Anti Big Year

Ok, chasing birds is more than addicting for me. I can't do a Big Year every year, the marriage and wallet just can't take it. So 2018 will be an Anti-Big Year, I will try and get as many birds that I can that I did not get in 2018. I left only three non-review species on the table in 2017; Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, Bridled Tern, and Red-faced Warbler. Other than those it will be review species only for chasing.

The Storm-Petrel and Tern are covered by an early Pelagic, that might have to be a Tuna fishing trip. Red-faced Warbler is my Texas nemesis. Its the only non-review species I've not seen in Texas. The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds lists the spring migration dates for it as April 20 - May 16, and the fall window is July 23 - September 15. The two best sites to check for the Red-faced Warbler are the Chisos Mountains and the Davis Mountains. The Davis Mountains Preserve doesn't have a spring open day that works for that window, but the fall open house does. So my plan is a trip to camp in Boot Springs in the spring. and maybe a second in the fall in conjunction with the Davis Mountains Preserved Open Weekend August 10-12, 2018. Hopefully this year I won't tear up my knee.

Snowy Owl Odessa, TX

January 23, 2018 a Snowy Owl hit eBird in Odessa. Pictures and everything, definitely a good bird. The report was a week old though so I waited with a half formed plan in my mind. The next morning I got word via Facebook that the bird was good, about 9:45 am. I text my wife that it was a good bird and she replied "what's the plan?" I replied that I should be on the road by noon, overnight in Odessa, get the bird in the morning and home for dinner the next day. Her response is it won't take you that long to get on the road. No it won't! I did a quick calculation and I could perhaps make it before dark. Booked a room in Odessa, a change of cloths and grabbed the birding bag. On the road at 10:28 ETA exactly sundown.

My GPS overlords routed be through Austin. Austin at 1 pm is not a go fast zone. I lost time and my ETA was now well after sundown. Have to make up some time. In Llano I gassed up quickly. This was a new route for me so I picked up birds in several new counties as I made my best time possible.

El Gallo from the High Plains branch of the Secret Underground Birders (S.U.B.) messaged me that he was on the way too and we arranged to meet up. Richard Hermosillo also messaged me that he was on the way. They of course beat me by hours and kept urging me to hurry up. I was going as fast as I felt safe. Counties clicked by, McCulloch, Concho, Tom Green, Coke, Sterling, Glasscock, and finally Ector and the outskirts of Odessa. So close but the sun was on the horizon. Richard and El Gallo where still trying to stay on the bird, but it flew and they where searching for it.

Snowy Owl at night, Odessa, TX

Totally dark now I met up with El Gallo, we decided to make a quick look around and call it a night. I pulled into the church parking lot where the bird was seen originally. Richard called me that he had found it perched on top of a restaurant. El Gallo and I raced over. There she was perched on the peak of the building. Snowy Owl Anti-Big Year Bird #1! It was also my 547th Texas Bird. We watched it hunt for a while and eventually I manager a poor but recognizable picture pushing my camera to its limits.

El Gallo and I decided to split a room for the night. I already had reservations that suited El Gallo, cheap! We had dinner and a couple of beers and headed for the hotel. We picked up my car and I got to the hotel well after El Gallo. I guess my first clue that it was a dump was the price. Hotels in the Permian Basin are expensive, like $300 a night for a Best Western. This place was less than $80 but a national chain at least. My second clue was El Gallo was able to check in as me using a credit card with his name on it. My third clue was the woman in the lobby who was complaining the toilet in her room had no seat and the the two people at the front desk were mystified why that was a problem.

I headed up the stairs because the elevator was out of order. covered in mud from work boots I guess. The room was everything the clues suggested it would be, Old tired bed linens, conduit and wires hanging from the ceiling, inept water damage repairs. Oh well I was tired and the bed at least seemed clean.

Cactus Wrens, Crane County

The next morning I got out early and found the owl again by finding the birders. From where I saw it last night I could see two birders with scopes looking at it across the highway back by the church. I hurried over and captured some good images. I racked up a few Ector County birds for my county list and started the trek home, This time the GPS overlords suggested a route south to I10 and down through several new counties for me. The birding was fun and I managed a few good photos and pushed the number of counties I've recorded birds in to 205 counties.