USA Big Loop (Spring 1997)
Locations: Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,
Montana, North Dakota, Manitoba, Minnesota, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland
In the spring of 1997, I had business in Florida and Mississippi and planned to
visit my mother in Montana. It only made sense to do it as part of a
bird watching trip, which turned out to be 12,500 miles — about the distance between
the North Pole and the South Pole. I did the trip in my 1979 Ford Fairmont.
To avoid spending a fortune, I
slept in the car. The trip cost about $800 in gas and less than $500 for food,
day-use fees, and other expenses. On a typical day, I birded from before
sunrise until after sunset, drove several hundred miles between sites at night,
slept for a few hours curled up on the front seat, and repeated this the next
day. I lived off cereal with water, juice, granola bars, raisins, junk food,
and adrenaline. I saw 383 species of birds and had a great time. I planned the trip using
guide books on bird watching locations, online rare bird alerts, and suggestions from Bob Doe, Bert
Frenz, Jim Hailey, Lori Hunter, Tony Leukering, Brandon Percival, Chuck Sexton,
Van Truan, and Sheri Williamson. During the trip, I met other bird watchers who provided tips.
Before getting on the road, I inspected the car and made sure the spare tire was inflated. The tires
looked a bit worn but seemed to have a good bit of life left.
At the start of the trip, I did some birding at Huntley Meadows and the
C&O Canal in the D.C. area. Although migration was late, I saw several species that I
didn’t see elsewhere on the trip. I left for Florida in the afternoon of 5/3.
It was still fairly dark when I arrived at the Ocala National Forest the next
morning and heard a Chuck-will’s-widow calling. I located it on a dirt road and
saw its glowing eyes and silhouette with my flashlight. I was especially
pleased to see this bird because I had been mystified by its call while growing
up in Florida. After observing the behavior and appearance of several groups of
Florida Scrub-Jays, I began to appreciate why they were split from the Western
Scrub-Jay. I also saw my first Summer Tanager and
Swallow-tailed Kite. I
unsuccessfully searched for Bachman’s Sparrow. I was pleased to see that
Red-headed Woodpeckers are doing well in this area. I spent the morning of 5/5
at Venus Flatwoods Preserve. After a few hours of jockeying for position, I got a great view of
a singing Bachman’s Sparrow.
I also saw a pair of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers. I
spent the afternoon of 5/5 at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. I got a great look at a
Black-whiskered Vireo that was foraging in the mangroves. To me, this is the
vireo with the most interesting song. I also saw several Gray Kingbirds. While
driving to Miami, I stopped at the Miccosukee Indian Restaurant to watch Snail
Kites returning to roost. Harry and Rita DeFerrari took me out to the Gulf
Stream off of Boca Raton on their boat on the morning of 5/7. Although it was a
slow day for birds (but not flying fish), we saw several Magnificent
Frigatebirds (which certainly are magnificent). We also saw a possible Masked
Booby, but the boat was rocking too much to make a positive ID. After the boat
trip, Harry noticed a colorful bird in his backyard that turned out to be a
Spot-breasted Oriole.
I then followed Rita’s directions to a location with Monk
Parakeets. I was surprised to see that these beautiful birds are such tremendous fliers.
I spent the morning of 5/9 at Everglades National Park. I braved the mosquitoes and
walked the entire length of Snake Bight Trail. At one point, I ventured a short
distance off the trail to investigate the source of an interesting warbler song
and got lost. I tried retracing my steps and ended up getting even more lost. I
began to get concerned as the mosquitoes sucked my blood and the day began to
get very hot. I finally came to my senses and used the Sun as a compass. I
walked north for several hundred yards and found the trail. I saw my
first Wilson’s Plover on the beach at the end of the trail.
I saw a white morph
Great Blue Heron on Anhinga Trail.
I spent the afternoon and evening of 5/9 in
the Keys. At Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, I found a
Mangrove Cuckoo with something
in its mouth that I first mistook for a piece of nest material. I then realized
it was a walking stick. The cuckoo dropped its meal right by my feet and
immediately dove down for it. It then looked up at me and flew back into the
tree. I got a great look at the mask. As I continued to watch this bird,
another Black-whiskered Vireo passed by. I drove on to Key West carefully
checking for White-crowned Pigeon but only found scores of Collared Doves. I
ended the day watching an Antillean Nighthawk at the
Key West Airport. On my
final day in South Florida (5/10), I planned three stops and hoped to find at
least one or two of the five key species I had so far failed to locate. Shortly
after arriving at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, I realized why I had been having problems
finding these birds—they had all been hiding there! I quickly located Least
Bittern, Wood Stork,
Purple Gallinule,
and Limpkin. I spent the rest of the day
checking every grackle in locations suggested by some local birders. Just as I
was about to give up, I noticed one with an odd looking beak — Smooth-billed
Ani! I was really thrilled to see this exotic and interesting bird. Three or
four of them flew over to the tree where they had nested. They were immediately
mobbed by a mockingbird and several grackles. I was fortunate that
Loxahatchee was my first stop that day. It seemed to be the best place for birds
in Florida. I took a brief walk on the morning of 5/11 along the Hillsborough
River in Tampa, where I used to go swimming while growing up. I had really
looked forward to returning to that area, where I had fond memories of seeing Cardinals, Red-winged
Blackbirds, and Great Horned Owls years ago. I was pleased to see six
species of warbler, Barred Owl, Anhinga,
Osprey, Wood Duck, White Ibis, and
about fifteen other species. I spent the rest of 5/11 driving to Louisiana. I
had a blowout near Lake City and had to take a hike for help after discovering
that the spare tire was for a Chevy! I paid an outrageous price for a cheap
tire and picked up a spare at a junkyard. On the morning of 5/13, I visited the
Pearl River Wildlife Management Area (where Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were waiting to be discovered) and located a
Swainson’s Warbler based on a tip from Dan
Purrington. I also saw a huge wild boar.
I left for Texas in the afternoon of 5/13. I spent the morning of 5/14 at
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and saw
Buff-bellied Hummingbird and
Brown-crested Flycatcher
but wasn’t able to find Cassin’s or Botteri’s Sparrow.
While checking the
trail near the visitors center for the sparrows, I saw
a Golden-winged Warbler. I spent the afternoon of 5/14 at
the Sarita Rest Stop. I was puzzled by a yellow bird with a black back until I
realized it was a Lesser Goldfinch.
I had only seen the California race
previously and didn’t realize they were so different. After an hour
or so of following it from tree to tree, I finally got a good look at a
Tropical Parula.
I began 5/15 at Bentsen State Park and searched unsuccessfully for a
nesting Gray Hawk that had been reported.
I then proceeded to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, where I managed to locate
several Groove-billed Anis after a
long search and a tip from some birders. I
started the afternoon at Falcon State Park in search of sparrows without success. I
found three of my targets on the road out of the park. I stopped to
investigate a bird perched on a wire, which turned
out to be a Cave Swallow. I
was able to get a good look at every field mark on that bird. I then noticed a
Cassin’s Sparrow singing on a fence.
Finally, I saw a bird with a light-colored
belly and wing bars sitting on a low bush. My first guess was a phoebe until I
noticed a deep blue head. I was puzzled until I realized that the apparent
shade of blue was due to the angle of the sun.
It was my first Lazuli Bunting. I
rushed over to the Zapata Library and arrived just before sunset to look for
the White-collared Seedeaters but wasn’t able to find them. However, I did see
another Lazuli Bunting. I got on the road to Lost Maples State Park that night. Shortly
before sunrise on 5/16, I stopped to enjoy a field full of
singing Dickcissels.
At Lost Maples State Park, I saw several Golden-cheeked
Warblers and Black-chinned
Hummingbirds and heard a singing
Canyon Wren for the first time. However, I had
to search for quite a while before I heard a
Black-capped Vireo. I then had to
wait a long time for it to pop into view briefly. That night, I drove to Big
Bend National Park. I had to drive an hour or so out of the way (on to Alpine) because the
gas stations at Marathon were closed. On the morning of 5/17, I took the
11-mile hike to see the Colima Warbler. On the way up the mountain, I saw my
first Mexican Jay,
Canyon Towhee,
and Scott’s Oriole.
I got a brief glimpse at what appeared to be a much-desired Black-chinned Sparrow.
While approaching the Colima Trail, I
heard and got my first glimpses of Colima Warblers.
After I passed the
spring, I backtracked a ways and finally got a great look at a Colima Warbler out in the open
just above eye level. On the way down, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery, saw
another Colima Warbler, and ran into two local birders who gave me some
valuable leads on birds at the Cottonwood Campground and on the Window Trail. I
spent the afternoon and evening of 5/17 at Cottonwood Campground, which has a
nice selection of birds, including orioles, Painted
Bunting, and Vermilion
Flycatcher. At Dusk, Elf Owls
emerged from the cottonwoods. I noticed steel
belts poking through one of my tires and replaced it with the spare. I spent
the morning of 5/18 on the Window Trail. On the way down, I got a great look at a
Varied Bunting. The lighting was just right so the blue and red colors were
very bright. I came across a skunk foraging on the trail. It refused to move
and there was no way to go around it. So I got my nerve up and bolted past
it as fast as possible. Near the end of the trail, I saw my first
Blue-throated Hummingbirds.
A couple came along who had also encountered the skunk and tip-toed past it. I then found
the Lucifer Hummingbird’s
nest a few hundred feet up the canyon wall. I was not
satisfied with the view and hoped someone would come along with a spotting
scope. When this didn’t happen, I found a rocky area down the canyon that
looked easy to climb. I climbed up about 250 feet and got a great look at the
hummer from above. On the way back up the trail, I saw a Hepatic Tanager. This
had been a productive morning! I spent the afternoon at Rio Grande Village
unsuccessfully looking for hawks. However, I did find Ash-throated Flycatcher,
Western Wood-Pewee, and
Bell’s Vireo in the cottonwoods.
I got on the road to Arizona in the evening of 5/18. The routine of birding all day and
driving most of the night was beginning to drain my energy, but I was revived by the excitement of
birding in southeastern Arizona for the first time. On the morning of 5/19, I
made a brief stop at the Spofford’s house in Portal
and saw Strickland’s Woodpecker and
Bridled Titmouse. I drove up to Rustler Park and saw
Yellow-eyed Junco and
Red-faced,
Olive, and
Grace’s Warblers.
I ran into a birder who told me where he had heard Black-chinned Sparrows. That evening, I ran into a birder from
Oxford, England, who showed me Western and
Whiskered Screech-Owls in Cave Creek
Canyon and took me to a location where
Common Poorwills were calling. I began
the morning of 5/20 looking for the
Black-chinned Sparrows. I heard them but
didn’t see them. I then went up the south fork of Cave Creek Canyon looking
for Elegant Trogon. I heard one calling but wasn’t able to see it. Some
birders down the road spotted a female, and I got to see the lower half of its
frontside. I also saw a
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher and a flock of
Violet-green Swallows.
I noticed another tire starting to look bad and went to Tucson for a
new set of tires. I ended the day at Saguaro National Park and saw my first
Gilded Flicker. I began 5/21 at the Patagonia Rest Stop and saw
Violet-crowned Hummingbird and
Thick-billed Kingbird. I then went to Patagonia-Sonoita Creek
Preserve, where a local birder named Diane helped me find
Gray Hawk,
Dusky-capped Flycatcher, and
Lucy’s Warbler. We returned to the Rest Stop and
heard a Rose-throated Becard.
At the Paton’s house, we saw Broad-billed,
Costa’s,
and Calliope Hummingbirds.
We saw a Zone-tailed Hawk from the street outside
the Paton’s house. This had been a great day! I began 5/22 searching for sparrows in the
vicinity of the Santa Rita Mountains. I saw what had to be a
Botteri’s Sparrow
on Box Canyon Road, but it wasn’t singing. The bird was browner on the back
than Cassin’s Sparrow and appeared to be relatively large. I checked the feeders at
Santa Rita Lodge but didn’t find anything new.
I returned to the Patagonia Rest Stop and saw what must
have been the
Rose-throated Becard removing material from an old nest.
I then decided to take a chance on Ramsey Canyon even though I didn’t have a
reservation. Fortunately, there was an available parking space and I got to see
Magnificent and
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.
I waited around for the White-eared
Hummingbird to show up but was unsuccessful. I drove back to Portal and was sad
to see a dead Barn Owl
on the road near Douglas. At sunrise on 5/23, I tried
for the Black-chinned Sparrow
again and was finally successful! The bird sang
its unique bouncing ball song only briefly before the sun came up over the
mountains. I went back up to Rustler Park and then to Barfoot Park and saw a
Mexican Chickadee thanks
to some help from a couple from California and a group
of birders in a 4-wheel drive. They told me about Five-striped Sparrows in
California Gulch and warned me that those birds
stopped singing at about 7:20 am. I drove over to Garden Canyon. At the Upper
Picnic Ground, I saw a photographer with a camera aimed at a sycamore.
I followed one of Diane’s tips and saw a
Buff-breasted Flycatcher. After getting
caught in a sudden downpour (which I rode out in a portable toilet), I saw a
Greater Pewee
and heard another Elegant Trogon (but once again failed to see
it). I was a bit leery about the drive to California Gulch in my car,
but it seemed too good to pass up. I left Nogales at 3:00 am on 5/24 and saw
several Common Poorwills on the road.
Things went smoothly (although the roads
got very rough) until I got just past Sycamore Canyon and arrived at a stream
that was about 20 feet wide and 8 inches deep. I got out and walked through it
barefoot and decided that my car might make it through if I went fast enough.
One complicating factor was that it was necessary to turn left just before
entering the stream. I backed up, got up my nerve, and made like Evel Knievel.
There was a tremendous splash but I came up on the other side. The
next several miles were very rough in places. I turned down Rte. 217 and saw
something squat down beside the road. It was a
Montezuma Quail behaving just as
I had read. It was my 500th species in North America. I parked the car at the dam
but later realized that I could have driven much further. Since it was now 6:00, I
decided to jog the remaining few miles. I arrived at about 6:30 and got a great
look at a Five-striped Sparrow.
I also saw a hummingbird with a pastel yellow
gorget (apparently due to pollen). Brock and Leigh Orwig arrived just after the
sparrow stopped singing. I told them where I had seen the sparrow and the
unusual hummer. They offered me a ride back to my car in their 4-wheel drive,
but I decided to bird my way back. I’m glad I did because I got my first good
look at a
Zone-tailed Hawk and also saw another
Lucy’s Warbler. Brock and Leigh
picked me up along the road after they saw the Five-striped Sparrow, and I showed them where
I had seen the Montezuma Quail. They told me told me about a pair of Spotted Owls in Scheelite Canyon
and that the photographer in Garden Canyon was staking out an
Elegant Trogon nest. I returned to Garden Canyon and stopped at
the picnic ground. The photographer had his camera set up again, but there was
no sign of the trogon. I went up to Scheelite Canyon and learned from some
birders that the Spotted Owls
were roosting right over the trail, where I
easily found them. I then returned to the trogon nest, where a small crowd had begun to form. The male had
apparently been in the nest for a few hours. While waiting for it to come out,
I got a nice look at another Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher and saw the white patch
on the breast of a Chihuahuan Raven.
After an hour or so, a Painted Redstart
flew up near the nest hole and an Elegant Trogon
popped his head out. A few minutes later, it came all the way out of the
nest and the crowd gasped at its beauty. I returned to Box Canyon Road early on 5/25.
This time I saw a Botteri’s Sparrow singing!
I followed another of Diane’s leads and got a great look at a
Rufous-winged Sparrow near the school on White
House Canyon Road. I then ran into
a couple from New York who pointed out another Rufous-winged Sparrow that was
singing. I decided to give Madera Canyon another try and saw another
Strickland’s Woodpecker but not much else. I drove back to the Patagonia Rest
Stop hoping to get a better look at the becard but had no luck. I stopped at
Kino Springs and saw a Tropical Kingbird that had been reported and got a
surprise bonus in the form of an Olive-sided Flycatcher. I spent the afternoon
at Chino Canyon, where I saw a Black-capped Gnatcatcher and a
Crissal Thrasher.
It was time to get moving, but fatigue had finally caught up to me, and I wasn’t
able to make it to Colorado overnight. On 5/26, I stopped at Hyde State Park near Santa
Fe, New Mexico. The birding wasn’t very good, but I saw a
Hammond’s Flycatcher.
I spent the morning of 5/27 at Rye Mountain Park and Lake
Isabel near Colorado City and saw Red-naped
and Williamson’s Sapsuckers,
Dusky
and Gray Flycatcher, and
MacGillivray’s Warbler. I was starting to get worried
about missing Virginia’s Warbler,
which I had unsuccessfully tried to find in Arizona. I decided to spend the rest
of the day on a quest for it. I finally found one at Bear Creek Regional Park, but
it was initially about as hard to see as the
Black-capped Vireo had been. I got a great view when it flew up to an exposed perch to sing!
I spent 5/28 at Rocky Mountain
National Park. I quickly found Green-tailed Towhee and
Brewer’s Sparrow and saw
American Pipit in breeding plumage for the first time.
I spent the rest of the
day trying to find Townsend’s Solitaire, Pine Grosbeak, and Black Rosy-Finch. I
also tried to find another MacGillivray’s Warbler because the one I had seen
the day before gave me only a brief look. All of these quests failed. I spent
5/29 at Pawnee National Grasslands. I got great views of
McCown’s and
Chestnut-collared Longspurs and
Mountain Plover. I also saw a
Lark Bunting in
breeding plumage for the first time. I didn’t have much time to enjoy this
success, however, because the road became muddier and muddier. I had to blast
through one area just as I had done to cross the stream going to California
Gulch. Near the end of the quagmire, I came to one last challenge, a long
stretch of deep mud. I hit it as fast as possible and the car fish-tailed back
and forth. By some miracle, I made it out the other side and headed for
Billings. I spent a few days catching up on sleep and enjoying Mom’s cooking!
On 6/3, I went with my sisters, Penny and Lani, on a birding trip to Bozeman and
Yellowstone National Park. Although they were new to birding, they proved to be very sharp
at spotting and identifying birds. Our first stop was at Sourdough Nature
Trail, where I hoped to get a better look at a MacGillivray’s Warbler. We heard
one in the bushes but it wouldn’t pop into view. I saw my first
Least Flycatcher and
male Evening Grosbeak.
I heard a singing Northern Waterthrush for the first
time. We then went to the trail by the fish hatchery and
had another uncooperative MacGillivray’s Warbler in the bushes. This one teased
us by flying back and forth between bushes, but we couldn’t get a good look.
We then tried the trail at the ‘M’ Campground for Townsend’s Solitaire but had
no luck. We proceeded to Yellowstone and found
Trumpeter Swan and
Barrow’s Goldeneye
but had no luck with Townsend’s Solitaire or Pine Grosbeak. I got to
hear a Ruby-crowned Kinglet singing
for the first time. We spent the night in
Cooke City and birded our way back to Billings on 6/4. I saw a Violet-green Swallow
perched on a wire in perfect light and got a great look at the violet
on the back. We once again missed the birds I wanted, but I was glad that my sisters
got to see Gray Jay,
Clark’s Nutcracker, and
other good birds.
My first stop after leaving Billings was Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota on 6/6. I
first checked out the