Year-Round Residents
Cactus, rock, canyon and Bewick's wrens live permanently in Big Bend Ranch State Park. So do greater roadrunners, several varieties of woodpecker, thrasher, sparrow and gnatcatchers. Phaenopepla and pyrrhuloxia flash their crests year-round, too. Zone-tailed is one of several varieties of hawk you may see, and other birds of prey include peregrine falcons, nighthawks and elf owl. Goldfinches and hummingbirds flaunt their colors. Scaled quail, rare elsewhere, are common here. Mallard ducks, verdin, flycatcher and towhee are at home year-round.
Migration Time
From late March through the middle of May, birds head north to their summer habitats. From late August through the middle of October, many of the same species migrate south through this park. Visitors include flycatchers, warblers, tanagers and vagrants, or birds that have deviated from their usual flyways, ending up where they are not expected.
Summer Dwellers
The nocturnal poorwill, kingbirds, ravens, vireos, warblers, phoebes and cowbirds spend the summer. So do the colorful summer tanager, varied bunting, vermilion flycatcher, oriole and blue grosbeak.
Winter Visitors
palo verde tree image by Brandi Cameron from
Fotolia.com
Golden eagles winter at Big Bend Ranch State Park, along with Anna's hummingbirds and prairie falcons. The chestnut-collared longspur and several species of flycatcher, bluebird and warbler are seen only in winter.
