Golden-cheeked warbler ... Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Day Two
“I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.” — Emily Dickinson
I was picked up at my camp site in Garner State Park by Lee Haile before the sun had cleared the horizon. Lee, a local nature guide, musician and storyteller, was going to help me look for two endangered birds, the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo.
For those of you who don’t already know, I’m a passionate birder – and these two rare species were not yet on my life list. I had chosen this activity as my birthday present to myself this year. While a bit more sedate than jumping out of an airplane, which I did last year to celebrate turning a year older, it was just as adrenaline pumping to this birder’s heart.
Black-capped vireo
The bird search took us 30 miles away to Lost Maples State Nature Area, a Texas park renown for its fall foilage and as one of the few places the golden-cheeked and black-capped can be found.
The day started out slow, with the golden-cheeked staying out of sight in its usual haunt, a small canyon about a mile hike from the day use parking area. It didn’t help that the maples, black cherry and mesquite trees in the park were all springtime lush and green. It only takes one leaf, I well knew, to hide a bird from view.
“Let’s go up the hill and look for the vireo,” Lee said.
The hill was one of the limestone ridges in the Edwards Plateau, and the climb, although only a half mile, was rough and the going – well my going – was slow. That was OK. Lee kept up a constant chatter about nature’s wonders as we climbed. He pointed out evidence that the area had once been a sea bed and talked constantly about the plants along the way.
I learned, among many other things, that the blossom of the mountain laurel smelled like grape Cool-Aid and that yellow wood sorrel had a tangy lemon taste. Yes, I tasted it.
Evidence of the Edwards Plateau's past life as an ocean bed.
On the top, where a cooling breeze evaporated the sweat accumulated on my neck during the climb, we heard the black-capped vireo singing almost immediately. It took another hour before I finally got a glimpse of it very low to the ground in thick foilage beneath some juniper trees. Although my viewing was short, it was adequate for me to catch the necessary field marks that would allow me to definitely make an identification.
I was elated. So was Lee. While there are no guarantees in birding, no guide wants to disappoint their client.
On the way back down, we met two couples, one from Washington and one from New York, who were also after the black-capped vireo. Lee told them where to find it, and we later learned that both had seen a pair of the males singing out in the open.
I, admittedly, was a bit envious, but singing in the open was how I viewed my first golden-cheeked warbler. It took us off only about 10 minutes to spot it once we were down from the ridge. It stayed in place after spotted and I got to watch its not-a-plain-Jane magnificence for as long as I wanted.
Lee said it was only his second time to catch both birds on the same day.
By the time we got back to our vehicle, both our stomachs were rumbling. Lee suggested the Lost Maples Cafe in Utopia, a small town of just over 200. It was home town cooking, plain but good. The exception was the Lemon Meringue Pie, which was my idea of ambrosia, not too sweet and not too tart. Unfortunately I ordered the Chocolate Meringue, which was on the runny side. Lee took pity on me and shared his lemon delight.
Me and the Big Tree ... photo by Lee Haile
If the day had ended right here, I would have been a happy camper. Instead, we explored the area for another two hours. Lee showed me the Big Tree, a live oak that once actually held the title, and we turned up two more lifers for me, the hooded oriole and the Bell’s vireos. Both are fairly common birds but ones that had up until this day eluded me.
I walked Maggie around the park on getting to my camp site – and gave her extra treats. She was happy and so was I. It had been a most perfect birthday.
Birds for the day: Eastern bluebird, indigo bunting, crested caracara, northern cardinal, Carolina chickadee, brown-headed cowbird, mourning dove, white-winged dove, ash-throated flycatcher, scissor-tailed flycatcher, vermilion flycatcher, blue-gray gnatcatcher, great-tailed grackle, greater white-fronted goose, northern Harrier, Cooper’s hawk, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, ruby-throated hummingbird, blue jay (picking on a barred owl), eastern kingbird, western kingbird, ruby-crowned kinglet, purple martin, northern mockingbird, hooded oriole, osprey, barred owl, black phoebe, eastern phoebe, common raven, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, lark sparrow, Lincoln’s sparrow, vesper sparrow, European starling, barn swallow, cliff swallow, summer tanager, black-crested titmouse, tufted titmouse, wild turkey, Bell’s vireo, black-capped vireo, white-eyed vireo, yellow-throated vireo, black vulture, turkey vulture, golden-cheeked warbler, Nashville warbler, golden-fronted woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, Bewick’s wren.
Photos and prose copyrighted by Pat Bean. Do not use without permission.
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