Encompassing some 775,000 acres or approximately 1200 square miles, Big Bend National Park preserves an area where the United States border along the Río Grande sweeps deep into Mexico. The Chisos Mountains stand sentinel 6,000 feet above the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert. In lush pockets of woodland along its sculpted crest lies the only U.S. nesting habitat of the Colima Warbler. Fortunately, they are fairly common in shady ravines with Grave's Oak.  Males will be singing loudly and proclaiming their territories at the time of our visit, and we ordinarily find our first one in the first three miles of the trail.  Aside from the Colima Warbler, the high Chisos also afford refuge for island populations of Blue-throated Hummingbird, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Painted Redstart, and Hepatic Tanager. Lucifer Hummingbird, Gray Vireo, Varied Bunting, and Black-chinned Sparrow all occur in the foothills of the craggy Chisos. Other Tex-Mexican specialties are more apt to appear in the islands of cottonwoods that flank the Río Grande. Regularly-occurring riparian species we’ll search for here include Gray, Zone-tailed, and Common Black-Hawks.  Along the 107-mile-long portion of the river that forms the Park boundary we’ll visit both the Río Grande Village and the gorgeous Santa Elena Canyon—excellent for Peregrine Falcon. Based at the cool, mile-high Chisos Basin Lodge, we’ll have four evenings to enjoy the deepening shadows slipping down the mountainsides from the porch of our comfortable accommodations. An evening watching a Peregrine circling the enormous monolith of Casa Grande, bathed in the molten light of sunset, is always an unforgettable experience.  Approximately the same elevation, but far better vegetated, the scenic Davis Mountains afford us road access to shady stands of pine oak woodland, and Rocky Mountain Ponderosa pine.  Famous as probably the most reliable location for Montezuma Quail in the U.S., the Davis Mountains also shelter a diverse community of birds. Here we will also look for Common Black-Hawk, as well as Pronghorn Antelope. We will visit an area off-limits to the general public to look for a suite of birds that are almost impossible to see elsewhere in Texas. Among these are Buff-breasted Flycatcher, Mountain Chickadee, and Grace's Warbler. The last afternoon will take us back up the broad Rio Grande valley. At the nearby McNary and Fort Hancock Reservoirs we’ll check for Western and Clark’s Grebes, as well as American Avocet and Cave Swallow. We’ll bookend this unforgettable trip to West Texas with our first and final nights in El Paso.

Cost of West Texas:  Big Bend & the Davis Mountains includes all transportation, lodging, meals, and entrances beginning and ending in El Paso, Texas—$1995.