You can
think twice - or even
three, four, five or six times - about driving to Big Bend in the
panting dog
days of
August, but head to this corner of West Texas in the spring and you'll
be rewarded with
sights of migrating songbirds and a desert in bloom. Ranges of
many
eastern and western bird species meet in this isolated region of Texas,
and Big Bend's total
bird count is one of the state's largest at 450 species.
At Big Bend, you can see birds normally spied only in Mexico:
Mexican ducks, Lucifer hummingbirds, Mexican jays, Colima warblers,
gray vireos and varied buntings.
Local bird
specialties include scaled
quail, zone-tailed hawks, Chihuahuan
ravens and gray-breasted jays.
Pyrruloxias are very common, and you may spot hypatic tanagers,
white-throated swifts, canyon
towhees, black- throated sparrows, verdins, cactus wrens and
ladder-backed woodpeckers. Elf and flammulated owls are also
present, and roadrunners are ubiquitos.
Seventy-five species of mammals
make their home at Big Bend, but
most are seen only at night or during the cool hours of early morning.
Watch for both whitetail and mule deer, gray fox and
javelina.
Although
mountain
lions are present, they are rarely seen. Another rarely sighted
species is the black bear. Although once extirpated from the
region, black bears are returning to their former range due to
preservation efforts in Mexico.
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You can
explore Big Bend
country by visiting Big Bend National Park or Big Bend Ranch
State
Park. The
national park offers over 200
miles of
hiking trails.
Purchased
from private owners by the state in 1988, Big Bend Ranch State Park
preserves
almost
300,000
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additional
acres of Chihuahuan
desert habitat.
You'll find
several river access points and
trailheads off Highway 170 between
Lajitas and Presidio.
At day's
end consider one more
short hike - this one for your tired
muscles' benefit. You can walk to the site of a historic resort
and
soak in hot springs on the banks of the Rio Grande.
Big Bend Ranch State Park
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WHERE TO STAY
Both parks allow backcountry camping by permit and have car
accessible campgrounds. Big Bend has a restaurant at its Chisos
Mountain Lodge, while Big Bend Ranch State Park offers
dormitory lodging and a house rental at the site of former ranch
headquarters.
If you enjoy rustic lodging but also want coffee makers, high-speed
internet and hot showers, check out La
Posada Milagro,
a
small four-room inn located on Ghostown Hill in Terlingua.
You
can walk to the nearby Stardust Theater for dinner.
And if you like places
with character, make a stop at the La Kiva
restaurant and bar near Terlingua.
On your way home from Big Bend, reward yourself with a stop at the
historic Gage Hotel
in Marathon.
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