Birding Seminole Canyon State Park

The next morning our friends left the park to go back home.  We had another full day here before heading to our next destination.

There is a very nice, new looking, bird blind in the park.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any feeders and the water feature was not turned on.  So, no birds at the bird blind!

We did see a few birds in the rest of the park.  Cactus Wrens were singing away like spring was in the air. They are described as a "large, chunky wren" with a call that sounds like a car that won't start!  What flattering descriptions!

Cactus Wren

We also saw a few Orange-crowned Warblers. With a name like that you'd hope to see a bright orange crown, or at least a little bit of orange. But you won't. What little bit of orange they have is always hidden. You have to catch one in a bird bath with wet feathers to even get a glimpse. Stupid bird names...

Orange-crowned Warbler

The Black-throated Sparrow does have a black throat, so that name makes sense.

Black-throated Sparrow

Lark Bunting are interesting birds in that the males change their plumage completely from summer to winter. In summer breeding plumage they are jet black with big white bars on their wings. However for winter they take on a much more subdued brown pattern. What stays the same is their big bluish-gray bill. We saw the winter-version at Seminole Canyon.

Lark Bunting - winter plumage

For comparison, here is a Lark Bunting male in breeding plumage. It's hard to believe that it is the same bird, isn't it?

Lark Bunting - breeding plumage

There were a few Western Meadowlarks in the park as well. They didn't think it was spring yet as they were silent. Too bad, as they have a wonderful song. 

Western Meadowlark

Seminole Canyon State Park is a dry desert area that doesn't support a huge variety of birds. But we were happy to get reacquainted with some of the West Texas species that we hadn't seen in a while.