After being evicted from Big Bend National Park because of the US government shutdown, I went back to Alpine and then north from there to Fort Davis. I thought I'd be able to camp at Fort Davis State Park (the shutdown didn't affect state parks) but the campground was full (presumably because of all the people forced out of the national parks).
On the way to Fort Davis, I stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center. I didn't know anything about it, but I was glad I stopped. It has a botanical gardens, a greenhouse full of different kinds of cactus, and nature trails. I enjoyed all three. It is amazing how many different kinds of cactus there are!
There weren't many flowering but of course the bits of color caught my eye.
I'm guessing these fuzzy things on the Antelope Bush were seeds?
I enjoyed the nature trails. I was warned about the difficult trail and told to take one of the walking sticks. And, of course, carry water! Neither of which I did. The trail was rocky in spots, but hardly "difficult". There was a nice little canyon, with pools of water.
I stopped in Fort Davis State Park the next day to do some hiking. It is one of the many sites developed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) in the 1930's. I only saw the lodge from a distance, but it looked impressive.
The hike was good, but the best part is that there were several bird blinds where they had water and bird feeders. (Somewhat of a double standard - you're not supposed to feed wildlife, but bird feeders are ok?) I only spent 10 or 15 minutes at one of the blinds, but still saw quite a variety of birds.
The most common birds were these little sparrow like ones, which I think are pine siskins.
The other common ones were Eurasian collared doves. It's surprising how common they are, since they were only introduced to North America in the 80's
I like the blue of the Western scrub jays.
We get dark eyed juncos at home, but they're still cute little birds.
There were several kinds of woodpeckers. Acorn woodpeckers with their red cap, and (I think) ladder backed woodpeckers.
I don't recall seeing Black-crested titmouse before.
There were also Spotted towhees, but they didn't cooperate with getting their picture taken!
Suddenly all the birds flew away in a panic. Not a one remained. I assume a hawk had arrived although I didn't see it.
See all 32 photos
On the way to Fort Davis, I stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center. I didn't know anything about it, but I was glad I stopped. It has a botanical gardens, a greenhouse full of different kinds of cactus, and nature trails. I enjoyed all three. It is amazing how many different kinds of cactus there are!
There weren't many flowering but of course the bits of color caught my eye.
I'm guessing these fuzzy things on the Antelope Bush were seeds?
I enjoyed the nature trails. I was warned about the difficult trail and told to take one of the walking sticks. And, of course, carry water! Neither of which I did. The trail was rocky in spots, but hardly "difficult". There was a nice little canyon, with pools of water.
I stopped in Fort Davis State Park the next day to do some hiking. It is one of the many sites developed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) in the 1930's. I only saw the lodge from a distance, but it looked impressive.
The hike was good, but the best part is that there were several bird blinds where they had water and bird feeders. (Somewhat of a double standard - you're not supposed to feed wildlife, but bird feeders are ok?) I only spent 10 or 15 minutes at one of the blinds, but still saw quite a variety of birds.
The most common birds were these little sparrow like ones, which I think are pine siskins.
The other common ones were Eurasian collared doves. It's surprising how common they are, since they were only introduced to North America in the 80's
I like the blue of the Western scrub jays.
We get dark eyed juncos at home, but they're still cute little birds.
There were several kinds of woodpeckers. Acorn woodpeckers with their red cap, and (I think) ladder backed woodpeckers.
I don't recall seeing Black-crested titmouse before.
There were also Spotted towhees, but they didn't cooperate with getting their picture taken!
Suddenly all the birds flew away in a panic. Not a one remained. I assume a hawk had arrived although I didn't see it.
See all 32 photos
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