Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
June 17-25, 2006

June 17, 2006
Saturday morning Susan woke me by asking what time it was. I looked at the clock and it was 4:23 AM. I had mistakenly set the alarm clock for 4:00 PM instead of AM and we were about to miss a very important flight. We jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, brushed our teeth, and were parked in long term parking by 4:45 AM, early enough to check our bags at the parking garage. The clerks seemed confused and almost forgot to give us our baggage claim check for the cooler. I looked at Susan and said, “that is the last time we are going to see that cooler.” The flight was uneventful and we landed in Jackson, WY on time but sin cooler. All day I complained that the baggage clerk was enjoying the container of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies Susan had made, my North Face lumbar pack, and half pound of Peet’s Coffee, all of which were inside the cooler.

After landing we went to Jackson Hole and bought some groceries. The prices were outrageous—even higher than San Francisco. Back out on the highway we stopped at the National Elk Refuge where we saw some Redheads and Trumpeter Swans in the Flat Creek. Two Sandhill Cranes in breeding plumage were in the field. Next we entered Grand Teton National Park and hiked 3.4 miles around pretty little String Lake. We had intended to hike around Phelps Lake but our plans were in disarray due to the absence of our cooler. Arrow leaf balsam root was blooming all around String Lake and there were many birds including Western Tanagers, Western Wood-peewees, White-crowned Sparrows, and one Hairy Woodpecker. After our hike we checked into our room at the Elk Refuge Inn just across the street from the refuge. After dinner we went to the Taggart Lake trailhead to look for birds. We saw Dusky Flycatcher, Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world at just 3.25 inches, and two gorgeous Mountain Bluebirds.

June 18, 2006
In the morning we got up early but the sun was already long since in the sky. Our cooler had not been delivered as promised but we enjoyed some of the complimentary breakfast in the lobby and then checked out. We drove along Highway 26/89 with outstanding views of the Grand Teton Range. We drove back to Taggart Lake Trailhead and hiked 13.5 miles round trip to Amphitheater Lake at 9698 feet. Most people start this popular hike at Lupine Meadows but I think our route was much prettier because we were able to enjoy the incredible wildflower display and the many birds along the drainage creek from Taggart Lake. We were the only people on the trail for the first three miles until the junction with the Amphitheater trailhead. We saw and heard many MacGillivray’s Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Western Wood-peewees, and Western Tanagers. The views of the Grand Teton from Taggart Lake were sublime. Along the trail between Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake I mentioned that it looked like bear habitat. Just then we heard the sound of a heart racing. I thought a bear was behind us but it was actually a long sought after Ruffed Grouse which the guidebook said are frequently found sitting beside the trail. There are also Blue Grouse in the park which also reside in California but they do not make this racing heart sound. Still I wanted to see a Ruffed Grouse not just hear one since it was my first but we were unable to find it in the thick under-story. We continued up this very difficult trail, climbing 3000 feet to the end at Amphitheater Lake. It was especially difficult for us as we were carrying video cameras and binoculars. We soon came to beautiful Bradley Lake at 7000 feet with the Teton Range reflected in its calm waters. We gazed and gazed all alone in this pristine wilderness with only the birds and flowers as our guests. As we gained elevation there was more and more snow on the trail making the hiking even more difficult. At 9540 feet we finally reached Surprise Lake which was a disappointment as it was completely frozen. We were exhausted and stopped there for lunch. There was a chill to the air and so we moved on after a rest to Amphitheater Lake, also frozen. I am guessing the lake is much prettier later in the season when it has thawed because otherwise I cannot see why this trail is so popular. We plodded up the snow covered slope surrounding the lake trying to get to Teton Glacier Overlook which we never found. We came to a precipitous crack in the rocks with a 3000 foot drop then turned around and slid back down to the trailhead on our butts over the snow. Half way back down the trail we found a Pine Grosbeak feeding her chick. This was only the second Pine Grosbeak I have ever seen. While hiking down the trail we came upon a black bear with her cub. She had a long gash all the way across her side from head to rump. Susan said it was cute until she saw the gash and then she got scared and insisted we leave. We returned to the trailhead at Taggart Lake but saw few people after leaving the Amphitheater trail junction. I was glad we had started from Taggart as this is undoubtedly one of the most pulchritudinous trails in Grand Teton NP. The wildflower display was incredible especially as framed by the peaks of the Grand Teton Range. After our hike we proceeded down the John D. Rockefeller Parkway into Yellowstone National Park.

In 1994 when I went to Yellowstone for the first time evidence of the 1988 fire was everywhere but on this trip evidence of the recovery was remarkable. We stopped at Lewis Creek where we saw a raft of Barrow’s Goldeneyes and a few Common Mergansers. At the entrance station we got out for a picture by the park sign and were devoured by mosquitoes. So we hurried back to the car and continued to Lake Lodge not stopping much on the way. We checked into our home for the next week, the Lake Lodge Cabins. The cabins are similar to the ones at Grant Grove Village in Kings Canyon NP. The main lodge sits on the shores of Lake Yellowstone and the cabins are lined up behind it concentration camp style. Nevertheless, they are very quiet for the most part and offer much privacy. We did have to share though as our cabin was a duplex. Our cooler was waiting for us at the lodge when we arrived and we were so relieved to have our coffee back and somewhere to put our beer. No one was occupying the other side of our cabin the first night and we soon fell asleep soundly in the quiet even though it was still twilight outside.

June 19, 2006
We arose as early as possible for an early start at Norris Geyser Basin but the sun was already up. Being in the park during the longest days of the year we were never able to see the sun rise and only saw the sun set once. We were the first people to arrive at Norris and Susan enjoyed seeing her first ever geysers. She claimed to be able to feel the ground move when the geysers went off. Yellowstone NP sits on a vast caldera created by a massive volcanic eruption 640,000 years ago. The caldera is responsible for the many geothermal features in the park. It could go off again at any time in the next 600,000 years including during our visit but it didn’t. The tallest geyser in the world is in Norris, the Steamboat Geyser; however, it is unreliable and its eruption times are unknown. The last major eruption was May 23, 2005. We stopped and watched as it had a minor eruption. After enjoying all the steaming vents, fumaroles, geysers, and hot springs we left just as the crowds were arriving and drove to Blacktail Deer Creek Trail on the Tower Road. On the way to the trailhead there were numerous cars parked in the road watching some bears near the road. This is a very common occurrence in Yellowstone and very frustrating and annoying. We just drove around the cars when it was safe. These idiots drive around and around the Grand Loop Road in their giant trucks with cheap binoculars around their necks trying to see mammals from their car completely oblivious to the world around them; they know nothing about the birds, don’t even hear them, don’t know the flowers, and don’t know anything about the park beyond the confines of what they can see from their cars. I prefer to see wildlife from a trail far away from the madding crowds.

There were just two cars parked at Blacktail Deer Creek Trailhead. In 1994 John and I took this trail all the way to Gardiner, MT through the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. Later in the week Susan and I planned to hike the entire Black Canyon of the Yellowstone but on this hike we had a more modest destination of the Yellowstone River 4 miles away. The hike starts out crossing a meadow full of wildflowers, lupine, phlox, wild flax, sticky geranium, and harebell among others and then past the Blacktail Ponds where we saw Coots with chicks, Yellowheaded Blackbirds, Wilson’s Snipe, and Common Yellowthroat. After a couple of miles the trail drops down 900 feet following along the Blacktail Deer Creek all the way to its drainage into the Yellowstone River. There were many birds along the creek including Lazuli Buntings, Brewer’s Sparrows, Sage Thrashers, and more flycatchers. The only people we saw were a few backpackers. We soon arrived at the suspension bridge across the Yellowstone River which connects with the Yellowstone River trail into the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. We stopped at the river and while eating our lunch Susan spotted a river otter on the far bank. We cooled our feet in the river and then began our hike back up the long climb out. We never saw another human but did encounter many elk carcasses. After returning to our car we drove to Tower Fall which was crawling with visitors. Unfortunately the trail to the base of the fall had been washed out and was closed; we were only able to see the fall from the overlook with screaming children, large Midwesterners eating ice cream cones, and the sedentary types who never stray far from their cars. We took a picture and left. Next we stopped at the pathetic Petrified Tree exhibit. Susan walked up to it while I waited in the car. It is an entire tree that is petrified but still standing. Unfortunately it is surrounded by a fence to prevent visitors from stealing the petrified wood. On our way back to Lake Lodge we stopped at Sulfur Caldron which is a large gurgling sulfur lake. Across the street is Mud Volcano. We walked the extensive boardwalk to Dragon’s Mouth, a cave with steam and a hissing sulfur stream billowing out of it and many other geothermal features. Next stop was LeHardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River. There is a boardwalk beside the river where you can watch Cuttthroat Trout trying to spawn up the fierce rapids. We saw them huddled in the pools below the rapids and saw a few boldly leaping into the air only to be pushed back by the rapids. Four Harlequin Ducks were sitting on a rock in the middle of the river and we had excellent looks and great pictures too. We also saw an American Dipper, the only North American aquatic songbird, in the river. In the shade the temperature was dropping rapidly so we moved on to Fishing Bridge, our last stop of the day. The park service allowed fishing from this bridge until 1973 when they finally realized that allowing fishing where trout go to spawn was decimating the fish population. Yellowstone was the first national park in the world established in 1872 by congress and signed into law by Ulysses S. Grant. It took the park 101 years to realize that fishing where fish spawn might have a negative impact on the population. We didn’t see any fish at the bridge but did see a flock of American White Pelicans, a scraggly looking Osprey, and a few Ring-necked Ducks.

June 20, 2006
During the night our neighbors had rudely kept us awake slamming the door repeatedly and then standing outside our doorway yelling. We arose early and I made sure to close the door extra hard as we left at 6:00 AM. I wanted to kick their door too but Susan wouldn’t let me. We drove from Lake Lodge to Mammoth Hot Springs. When we were almost to the springs there was a large traffic jam. A man stuck his hand out trying to stop our progress as there was a grizzly bear and two cubs near the road. As soon as the bears had turned back toward the meadow and it was safe I went around his hand and headed down the road. One of the cubs stood up on its hind legs before turning back. There was a ranger on the other side holding the crowd back and she waved us through. We drove on to Mammoth. Mammoth had changed a lot since I first saw it 12 years before. Minerva Spring was completely extinct while Canary Spring, a framed picture of which hangs in my dining room, had expanded greatly. We enjoyed walking around with few people at this ever changing geothermal feature. Devil’s Thumb had expanded and is now draining down toward some park buildings and the long ago extinct thermal cone, the Liberty Cap. We returned to our car and headed back in the direction from which we had come. We were disappointed to find the traffic jam still in full force. The ranger told me we could not drive further even though we were just 100 yards or less from our destination, the Bunsen Peak trailhead. On the right hand side of the car the grizzly bear and her two cubs were eating a freshly killed elk carcass. Dozens of park visitors were on their cars, wandering the road, and generally being a nuisance. I begged the ranger to just let me park in the Bunsen Peak parking area as we were most interested in hiking and not standing in a crowd looking at a bear eat an elk. The ranger made us promise we would only park and hike and not cross the road and I assured her I would not be crossing the road toward a violent animal feeding on an elk carcass. She let us into the parking area and we started down the Bunsen Peak Road. We only saw a small handful of people on the trail to beautiful Osprey Falls. This is a good area for raptors; walking on Bunsen Peak Road we saw an immature Bald Eagle, a Swainson’s Hawk, two Red-tailed Hawks, and a Peregrine Falcon. After 3.5 miles along the road the trail veers off and drops down 1000 feet in just 1.5 miles to the falls. The trail was dotted with beautiful wildflowers—gentian, sticky geranium, harebell, bluebell, penstemon, and common hound’s tongue, among many others. Two Ospreys flew over and we watched one fly into her nest on the rocky crags of the canyon. We rounded a bend at the bottom of the canyon and were greeted with a gushing waterfall. We enjoyed our lunch beside the Gardiner River and then began our steep ascent out of the canyon. Back at the junction with Bunsen Road we decided to hike up the backside of Bunsen Peak to the summit. The trail was lined with balsam root, phlox, yarrow, and other wildflowers and we saw some Pine Siskins feeding on the flowers. When we were close to the summit we found a Blue Grouse which in my excitement, I mistakenly called a Ruffed Grouse on my videotape. At the summit we were treated to outstanding 360 degree views of the Absaroka Range, the Gallatin Range, and Mount Holmes which I christened Striped Mountain because it was streaked with columns of snow. On the hike to the summit we ran into an elderly couple who told us that the park service had to fire some shots over the heads of the grizzly bears in order to drag the elk carcass away from the park road. Grizzlies are fiercely protective of a carcass and with so many ignorant people in the park it was necessary to do this in order to protect the public. We hiked back down Bunsen Peak to the trailhead. The bear jam and mayhem was over and we drove uninterrupted to Blacktail Plateau Drive to look for woodpeckers. We had to walk the road since it was closed due to poor conditions. There was little bird activity except for one female Cassin’s Finch that kept hopping on the ground near us. Next we drove down Tower Road and stopped at a self-guided nature trail called Forces of the Northern Range. The exhibits explained that this area of Yellowstone is the driest receiving only 12 inches of rain a year which explains the sage brush, yarrow, and other desert plants growing there. A pronghorn was digging at the ground just a hundred yards away or so. It decided to lie in the grass while we walked around. There were lots of Uinta ground squirrels running around and near the end of the loop a coyote walked by. It was getting close to dinner so we decided to head back to our lodge. Dark clouds were passing all around this area. On the Canyon Road there was a huge buffalo jam. It seems in the evening these large dumb animals like to wander into the road and stand around. We were held up an hour waiting for the buffalo to roam.

June 21, 2006
Wednesday we were the first people to arrive at Artist’s Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We walked the south rim trail of the canyon and down Uncle Tom’s Trail 328 steps 2/3 of the way into canyon with up close views of the upper falls and the colorful canyon walls. We took the south rim all the way to the lower falls and back to Artist’s Point. Then we drove to Inspiration Point on the other side of the canyon and took all five of the view points and trails into the canyon. We found another Osprey nest at Grand View Point. We spent three hours walking around and admiring this wonder of nature. From there we drove to Hayden Valley and took the Mary Mountain Trail into the valley. I had never taken this trail before because the guide books say it can be dangerous and full of grizzly bears. There were no grizzly bears but plenty of buffalo. We had to wait for three of them to clear the trail before we could proceed at one point. The trail is flat but boggy and our pants and shoes were soon splattered with mud. The wind was blowing hard and keeping the temperature cool. We almost turned back due to the inclement weather (I hate the wind) but decided to plod on. We were once again the only people on this outstanding and frequently overlooked trail into the heart of this lovely valley with rolling hills and sky that goes on forever. At four miles from the trailhead we came to some quick sand and some geothermal features along the banks of the creek. After enjoying our own private steam vents and hot springs we decided to turn around. While hiking back Susan spotted a Northern Goshawk chasing an American Kestrel. From Hayden Valley we drove to West Thumb Geyser Basin where we were greeted with some odd looks due to my mud caked pants. We ended the evening driving Gull Point Drive where we saw no gulls but some Lesser Scaup, Gadwall, and Ruddy Ducks. On the way back to the cabin we saw a Moose sitting in the grass on the side of the road.

June 22, 2006
We got up at 5:00 AM in anticipation of our big hike to the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. According to the guide book this is an 18.5 mile one way trail that requires a shuttle. We were unable to arrange a shuttle so we decided that we would park the car at the end of the trail in Gardiner, Montana and hitch hike back to the trail head at Hellroaring Creek on Tower Road. We parked the car and began to hitch hike. We walked all the way from the trail end in Gardiner under the famous Roosevelt Arch and through the entrance kiosk and no one would pick us up. Finally a few hundred yards after showing our park pass a nice lady from Montana picked us up and drove us to Mammoth. She told us she worked for Xanterra, the park concessionaire. In Mammoth we stood on Tower Road and again began to hitch hike. The RVs tried to run us over and the frightened suburbanites from the mid west glared at us as if we were criminals. Their children in the back seats looked at us wonderingly as if they had never seen a hitch hiker before, certainly not two ladies. I’m sure we looked perfectly harmless in our hiking boots, hats, and day packs yet no one would pick us up. Finally a nice man named Jim, another concessionaire employee, picked us up and drove us all the way to Hellroaring Creek Trailhead. It took so long to get a ride that we were not able to start our hike until 9:00 AM but we were relieved that our car would be waiting for us at the end instead of having to hitch hike after hiking 18.5 miles. The first mile of the trail passes through Douglas fir forest and more beautiful wildflowers before arriving at the steel suspension bridge over the Yellowstone River. After crossing the river the trail follows along Hellroaring Creek which you must cross in order to continue into the Black Canyon. The creek was high and so we continued upstream 1.5 miles to a stock bridge over the creek. What we didn’t realize is that this added 3 miles to our hike not accounted for in the 18.5 miles mentioned in the book. So we actually ended up hiking 21.5 miles! We saw a few people including a back country ranger who told us a bear had been seen in the area but once we crossed Hellroaring Creek we never saw another human being for the next 17 miles. Black Canyon of the Yellowstone is one of the most outstanding hikes in all of the national parklands. This trail contained many wildflowers we had not seen before including bitterroot, sandwort, and campion and many others we could not name. We made frequent stops to admire the wealth the show had brought. The trail drops down beside the Yellowstone River and leaves the fir forest to enter a desert like environment. We felt like we could just as easily have been in Utah at the Green River. In this area we saw two Williamson’s Sapsuckers, male and female. After 11 miles the trail reaches the trail junction with Blacktail Deer Creek and enters the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. Soon after the trail junction we passed by a lovely alpine lake, Lake Crevice, followed by Knowles Falls where we cooled our feet. We were peeling off clothing as the temperature rose and we dropped into the canyon. It is difficult to choose the proper clothing in the morning when it is chilly. The weather would warm up and then a chill wind would blow and it the mercury would drop, up and down all day. After passing Knowles Falls we were surprised to pass several vacant camp sites. I don’t know why no one was camping in this fantastic canyon but we felt privileged to have it all to ourselves. Before ending in Gardiner we passed several rapids on the river and then finally some geothermal features and then into a wet forest and out through a private campground to trail’s end. It was dinner time and so we drove into Gardiner for a much deserved beer and pasta dinner at Palermo’s. Each dish contained six or seven cloves of garlic that had been cut into four pieces. Back at the cabin we had new neighbors, three maybe four extremely large Midwesterners who were going to share one single room cabin with a very small double bed. As it turned out one maybe two of them had to sleep in their SUV.

June 23, 2006
Friday had been set aside as geyser day, a day to walk around the easy boardwalks in order to recover from our 21.5 mile hike. As we prepared to leave our cabin our new neighbors mentioned that we had gotten in late the night previous. Poor things must have woken when we pulled the car up next to theirs. The lady told us she had seen us taking a picture of the “os-te-prey” at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We started out early in the morning at Artist’s Paint Pot. Unfortunately half of the trail was closed due to the changing course of the mud pots, I guess. We were able to walk up to the main pot which is so beautiful in the proper lighting. Next we stopped at my favorite geyser spot, Fountain Paint Pot. The paint pots here were much as I remembered them from my last visit. We watched one of the geysers spewing in the morning sun. Next we stopped at Midway Geyser Basin, location of the colorful and gorgeous Grand Prismatic Spring. Then we moved on to Biscuit Basin where mineral deposits used to look like biscuits until an earthquake in 1959 destroyed their shape and then Black Sand Basin to admire Sunset Lake and the Emerald Pool. The south entrance road to Old Faithful has been widened into a four lane highway with a clover leaf to dump the thousands of park visitors wanting to see Old Faithful into the vastly overbuilt and expanding Old Faithful Village. We thought about driving into it, not to see the hideously overrated Old Faithful Geyser, but to walk the Upper Geyser Basin but once through the clover leaf and into the giant Disney land-like parking lot we became repulsed and immediately turned back to the main road. We headed back up toward Madison Junction stopping at the Firehole Lake Drive. One of the geysers on this road was due to erupt between 5:15 PM and 9:15 PM but that was too large a window so we had to move on. We looked and looked for the chocolate pot along the Gibbon River but couldn’t find it. In Madison we stopped in the bookstore to buy a wildflower guide to assist us with the hundreds of species of wildflowers blooming in the park. Our next stop was Monument Geyser Basin which is a cute 1.5 mile hike from the Gibbon River Bridge up to a small geyser basin with a little geyser cone shaped like a monument. I took out my camera to get a picture but there were two boys in my picture. Two teenage boys were walking on the thin crust over the geothermal area! They picked up a stick to poke at the ground as they gingerly walked back to the obvious log barrier. When they approached us I said to them, “are you f****** crazy? Do you know that hundreds of park visitors die by being scalded to death in geothermal features?” They said “we walked around them.” People are so dumb. On the hike back down to the bridge we found some yellow pond lilies blooming in the river. At the end of the day we drove to Norris picnic area and had our dinner before returning to our cabin for the evening.

June 24, 2006
On Saturday we had another long hike planned. We got up early and drove to the Lone Star Geyser Trailhead in the Old Faithful Area. The trail starts out on an old paved service road and goes 2.5 miles to the Lone Star Geyser. It was so chilly that morning that I was tempted to run back to the car for my coat but we pressed on and after a mile or so heard a heart racing—another Ruffed Grouse! A ranger was leading a walk and explaining about the endemic monkey flower. She completely ignored the Ruffed Grouse that crossed the road and I wondered if she even knew what it was. I did and so we followed it into the forest and got some great video of it. The Lone Star Geyser has faithfully erupted every three hours since it was discovered in 1872. When we arrived at it, it was not due to erupt for another 1.5 hours so we had to pass up on it and hope it would be erupting on our return hike. Our destination, Shoshone Lake, was another seven miles away. After passing the Lone Star Geyser we walked a trail lined with fumaroles, steam vents, and hot springs and then entered a meadow full of elephant’s heads and other wildflowers. The trail climbed slightly up to Grant’s Pass and then flattened out as it followed along the meandering Firehole River through the valley glades and into the Shoshone Geyser Basin at 9 miles. We walked the .6 mile trail around this geyser basin with its many colorful geothermal features all by ourselves. The trail ends at the back side of the north shore of Shoshone Lake where we looked up to see a Bald Eagle locked in battle with an Osprey. We had lunch at the lake shore and then soaked our feet in the lake. A back country ranger came by and asked us if there were any downed trees on the trail. He was surprised to see anyone who had hiked in and said most people took canoes. We told him the trail was in great shape but that the trail to Osprey Falls needed some work. He said “where is that?” I wondered if he really was a ranger. At one o’clock we started our hike back toward Lone Star. We arrived right at 4:00 PM with the geyser due to erupt at 4:30. Right on schedule it began a violent eruption spewing steam 45 feet into the air. It began to rain just as Lone Star erupted but it was a light rain and soon tailed off. After each little rain the mosquitoes would also erupt and we were soon being devoured by those horrible creatures. After the eruption began to die back we returned to our car and headed back up the park road where we had intended to have dinner again at one of the picnic areas. We first had to boil our water at Madison campground. The picnic area at Gibbon had the only off-leash dog I had seen all week and so we didn’t stop there. Then we couldn’t find a picnic area and got trapped in a dreadful buffalo jam for one hour! There was also a car accident clogging things too. I longed to be back on the trail again. Finally we got to Norris Picnic Area and had our dinner and a beer before heading back to our cabin for our final evening in the ineffable Yellowstone. For the first time all week it was late enough for us to witness the setting sun and it was spectacular. We snapped off some pictures of this special sunset and our final stop was an elk with a huge rack in the meadow near Canyon.



June 25, 2006
We packed our bags and left Yellowstone. On the way out the park road I saw somebody walking with a sign on her back. I stopped and offered her a ride. She was going the entire 90 miles into Jackson. She told us she worked for the concessionaire also and made only $7.40 an hour and out of that was deducted $150 every two weeks for lodging and food. I was shocked. She told us that on her days off she often hitched a ride into town for personal items and that she had been stopped on a couple of occasions by Grand Teton Rangers who told her it was illegal to hitchhike and she could not stick out here thumb, only use a sign. I thought that was absurd. What is the difference between using a sign and sticking out your thumb? We were headed for a final hike at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton and so I let her out there. We parked at pretty Jenny Lake and hiked 2.5 miles to Hidden Falls. Most people were taking the boat across the lake and the first part of the hike we had to ourselves to enjoy. The trail was packed with blooming thimbleberry and these huge gorgeous white and blue columbines. There were at least six different kinds of blooming currants and lots of other wildflowers. The thrushes were singing and there were more MacGillivray’s Warblers. We were running out of time and we only had time to walk up to the base of the falls and turn back. On the hike back to the parking area I got out my video camera to get a last shot of the Grand Teton; they are so hard to film because so brightly lit compared to the dark foreground of trees and are usually washed out. Just as I got my camera ready I heard a squeak and there was a Red-naped Sapsucker. I had my camera ready so I was able to video tape it for the last bird of the day and the trip before heading back to Jackson Airport.

Back at home the next day it was the third “spare the air” day in a row. That is where the air quality is so poor that it exceeds federal standards and they implore people to leave their cars at home and take public transportation by offering it free all day long. Everything had turned brown while we were gone and it was so hard to be inside all day at work. All that day I dreamed of returning to the incomparable Yellowstone with its many lakes and rivers, its geyser, steam vents, and fumaroles, its wildflowers and birds, and the inexorable call of the wild.

Michelle Brodie
6/27/06

Kern County and Sequoia National Park

Kern County, California
May 25-29, 2006

Susan picked me up from the MacArthur BART Station right after work and we drove straight through to Red Rock Canyon State Park which lies in the transition zone between the Mojave Desert and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Kern County. We made it in just six hours. We picked out the very best camp site in the park surrounded on three sides by the unusual rock formations for which the park was named and set up the tent. We were awakened the next morning by the “kikiki” of White-throated Swifts circling overhead and the “kabrick” of an Ash-throated Flycatcher. After a quick breakfast we made a mad dash for the world famous IBA, Butterbredt Springs. As soon as we got there I saw a Cassin’s Vireo in a tree and not far away a Blue-headed Vireo giving an excellent comparison of these two very similar species. There were Wilson’s Warblers, Willow Flycatchers, Pacific-slope Flycatchers, and Western Wood-Pewees on every branch. We ran into noted ornithologist, Scott Terrill, who told us about an American Redstart. Sure enough we soon saw a first year male near the spring. There were a few Swainson’s Thrushes and Western Tanagers and one Nuttall’s Woodpecker. Scott and his wife, Linda, told us about an Ovenbird at this oasis called Galileo and insisted that we had to make a stop there. She even sheepishly suggested that we might camp there (more about that later). When things started to die down at the spring we took the dirt road up Piute Mountain all the way to Kelso Creek. Along the road we tried in vain for any kind of thrasher but saw none. Two immature Golden Eagles flew up from the creosote and sage brush not too far from the car but I wasn’t quick enough on the draw to get any video. A few minutes later a Phainopepla flew by and still later we saw a Chukar fly up the hillside.

We walked along Kelso Creek and saw some of the area’s breeding birds, Spotted Towhee, Western Bluebird, Bushtit, Western Scrub-Jay, Bewick’s Wren, and Oak Titmouse. Next we stopped at one of my favorite birding spots, Kern River Preserve. There were many Black-headed Grosbeaks and Willow Flycatchers. Along the nature trail I spotted a bright singing Summer Tanager. As we walked along the trail a Lesser Nighthawk flew right in front of us. Part of the trail was flooded making it into a big swamp with many birds singing in it. You know what comes with swamps and I had had it with mosquitoes after my Texas trip so we didn’t linger too long even though we heard another Summer Tanager and a Bullock’s Oriole. Back at the visitor center we rested on a bench in front of a hummingbird feeder. A Black-chinned Hummingbird perched right above our heads for about ten minutes giving us an excellent opportunity to compare it with our resident Anna’s Hummingbird. Susan spotted her first ever Lawrence’s Goldfinch which was soon knocked off the feeder by a Lesser Goldfinch. Our next stop was the South Fork area which is a short trail along the Kern River. Susan was on a roll. First she spotted a Rock Wren and then a Blue Grosbeak in the trees. The end of the trail was flooded too so we moved along to Canebrake Ecological Reserve. The wind had picked up considerably putting a damper on this delightful little trail. We saw a Lark Sparrow on the trail and a few more Bullock’s Orioles but then decided to call it a day and returned to our campground for the evening. The sunset was awesome and was punctuated by two Barn Owls that flew in to roost right behind our campsite.

Saturday morning we rose at 5:00 AM to get an early start at Butterbredt. There were already some top notch birders there by the time we arrived including Les and Cindy Leurance and Oscar, the kid who identified one of the Slaty-backed Gulls at Half Moon Bay this winter. The Leurances told us about a Kentucky Warbler they had seen earlier but we never saw it. The American Redstart was still there along with some lingering Townsend’s Warblers. Cindy showed us a Costa’s Hummingbird sitting on her nest and I also saw a Hammond’s Flycatcher and a Dusky Flycatcher fly up the spring. Then a woodpecker flew into the trees overhanging the spring. It had a bright red cap that extended all the way to its bill but it had a lot of black on its face and on its nape—Nuttall’s x Ladder-backed Woodpecker. This was the first time I had seen a hybrid of these two species; they are both known to breed at Butterbredt. After a while we decided to walk up the canyon to warm up. I had checked the weather repeatedly before I left and was assured by every source that it would be a magnificent desert experience with hot days and cool nights. Oh contraire! I had thrown a couple of pairs of shorts, some t-shirts, and a North Face polartec jacket in a bag and as a last thought threw in a little skull cap and thin gloves. The polartec was worthless in the wind and I spent two days thinking ruefully of all my high tech clothing at home. Up stream I found a female MacGillivray’s Warbler and some Sage Sparrows. While we were admiring it Oscar flew past us yelling, “Blackburnian!” We passed on that one and I guess it didn’t stay around very long anyway because we never saw it either. Back at the spring we saw a Scott’s Oriole, a late Hermit Thrush, and some Violet-green Swallows. Right before we left I found a Hermit Warbler in the Cottonwoods.

After Butterbredt thinned out we drove to California City, which I vote the ugliest desert city in the US and yes that includes Las Vegas. The only thing I can say about it is at least it doesn’t pretend to be anything it is not which you cannot say about Las Vegas. We had lunch at Central Park and then walked up to the non-flowing ugly fake waterfall where Susan found a Black-and-white Warbler. She also found another Lawrence’s Goldfinch. The park was full of Great-tailed Grackles! Oh how I missed them from Texas. The fake dry tacky waterfall was interesting in that as you walked around it you were eye level with the tops of the trees giving excellent views of the birds there. We walked around the lake a bit and found a Spotted Sandpiper and Green Heron and a huge flock of Horned Larks.

We drove from California City through the lovely denuded OHV area to Galileo Hill where someone had the brilliant idea to build a fake oasis. This place was so tacky, tasteless, and repulsive that I cannot imagine ever looking for a bird there but there we were so what were we to do? Right smack in the middle of the creosote and sage desert is this stupid resort offering golf (you know there is all that extra water in the desert), putt-putt, fishing in a fake lake, archery, range shooting, horse riding, and oh yeah the petting zoo. We did not find the Ovenbird reported by Scott but Susan found a Vermillion Flycatcher. We walked around and soon found the campground such as it were. Tents were thrown in big bunches rather haphazardly and it looked like a hurricane refuge camp frankly. While in Kern County I was unable to get an NPR station and so I was sure that while we were on vacation Bush had passed a law interning all the illegal aliens in California in this so-called campground. We drove back to camp and tried to read some but the wind steadily increased until we were driven inside our tent. A wicked wind storm descended on Red Rock Canyon that night blowing gusts up to 75 MPH. It blew with such intensity that the two sides of the tent frequently touched each other. We were sure that it would soon pick us and the tent all up and carry us Dorothys away out of Kansas. During the night most of the other campers had given up and gone home but we rode out the storm and woke to a frisky 47 degrees which is no fun when you thought you were in the desert. We drove back to Butterbredt but spent most of the morning on the hillside so the sun could warm our backs. Susan found a Nashville Warbler and I found a Black-throated Gray Warbler but we didn’t see any more vagrants so we went out to the trees across the street, some sort of locust tree or walnut and there I did a hat trick with the vireos, finding a Plumbeous Vireo. I tried to chase it but it kept moving further and further up canyon until it was gone. We returned to the spring and took a leisurely walk up the canyon with every article of clothing we had brought, on our bodies but the sun started bearing down on us and we had to leave. We decided to explore the nature trails back at Red Rock Canyon for the rest of the day. We took the Desert View trail and saw some more Black-headed Grosbeaks two Loggerhead Shrikes, and many Say’s Phoebes, Black-throated Sparrows, and Cactus Wrens. We took the trail up a ridge with expansive views of the desert and the gorgeous sandstone formations. We then dropped into a wide wash and Susan spotted a Prairie Falcon. We followed it until we found its nest high on the canyon walls. That evening we cradled our camp chairs into the canyon wall to protect us from the wind. We read until our friends the Barn Owls came to let us know it was time for bed. That evening we decided we could not tolerate the wind any more and would leave Red Rock in the morning.

Monday morning we made one last loop around the campground looking for a thrasher of any sort but again there was none. We drove back out to Highway 99 north to Bakinginafield (Bakersfield) and made a short detour east to the southern entrance to Sequoia National Park. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead there on a holiday but this was an exception caused by the unusually cold windy desert conditions. Susan had never seen this part of the park before and I hadn’t been there for ten years. It had changed a lot but you still have to take 48 curves to get up Highway 198 along the Kaweah River to enter the park. We parked at the Potwisha Campground and took the Marble Falls Trail up1300 feet 3.9 miles to a gorgeous cascading waterfall. The southern end of Sequoia NP at 4000 feet is chaparral country dominated by chemise and oak. We saw birds typical of this type of habitat, Acorn Woodpecker, Spotted Towhee, Wrentit, Bewick’s Wren, Hutton’s Vireo, Bullock’s Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak. But as we gained elevation the terrain and the birds changed. The trail was dotted with common madia, flowering fremontia, and mariposa lilies. The chaparral gave way to shaded areas of mountain misery, mountain pennyroyal, California pink plant, different types of ferns, and we even were surprised to see a cynoglossum grande. We started to see some Lazuli Buntings and one Black-throated Gray Warbler. Then when we finally reached the falls we were treated not only to a bursting waterfall but also to an American Dipper. The dipper is an amazing bird. We watched as she dove from a rock into the frothing water and then burst from it with food in mouth and up river to her nest in the rocks above. This trail was utterly fanstastic and spectacular in every way from the beautiful wildflowers and birds to the gorgeous waterfall and outstanding views. On our way up the incredibly curvy mountain road our trip was marred by a purblind man that passed us on a double yellow line on a blind curve because I wouldn’t exceed the speed limit and then he tried to drive us off the road into the Kaweah River. We stopped briefly to run down the brand new trail to the General Sherman Tree (largest living thing) so I could show Susan the gigantic limb that was knocked off in the storms in January. We heard many Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers as we ran down the trail and back up again and those were our last birds of this incredible Memorial weekend.
Mallard
Ruddy Duck
Chukar
California Quail
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
American Coot
Spotted Sandpiper
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Great Horned Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Costa’s Hummingbird
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Nuttall’s x Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Vermilion Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Hutton’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Rock Wren
Bewick’s Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Phainopepla
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Sage Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock’s Oriole
Scott’s Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
House Sparrow

SEQUOIA/KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK
MAY 14-16, 2006
My father and two sisters came to visit from South Carolina so we took a trip to the mountains. We stopped at the rest area on I-5 and saw two Western Kingbirds behind the restroom. Once we entered Sequoia National Park we took the Big Stump Trail where we heard many Fox Sparrows singing and one Western Tanager. We saw four MacGillivray’s Warblers and one Red-breasted Sapsucker. Hammond’s Flycatchers were singing but we never could find one. We saw and heard Red-breasted Nuthatches and Mountain Chickadees all over the meadow. I thought I heard a Calliope Hummingbird but it flew off apparently. Next we walked around the General Grant Grove. There were too many people, many more than expected because it was mother’s day. We checked into our rustic cabin at Grant Grove and then we went to the Columbine Picnic Area to cook dinner, wild sockeye salmon. The picnic area was sadly full of trash.

Monday morning I got up early and walked around the Grant Grove meadow. I saw another MacGillivray’s Warbler, several Wilson’s Warblers, and a few Lincoln’s Sparrows. I got some nice video of a White-headed Woodpecker. When everybody woke up we drove down to Sequoia National Park and hiked the beautiful Buena Vista Trail. It was full of birds. Daddy couldn’t make it and waited under some rocks while we took the one mile trail to Buena Vista peak. On the trail we saw Western Wood-Peewee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Chipping Sparrow, Cassin’s Finch, finally a Hammond’s Flycatcher, a Western Tanager that landed on the ground, and a Yellow Warbler. We heard a Pileated Woodpecker calling. At the summit we saw one Green-tailed Towhee and heard an owl calling. We approached a tree but couldn’t see anything. We were about to give up and just as I turned my back on the tree we heard wings flapping but somehow it got away without our seeing it. We decided after listening to some tapes in the car later that it was a Northern Pygmy-Owl. Next we drove to Giant Forest and walked down the brand new trail to the Sherman Tree, oldest living thing. In January one of its largest limbs came down in a ferocious storm. It crashed so hard into the ground that it was partially imbedded and had demolished the fencing around the tree and the sidewalk. The limb was wider than my arm length and was quite impressive. The sound when it came down must have been deafening. Many Western Tanagers were along the trail. I was impressed with how the park service had taken out the old parking lot that crowded the big trees and made it into an attractive fenced trail to protect the giant trees. Daddy couldn’t make it down the 200 foot loss in elevation on the new trail to General Sherman, so our next stop we took the trail for all people, renamed the Big Trees Trail. This is a flat trail around a the gorgeous Round Meadow. We saw a Winter Wren singing away on a fallen giant and saw a Northern Rough-winged Swallow circling the meadow. At the end of the loop we saw a White-headed Woodpecker go into its nest in another fallen Giant Sequoia. Next we went to Moro Rock. We took the ¼ mile 500 foot elevation gain trail to the top with magnificent views of the Kings Canyon backcountry, Kaweah River, and the San Joaquin Valley. At the summit White-throated Swifts soared past our heads. We heard another owl calling in the distance, probably another Northern Pygmy-Owl. Our next stop was the Crescent Meadow. Daddy was worn out and waited in the car while we walked around the meadow. A Hammond’s Flycatcher stayed ahead of us the entire walk but we never saw it. At the end of our walk we saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker very close. Somebody told us about a bear in the area. As we drove out of the crescent meadow area we saw a very large old Black Bear foraging for ants in a log. It appeared very hungry so we stayed in the car to get our looks and pictures. Last hike of the day I wanted to take the Hazelwood Nature Trail but everyone was worn out so I had to walk it alone. There were only Common Ravens and Stellar’s Jays on the trail. We drove back to Grant Grove and bar-b-qued our dinner at the Big Stump Picnic Area. After dinner I found a Townsend’s Warbler in a maple tree and two Lark Sparrows.

Tuesday morning, I got up early and walked the meadow. New arrivals to the meadow were a Golden-crowned Sparrow, two Mallards, Northern Flicker, and Warbling Vireo. I videotaped a very odd looking leuscisistic Brewer’s Blackbird that was white on top and black on the bottom. I stood quietly beside some mountain laurel behind the John Muir Lodge and watched as three male MacGillivray’s Warblers vied for one female. They were chasing each other and singing away. I got some of the best video ever as they became unaware of my presence and let me get very close videotape. It was very cool. Daddy didn’t feel well and stayed at the cabin while we drove down into Kings Canyon. California had a tremendous winter so I knew the river would be high but I had no idea that it would be flowing even higher than 1998, an El Nino year. We drove to the Junction Vista and stopped and got out. The vista is into the Kings Canyon with excellent views of the junction of south fork and middle fork of the Kings River. I could see even from 3000 feet above that it was flowing well above normal. It roared even from miles away. I heard a “spic” sound and there was a Black-headed Grosbeak perched on a tree. Another Western Kingbird stopped for a while and we saw and heard Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. I could see that summer had come to the canyon but I didn’t know the half of what was in store for us. We took the drive into the canyon very slowly savoring the fantastic views. We stopped again and I heard a Hermit Warbler way up an embankment. More Black-headed Grosbeaks were singing. At one stop with a dramatic 2000 foot drop to the river we saw more White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows. As we drove some more I saw a female Oriole fly into a tree so I stopped and soon a bright male Bullock’s Oriole flew across the street. My sisters from the east coast were thrilled by it. We soon dropped into the canyon where the road follows along side the Kings River and we were amazed at every turn by the sheer force and beauty of the river. Our next stop was Grizzly Falls. We were barely able to approach it to get a picture it was flowing with such intensity. Once in the inner canyon we stopped and took the short walk to Roaring River Falls which definitely lived up to its name. The main trail was closed due to high waters so we had to take the alternative trail through some Oak trees on the opposite side but it was spectacular nevertheless. After Roaring River we started on the Zumwalt Meadows trail. After crossing the bridge over the normally calm waters surrounding the meadow we immediately encountered a flooded trail. Once leaping safely across I heard a Cassin’s Vireo and more Warbling Vireos. Warblers were singing in the willows along the banks of Bubbs Creek. We saw Yellow Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, MacGillivray’s Warbler and heard Hermit Warbler and Black-throated Gray Warblers singing. As we walked along this fascinating trail surrounded on one side by the steep walls of Kings Canyon and on the other by the quiet meadow I heard a familiar song and then finally I got both my sisters on a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, rare for spring in Kings Canyon. We also saw a Hermit Thrush. The end of the loop trail was closed due to flooding. In fact, the water level was so high that the boardwalk had been washed away. So we doubled back and returned the way we came. Almost back to the car a Black Phoebe flew by. Sadly it was time to leave. Before driving back out of the canyon we stopped at Cedar Grove to where ten years ago my sister had stood in the Kings River for a picture. There was no chance for her to stand in it this trip as the swift current would have swept her away. In addition, according to Karen, who put her hand in it, the temperature was 33 degrees. We drove back out of the canyon to Grant Grove where we picked up Daddy and then the last stop of the day was Big Stump for our last picnic. A few Golden-crowned Kinglets were singing and the ubiquitous Mountain Chickadee. We had missed all the Sierra Specialty birds, Mountain Quail, Mountain Bluebird, American Dipper, Flammulated Owl, and Blue Grouse but it didn’t matter to us because we had been dazzled by all nature had to offer this trip, the gushing waters of Kings River, all the lovely warblers and new birds for my sisters, towering giant trees, purple mountain majesty, and ineffable mountain scenery.
Total species 54
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Mourning Dove
Northern Pygmy-Owl
White-throated Swift
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Peewee
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Stellar’s Jay
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Cassin’s Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Hermit Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Bullock’s Oriole
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin

My Great Texas Birding Adventure

April 27- May 7, 2006

As soon as my plane touched down in San Antonio I drove immediately to Avenue A where a Rufous-capped Warbler had been reported the day before. It took me awhile to find it because Google Maps sent me to a section of Avenue A under a freeway overpass under construction and in a shady neighborhood. I wasn’t about to get out of my car there. So I drove around and parked my car at a driving-range thinking the habitat across the street looked promising. I started walking around and saw a sign “Avenue A.” I couldn’t find the warbler but I saw an Ovenbird perched on the ground for about ten minutes. I also saw a Western Kingbird, Northern Cardinal, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Great-tailed Grackle, White-winged Dove, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow. That was all the time I had for birding because I had to load up at the grocery store for the next ten days of camping.

I drove to Guadalupe River State Park where I had a blissfully peaceful camp site under the oak trees. In the morning I walked along the beautiful Guadalupe River and saw Eastern Phoebe, Chimney Swifts flying overhead, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, one Northern Parula, and a Great-crested Flycatcher. I heard a Canyon Wren singing at the river. According to Birding the Lower Rio Grande Valley Friedrich Wilderness doesn’t open until 9:00 AM but I found out this was part of a great deal of misinformation in this book and Birding the Texas Coast. I walked the entire park but only heard a GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER at the windmill and later heard a Summer Tanager singing. In the parking lot I got a close up look at male Painted Bunting. Some nice birders I met suggested that I try a brand new San Antonio park called Crown Ridge which was a very nice city park very well maintained with well marked trails and excellent habitat for birds. There I saw my first ever BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER and I saw an Eastern Wood Peewee. On a whim I drove over to Government Canyon thinking I might get lucky with the Golden-Cheeked. I started down the Joe Johnson trail and saw nothing. I was cursing that I had paid $6 to enter because I felt compelled to walk at least one trail. There were dozens of Lincoln’s Sparrows and that was it. I was just about to turn around when I saw a Black-and-white Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Indigo Bunting. From Government Canyon I made the long drive to Kerr Wildlife Management Area where I heard but did not see a BLACK-CAPPED VIREO. It was paying off that I had listened obsessively to those bird song tapes for hours in my car prior to my trip. I saw some more Painted Buntings, Lark Sparrow, and Field Sparrow but due to the lateness I had to give up and drive to my camp site for the night at Pedernales Falls State Park in Austin. I hear it’s beautiful there but it was dark when I arrived and dark when I left. On the drive over the radio announced a tornado warning! The park ranger told me to go to a shelter if the storm got too bad. After I settled into my tent for the evening a ferocious storm descended and pummeled my poor little tent. I don’t know how it withstood the ferocity of the storm. In the morning every birder in Texas headed down to High Island while I headed to the Balcones NWR Bird Song Festival where I had signed up for a guided tour. A Chuck-will’s Widow was singing as I ate my breakfast in the dark at Pedernales Falls.

Balcones NWR is the best place in the state to see Golden-Cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos but only has a few areas open to the public. My tour was led by Chuck from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, whose job is to monitor these two federally listed endangered species. In the van everyone introduced him or herself. The man on the back row with me was from southern California. I looked wonderingly at his very long fingernails and thought to myself how odd that the two gays from California ended up on the same seat together. Some lady said she was just along for the ride with her husband and she was his mule to carry his scope and field guide. The man from southern California said he only brought his scope along if his husband was there to carry it for him. I thought how bold! He is announcing to a group in south Texas where they arrested two men in the privacy of their own home for having consensual sex (overturned at the Supreme Court in the famous Lawrence v. Texas case) that he is married to a man! How brazen. At the first stop, the Shin Oak or Shinnery, we saw many Yellow-breasted Chats and more Painted Buntings than you could shake a stick at. While admiring these beautiful birds a CRESTED CARACARA flew by! Life bird! Then a MISSISSIPPI KITE flew over—another life bird. Then Chuck did an excellent job getting a BLACK-CAPPED VIREO to pop out giving everyone in the group excellent eye level views. It circled our group twice and we examined it again. At the next stop we saw a Blue Grosbeak, Greater Roadrunner, Cliff Swallows, and Cave Swallows. Everyone was very excited about a Western Scrub Jay perched on a wire. When we got back into the van the driver said, “where is Ann?” I thought who the hell is Ann? I don’t remember anyone named Ann. Well, Ann, the “man” from southern California finally got back in the van and I laughed to myself at my little peccadillo. On the way back to the festival headquarters we saw some Yellow-headed Blackbirds in a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds along with some Cattle Egrets.

It is a long drive from Balcones NWR to my next destination, Big Thicket National Preserve. I had pre-arranged a camp site at Indian Springs Campground, a place across the street from the Big Thicket Headquarters, where the owner said if I was driving all the way from California to see some “stupid birds” he couldn’t see it in his heart to charge me. When I pulled into the entrance road I almost turned around and left when I saw some sort of Christian revival taking place but I was too exhausted to drive another minute so I found the owners and they pointed out a little spot for me to “pitchmytent.” The trees were full of birds but no one paid the least bit of attention. A Pileated Woodpecker was calling loudly. I also heard an Acadian Flycatcher calling “pizza” deep in the woods. While sitting in the car going over the next day’s activities a man came over, introduced himself, and invited me to a non-denominational singles pot-luck at the meeting room. I did not think this was a good time to announce my atheism and lesbianism so I said I had already eaten and thanks anyway. I got up at dawn and got out of there. It was still dark when I left and I heard a Great Horned Owl and a Barred Owl. I rolled the window down as dawn broke to listen to the birds as I drove out and I heard a Swainson’s Thrush singing. I took a walk on the Turkey Creek Trail and birds were singing everywhere but not moving as it was only 48 degrees at that early hour. Again the incessant bird tapes I listened to throughout April were invaluable. I heard Red-eyed Vireos, White-eyed Vireos, Tufted Titmouse singing. I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker but it was obvious that this morning a later start would have been better so I drove over to Tower Road. Three people were standing by the side of the road. I stopped and listened. Swainson’s Warbler, I asked? They were not unduly impressed with my bird song skills. Even though I was born and reared in South Carolina I had never seen or heard this species because I did not become a birder until I moved to California. I got out and followed them into the woods. One of them was obviously a hired guide and the other two were from Calgary. The guide played a tape and the SWAINSON’S WARBLER popped up and started singing. The three were satisfied and left but as they were leaving the guide warned me to watch out for snakes. I do know snakes from my SC days. I squatted down in this swampy area trying to get some video of the Swainson’s Warbler but it only gave some glimpses so after a while I left and went to the Kirby Trail. Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, Purple Martins, and one Red-shouldered Hawk soared overhead. The Kirby Trail was awesome. In fact, I was very impressed with Big Thicket and very glad I visited it. I saw a Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Gray Catbird, and another Swainson’s Warbler, this one in plain view singing away. I also found its nest. In a swamp I saw Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Green Heron. As I was leaving the trail a Kentucky Warbler gave its loud song. And then I heard another song that sounded like Prairie Warbler but the habitat was all wrong. Then I realized it was a Worm-eating Warbler. Other birds on this trail were Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great-crested Flycatcher, and other typical southern birds. Some other parts of Big Thicket I had planned to visit were closed due to damage from Hurricane Rita so I decided to make a side trip to Jones State Forest in Houston. After walking the trail I heard a little peak and some drumming and there was a RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER, another life bird! I know it is shameful that I was getting all these South Carolina specialty birds in Texas but I was ecstatic. I pulled out my video camera to get some footage and some completely oblivious jogger ran right under the tree followed by his off-leash dog and scared the bird away. I was furious. When I got back to my car I waited until I was safely inside the car with the motor running before I rolled down the window and was bold enough to tell that man that Jones Forest is a leash only area and that it is home to an endangered species. I don’t know if he was being patronizing but he just kept saying OK, OK.

Next I drove to Fort Anahuac NWR thinking I could camp there, another piece of disinformation from A Birder’s Guide to the Texas Coast. I saw a tiny RV Camp and asked if I could “pitchmytent.” The owner said I could for $5 a night. She let me throw my tent right next to Trinity Bay with awesome sunset views for the next two nights. Neither the bathroom nor the shower had a door and so the mosquitoes were everywhere inside. So later in my tent I assumed all the itching on my butt was from mosquitoes that had gotten me while showering. The mosquitoes were the size of Frigatebirds and were particularly vicious, able to bite me right through my clothing even after I dressed. I couldn’t sleep that night with the itching which I scratched liberally. Buzzing was all around my head. Finally I got up, turned on my headlamp, and realized that two of the maulers had gotten inside my tent. After I killed them I was able to get to sleep. The next day I was in agony with itching and I continued to scratch liberally. A Common Yellowthroat and Double-crested Cormorant were in Trinity Bay.

I drove from my camp to Anahuac NWR. At the first pond after the pay station there were 15 FULVOUS WHISTLING-DUCKS, one of six life birds I got at this wonderful park. While I was admiring these handsome ducks a Northern Bobwhite called behind me. I checked out the willows but I had missed the fall out completely and saw no warblers. I took the driving tour and almost immediately two KING RAILS started to cross the road. I know, I know I should have gotten these birds on the many trips I have taken to the SC coast in my life but this was a life bird. Within minutes I saw a PURPLE GALLINULE and a LEAST BITTERN. I almost cried I was so excited. A flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flew over followed by two MOTTLED DUCKS. I also saw Wood Stork, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, one ROSEATE SPOONBILL flyby, many Common Moorhen, Eastern Kingbirds everywhere, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, one Loggerhead Shrike, Savannah Sparrows, Common Nighthawks making their “pent” call, many Eastern Meadowlarks, Common Grackles, and Boat-tailed Grackles. Orchard Orioles were all over the place and there was one Gadwall in Shoveler Pond. I drove all the way to East Bay where I saw a few Laughing Gulls and Dickcissels aplenty. I drove out of the main refuge and down the road to a flooded rice field with a viewing platform. I scoped the field for a long time and after picking through the flock of Long-billed Dowitchers and Dunlins picked out my first ever BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. There were also Least Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, a Long-billed Curlew, two Whimbrels, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, and two Wilson’s Phalaropes. After much study I found my first ever AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. The only terns I saw were Forster’s Terns. Reluctantly I left this little treasure and drove to High Island where I was sure the fall out was long over.

I parked my car at the parking lot for Boy Scout Woods and got out with binoculars in hand. I looked up in a tree and there was a yellow Oriole. It had an all black head and I thought that’s odd. I knew I was out of range for Scott’s Oriole. I carefully checked the nape and it was yellow. The bird flew away and I got out my Sibley. The bird was a dead ringer for an AUDUBON’S ORIOLE. That would be far out of its normal range. I told the lady at the sanctuary about it and she tried to tell me it was a Baltimore Oriole. This bird clearly had a yellow nape. The black hood ended in a line around the head just like the picture in Sibley. I made a special note of looking at the nape remembering that this was a field mark but not realizing at the time how out of range Audubon’s Oriole would be at High Island. No one in Texas believed my sighting but I am convinced that this was an Audubon’s Oriole. There was also a Yellow Warbler in the parking lot. Inside Smith Wood Sanctuary I immediately saw a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH on the ground. I walked around but there was little activity besides more vicious mosquitoes. How do they bite through your clothing? Also I kept wondering how I survived 27 summers in South Carolina. I next stopped at Eubanks Woods Sanctuary where I saw more Black-and-White Warblers, two Ovenbirds, an American Redstart, three Magnolia Warblers, and then a beautiful looking bird. I put my binoculars up to get my first ever look at a BAY-BREASTED WARBLER as a mosquito impaled the dead center of my throat. The pain was exquisite but I was not moving my binoculars until I was satisfied with my view of the bird. Next I went over to Smith Oaks Sanctuary where I saw one Blackpoll Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting. All the usual birds were at the rookery: Roseate Spoonbill, all the heron species, White Ibis, and some Anhingas. I drove back to my camp site at Trinity Bay and was getting concerned with the numerous mosquito bites. I have never seen bites get that red and swollen and I assumed that they had become infected with all the scratching.

In the morning, May 2, I drove back to High Island at sunrise. First thing in Boy Scout Woods I saw a VEERY. There were more Magnolia Warblers, Black-and-White Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Blackboll Warblers, Orchard Oriole, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and another Gray-cheeked Thrush.

From High Island I drove along the Gulf Coast and skimmed the ocean looking for the elusive Gull-billed Tern which I never did see on the whole trip. Are they becoming extinct? There were many shorebirds at the Bolivar Flats Bird Sanctuary including Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and after much scrutinizing my first WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER. It took a while to pick out a Baird’s Sandpiper because I have only seen them a few times in August here in California. There were a few Brown Pelicans and one lone Herring Gull. It was very odd to only see almost exclusively Laughing Gulls after looking at all the many gulls we get here on the west coast. There were also some Black Skimmers, Reddish Egret, WILSON’S PLOVER, Semipalmated Plovers, many Dunlins in breeding plumage, American Avocet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sandwich Terns, a few Black Terns, Royal Tern, Least Tern, and even a Caspian Tern but no Gull-billed Tern. I decided to make one last desperate attempt at the Gull-billed Tern by taking the Bolivar Ferry to Galveston. On the ferry I didn’t see any terns but was surprised to see a MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD attacking the Laughing Gulls following the ferry.

From Galveston I made the long drive to Brazos Bend State Park, my camp for the night. I don’t even know how this park got on my itinerary or why but I’m glad it did. After setting up my tent (and by the way no one tent camps in Texas; my little tent was the only one I saw the entire trip) I took a walk on the many trails through gorgeous oak woods. Mostly the birding here was by ear because it’s hard to see the birds up in the canopy but they were singing unlike the birds on migration at High Island which were silent. I heard Northern Parula, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, and Great Crested Flycatcher. I saw Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Prothonotary Warbler and a Mississippi Kite flyover. That night as I sat at the picnic table preparing for the next day’s excursion I read that Aransas NWR abounds with mosquitoes and chiggers. Chiggers! Oh my god those aren’t infected welts on my butt. I had chiggers! I hadn’t had chiggers since I went to Africa in 1982. I was having extreme anxiety. I had been scratching the hell out of those “mosquito bites” on my butt. Oh god. I looked at them again and they were all over the back of my knees, my butt, my breast, and all the crevices. I was panicking but there was no cellular service and only one pay phone that requires Homeland Security to make a long distance phone call. After thirty minutes I got through to my spouse. I was nearly in tears. I was in a remote area of Texas, all alone, with chiggers all over my body. My spouse told me to go to the hospital. Out of the question! I was on a birding trip for god’s sake. I cried myself to sleep that night. I must have gotten the chiggers when I followed that idiot into the swamp on Tower Road for a Swainson’s Warbler when all I had to do was walk the Kirby Trail. I got up at 5:00 AM as was my habit but couldn’t motivate myself to go to Aransas NWR with its bountiful chiggers and mosquitoes. So I lingered at Brazos Bend and decided to walk around Elm Lake at dawn. What a delightful walk that turned out to be. The park is known as home to the American Alligator but it is also home to many wonderful birds and beautiful scenery. At Elm Lake Roseate Spoonbill, Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Anhinga, and herons of all kinds were dripping from the trees. As I headed back to the car I heard another Northern Parula. Then I reluctantly headed over to Aransas.

I stopped and bought giant tubes of anti-itch cream, antibiotic cream along with extra large cans of insect and chigger repellent. In my reluctance to go to Chigger NWR (Aransas) I stopped at Bennett Park where I saw my first ever BALTIMORE ORIOLE, a beautiful adult male. (It’s shameful that I had to go to Texas to see a bird that winters in South Carolina). There was also a Black-and-white Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler. Overhead was another Mississippi Kite and a Crested Caracara flew by. This was a neat park but had a lot of trash. Finally at Aransas I saw a Redhead and Blue-winged Teal in a pond on the entrance drive. I walked the rail trail and heard a King Rail with its washing machine sound and saw many White-eyed Vireos. On the Dagger Point Trail I was assaulted by 40 mosquitoes but if you aren’t seeing mosquitoes you aren’t seeing warblers and sure enough there were Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers, a Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, and Painted Bunting. I should have skipped the stupid driving tour which is basically only there for the already departed Whooping Cranes. I left Aransas with the intention of camping at Mustang Island at Padre Island National Seashore but decided to drive all the way to the other end to get an early start the next day. It turned out to be a brilliant move on my part (it’s so wonderful traveling alone) because that is a long drive and in retrospect I should have skipped Aransas altogether. It was so late by the time I got to Harlingen that camping was out of the question and I was driven to staying at a Motel 6. Horrors! This was a camping trip!

I got up at 5:00 AM as usual and made it to Santa Ana NWR at dawn. What an incredible park. Thursday, May 4, 2006 turned out to be one of the best days of my life. I was the only visitor to Santa Ana that day apparently. As soon as I arrived I saw OLIVE SPARROW, PLAIN CHACHALACA, GREEN JAY, and GROOVE-BILLED ANI, all life birds for me. I saw my first COUCH’S KINGBIRD and later saw two of them attacking a Cooper’s Hawk that got too close to their nest. A Swainson’s Hawk soared overhead and White-winged Doves, Mourning Doves, Inca Doves, White-tipped Doves, and Common Ground Doves were everywhere. I even saw a Eurasian Collared Dove. At the Resaca I saw a Sora, Black-necked Stilt, American Coot, Spotted Sandpiper, Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal mating, Gadwall, Least Grebe, Long-billed Dowitcher, and my first ever STILT SANDPIPER. Golden-fronted Woodpeckers were in every tree it seemed with their beautiful tri-colored heads. I got some good video of GREAT KISKADEE. I saw many LONG-BILLED THRASHERS and BRONZED COWBIRDS. I heard an EASTERN SCREECH OWL. And I added BLACK CRESTED TITMOUSE to my life list. On my way back to the visitor center to pay the entrance fee (it wasn’t even open when I arrived) I heard a Parula singing but could never find it. At the visitor center the recent sightings list said it was a Hybrid Parula. I went back to the willows and the Parula was singing for a good 25 minutes but I could not get on that darn bird. I was so frustrated I was ready to throw my binoculars in the Resaca and give up birding altogether. I went around the loop and saw a CLAY-COLORED ROBIN and one Willow Flycatcher then went back to the willows and tried again. Again the parula sang and sang but I could not see it. I went to my car completely dejected and made myself a sandwich. I sat outside the visitor center to eat lunch and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD perched above my head for about five minutes. I even walked back to the car to get my video camera and it was still perched allowing me to get excellent video footage.

Next I drove to Sabal Palm Grove which turned out to be, by far and away, my favorite part of the whole trip. What an incredible place. I was there from 2-5 (why in the hell do they close at the unspeakably early hour of 5:00 PM?) and saw 15 warbler species. The birding is great here in California but we do not have that many warblers so this was a special treat for me. The lady at the visitor center told me where I could see a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. I took the trail where she indicated by crossing a raised walkway. A Northern Waterthrush was right out in the open. There were also Baltimore Orioles and Orchard Orioles in the trees. I saw a Common Yellowthroat but no Gray-crowned so I walked around some until I found a bench where you could just sit and watch warblers at eye level. Almost all of them were brightly colored non-singing males. I saw Tennessee, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler (North America’s most lost bird), American Redstart, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler and what is that thing? Oh my god my first GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER! At the pond I saw a Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Common Moorhen, and some more herons and egrets and then I went back with time running out to try one more time for the yellowthroat. I heard a yellowthroat type song and then there it was a GRAY-CROWNED YELLOWTHROAT! What a spectacular day. It was 4:45 PM and time to go. I drove from there to Adolph Thomae County Park to camp. Do not ever camp there unless you like to stay up all night and fish at the lighted fishing pier because that’s what everyone does there. In the evening after my shower I heard a COMMON PAURAQUE calling.

In the morning I drove to Laguna Atascosa NWR. I had heard so much about it and it just didn’t cut the mustard. I only saw a Greater Roadrunner, Long-billed Thrasher, White-tailed Kite, and Lesser Scaup. I was so disappointed that I took a break from birding after that and had lunch on the beach at South Padre Island. Next I drove to the famous Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. That birding book is so outdated that I didn’t even know they had removed the trailer park. I had a reservation to camp there but I was the only person. I set up my tent in the primitive camp area and then took a walk around. There were only doves flying around since it was still around midday. But then I saw a Bobcat run across the road (looked like an Oceolot to me but the zoologist there told me it was a Bobcat). I walked out to the hawk tower but there was just no activity except for one Least Flycatcher. I went back out to the parking lot and there was an ALTAMIRA ORIOLE right across from the visitor center. Its nest was right on the telephone wire. Another Mississippi Kite flew over. After the sun set I heard Lesser Nighthawks calling, a FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL, an EASTERN SCREECH OWL calling and more Pauraques. I got in my tent but a Javelina started grunting near my tent. In SC where I grew up there were wild boars and they are vicious and will attack you. Even though it is irrational and idiotic I became frightened to the point that my heart was racing and I knew I would not be able to sleep. I tried but it wasn’t possible. So I took down my tent and walked the ¾ mile back to my car and slept in my car. When I told friends and such about my plan to camp for 10 days alone in Texas most were amazed. I was never afraid the entire trip until I encountered these wild animals. The Border Patrol came and shined their head lights on my car until 5:00 AM when I got up to make breakfast. When they saw I was white they left. I walked around the park some more and saw a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT and heard a NORTHERN BEARDLESS TYRANNULET singing. I could only see its back before it flew off. Later I met this woman named Mary, the zoologist, who told me they nest in the park and showed me approximately where the nest is. We couldn’t locate the bird though despite more singing. So I went out to the hawk tower with her to try for the Hook-billed Kite. It never came along but we saw two Gray Hawks and one Swainson’s Hawk. On the way out of the park I saw two Clay-colored Robins and in the parking lot while having my lunch a Harris’s Hawk flew over.

For my last stop I drove up the Rio Grande to Falcon State Park. I parked at the entrance and walked the entire park desperately trying one last time for the Cassin’s Sparrow which I did not find. I found another Altamira Oriole with nesting material in its mouth and saw Bullock’s Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Oriole, and Orchard Oriole. Near the boat launch I heard a thrasher singing, my first ever CURVE-BILLED THRASHER. A Black-throated Sparrow was singing along the nature trail and there was one Lark Sparrow. Pyrrhuloxias were everywhere. I found a Verdin feeding her chicks and final bird of the day a nice Cactus Wren. Then I looked and looked for an acceptable Audubon’s Oriole but it was the only oriole I couldn’t find there. It was time to make the grueling drive back to San Antonio. In the morning at the airport I looked out the window for any last birds before departing but couldn’t even see so much as a grackle. I was sad to leave the wonderful world of birding in Texas. It was an amazing trip and despite all the insults, the mosquito bites, the chiggers, the itching, the fire ant that bit my foot, the noisy fishers at Adolph Tomae, one that left my heart full of joy. Of all the beautiful birds I saw and fantastic additions to my life list I say this with all sincerity, that most of all I will miss all the grackles of Texas with their many vocalizations, tenacity, and terrific adaptability. If only all these beautiful warblers and endangered species could be so flexible (e.g. Golden-cheeked Warbler can only eat bark from an old Ashe Juniper, Red-cockaded Woodpecker can only use old growth trees, etc). Tears are running down my face now as I think about how lucky I was to have had this experience.
TOTAL SPECIES = 224
LIFE BIRDS = 41 (in bold)
Michelle Brodie