour's detour from our return drive. But it was worth trying our luck to see the bird. The place was good and it was busy with different kind of birds everywhere. Most of the Big Bend specialties could be found here. After a while drove towards the RV parking area where we were told to look for the Black hawks. We spent about an hour here to find the bird but nothing was in sight. We were able to find its nest area and decided wait for another hour before heading back. After waiting for about 30 minutes the hawk returned to the nest. I was glad that we decided to wait here. Got good looks of the bird. It was time to head back home. Long drive awaited us. 

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Vermilion Flycatcher

Collared Dove

Common Ground Dove

Verdin

Common Black Hawk

We spent 2.5 days on the whole at the national park. It was not much. If we plan the trip again, next time we would need a minimum of 4 days to enjoy the complete national park and also probably visit during cooler months rather than in May. It was hot :-) This national park is one of its kind. You have to be there to enjoy the Majesty of this park. It is so vast and these small pockets of green attracts all these birds.

ebird : 

Boot Canyon Trail : https://ebird.org/checklist/S45743141

Rio Grande Village : https://ebird.org/checklist/S45927406

Birds seen during the day :

1. Acorn Woodpecker
2. Ash-throated Flycatcher
3. Bell's Vireo
4. Bewick's Wren
5. Black Phoebe
6. Black Vulture
7. Black-chinned Sparrow
8. Black-crested Titmouse
9. Black-headed Grosbeak
10. Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
11. Blue Grosbeak
12. Brown-crested Flycatcher
13. Bushtit
14. Canyon Towhee
15. Canyon Wren
16. Chipping Sparrow
17. Clay-colored Sparrow
18. Colima Warbler
19. Common Black Hawk
20. Common Ground Dove
21. Couch's Kingbird
22. Crissal Thrasher
23. Dusky Flycatcher
24. Eurasian Collared-Dove
25. Golden-fronted Woodpecker
26. Greater Roadrunner
27. Hermit Thrush
28. House Finch
29. Hutton's Vireo
30. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
31. Loggerhead Shrike
32. Mexican Jay
33. Mourning Dove
34. Northern Mockingbird
35. Painted Bunting
36. Pyrrhuloxia
37. Rufous-crowned Sparrow
38. Say's Phoebe
39. Scott's Oriole
40. Spotted Towhee
41. Summer Tanager
42. Turkey Vulture
43. Verdin
44. Vermilion Flycatcher
45. Warbling Vireo
46. Western Kingbird
47. Western Tanager
48. Western Wood-Pewee
49. White-throated Swift
50. White-winged Dove
51. Wilson's Warbler
52. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)