Hill Country Diversion

After the EXPO, Alvin and I volunteered to return the borrowed van to Balcones Canyonlands NWR northwest of Austin. After unloading EXPO education materials at the VC on a foggy Monday morning we hit the road about 9 AM. We followed  610 north around Houston to HWY 290, a direct route to Austin. Interesting change of terrain from coastal prairie to rolling hills. After we crossed the Brazos River into Washington County, we were deep in the heart of the Texas Revolution. Lots of small interesting towns filled with world's best BBQ signs. We had lunch in Giddings, not BBQ, but scrumptious homemade chicken noodle soup for me.

Austin traffic is horrible, almost as bad as Houston, but HWY 183 was relatively calm, guess it was the right time of day. We arrived at refuge headquarters about 2:30 PM, made the vehicle switch, gassed up the Ford Escape at set about exploring the refuge.

Balcones Canyonlands is a relatively new refuge, created in 1992 primarily to provide habitat for Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. Currently consisting of 24000 acres, expansion and acquisition of additional habitat is a main priority.

Silly me, I left my camera in the car as I counted B'fly species and attempted to ID numerous UFO's, mostly skippers busily nectaring on purple aster: Gulf Fritillary, Queen, Common Checkered Skipper, Painted Lady, Reakirt's Blue, Grey Hairstreak, Common mestra, Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Dainty Sulphur, and Bordered Patch. Oodles of hover flies and unnamed moths joined the throng. I think the skippers may have been Fiery, but they never gave me a really good look.

The lovely drive along Cow Creek Road my camera was in my lap.

Much of the land is private ranch land, so finding space to pull over for photos was a trick. 8.7 miles of road with 6 low water crossings, a gorgeous drive any time of year, probably, but fall foliage was breathtaking. A few Cardinals crossed the road with some little flits of blur. A pair of wild Turkey at the intersection was a real treat.

Doeskin Ranch is a jewel of the refuge. A working cattle ranch as late as 1991, the habitat changes from tress covered hillsides to more open savannah.

 I tried for 10 minutes to coax a very vocal House Wren into the open, but only succeeded in calling up Chipping and Lincoln Sparrows. 

Would loved to have walked the 3.5 of trails...

but the darkening clouds and impending weather, said move along now. 

Shin Oak Overlook is the primary area to see Black-capped Vireo, in season, of course.

This area is prime vireo habitat and is actively managed, including trapping of Brown-headed Cowbird. 

I managed to pish up Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Spotted Towhee. 

A real treat was 3 bright Fox Sparrow, don't know if they responded to the pish, but I did manage to snap several ID photos, despite the low light level and the distance. 

The sun was setting quicker than desired, so we dead-headed back toward Austin, finally locating a Day's Inn on Hwy 183, near the intersection of Hwy 290, where we at least enjoyed clean sheets and hot water even though it was mainly occupied by construction workers. 

An added highlight was a noisy flock of Monk Parakeet settling in for the night in the parking lot. 

Back home to Anahuac NWR on Tuesday. Could hardly wait to get back to the marsh. Must be turning into a hermit.