West Texas Spring Migration: Cibolo Creek Ranch and Davis Mountains

Zone-tailed Hawk © Brian Gibbons

Experience the wonders of spring migration in two unique locations of West Texas, the rugged beauty of the Chinati Mountain foothills and the cooler “sky islands” of the Davis Mountains. We will seek the majority of Southwest specialty birds and expect an array of spring migrants amid scenic pine-oak forests, desert chaparral, and high-elevation grasslands while staying in luxurious accommodations throughout the tour.

Located at the base of the Chinati Mountains in the Big Bend Country of West Texas, Cibolo Creek Ranch is, simply put, a birder’s paradise. This incredible resort features luxury rooms, superb cuisine, swimming pool, and great birding as soon as you step outside your room. We will spend three nights at the ranch scouring the oasis-like grounds and surrounding Chihuahuan Desert for resident and breeding birds like Scaled Quail, White-throated Swift, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cassin’s Kingbird, Canyon Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, Summer Tanager, and Blue Grosbeak, as well as a number of Southwest specialty birds such as Zone-tailed Hawk, Gray Vireo, Lesser Goldfinch, Canyon Towhee, Scott’s Oriole, Pyrrhuloxia, and Varied Bunting. Late April is near the peak of spring migration in West Texas, and a wide variety of western migrants are possible, including Cassin’s Vireo, Brewer’s Sparrow, MacGillivray’s Warbler, and many others.

Cibolo Creek Ranch is the paragon of a ranch-style retreat. Offering luxurious accommodations, marvelous cuisine, and access to an abundance of birds and outstanding scenery, the ranch surely ranks among Texas’s finest getaway destinations. Every guest room is designed to capture the style and spirit of the dramatic history of the ranch. Each room has been individually designed and uniquely furnished according to traditional Mexican architectural style and includes spacious verandas and Saltillo tile floors, Mexican and Spanish antiques, down comforters, hand-stitched quilts, painted tin retablos, vintage lamps, bath amenities, and adobe fireplaces. The ranch grounds are a tantalizing draw, particularly for morning and afternoon birding excursions.

In addition to our time at Cibolo Creek Ranch, we will have two days in the Davis Mountains, where higher elevations and heavily wooded slopes yield a different variety of birds. Here, we will look for Montezuma Quail, Plumbeous Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch (Rocky Mountain race), Chihuahuan Meadowlark, Grace’s Warbler, Hepatic Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, and many others. This should be a relaxing trip, because we use only two hotels, but it should also produce a very impressive list of birds. Spring is also an excellent time for reptiles and mammals, so this should be a great all-around natural history experience.

Excellent accommodations; easy to moderate terrain with fairly easy trail walking (no long strenuous hikes); mild to hot temperatures, with cooler temperatures at higher elevations; mostly dry with a chance of rain (depending on the passage of cold fronts).

Cozy and relaxing area at Cibolo Creek Ranch © Brad McKinney