Golden cheeked Warbler and Colima Warbler in Texas -April 8-10

Golden cheeked Warbler, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

Golden cheeked Warbler, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

Golden cheeked Warbler, Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX, Apr 8, 2026

I just returned from a whirlwind week long trip to Texas then up through New Mexico to Arizona in search of a number of new warblers for my warbler big year in the US. I will cover each state with a separate post starting with Texas. The two targets in the Texas portion of the trip were Golden cheeked Warbler in central Texas and Colima Warbler in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend NP. The targets in Arizona (and perhaps New Mexico) included Virginia’s Warbler, Lucy’s Warbler, Grace’s Warbler and Red faced Warbler. I also had the chance to turn up a couple of western species that would be just starting to move through on migration including Hermit Warbler and MacGillivray’s Warbler although neither would be critical to miss as I should be able to get them later in the year when we stop in Oregon on our way home from Alaska in July. 

I began the trip down to Texas with an early morning flight out of Hartford into Dallas. Thankfully the flight was on time and after getting through the airport and then a shuttle to the rental car center (no airport should have a shuttle for rental cars and I usually avoid any airports that have them but no choice this time) I was on the road by around 10AM. I then had a three and a half hour drive to my Airbnb in Liberty Hill to the northwest of Austin. Before checking into my lodging in the late afternoon I would try my luck in tracking down my first target species, Golden cheeked Warbler. Golden cheeked Warbler is an endangered species that only breeds in central Texas. I was last down in the area back in 2017 and I remember having good luck at the Warbler Vista area of Balcones Canyonland NWR so that is where I headed. Trying to track down birds on a sunny afternoon with temps around 80 usually doesn’t produce much as the birds get quieter. Nonetheless I managed to get a Golden cheeked Warbler fairly quickly and got a few photos and recordings. I heard a few others singing although trying to get more photos proved to be a fruitless endeavor for me. Golden cheeked Warbler is endangered for a variety of reasons with the biggest being loss of breeding territory to ‘development’. Balcones Canyonlands NWR was created mainly with this species in mind and the warblers seem to be doing well. The only other species of warbler in the area (and the most abundant) were Orange crowned Warbler. I also tried briefly at Doeskin Ranch (another area of the Balcones Canyonland NWR) for additional Golden cheeked Warblers without any luck. By this time it was getting to be late afternoon and I still needed to drive a bit to get to my lodging so I headed out. With the Golden cheeked Warbler down I would be able to head out early for the long drive to Big Bend NP without having to stick around in the morning to try to track down the warbler. The Golden cheeked Warbler became warbler #29 for the year for me in the US. 

On Thursday I made the long (nearly seven hour) drive to Big Bend NP…a place that truly is in the middle of nowhere. I broke up the trip a little by stopping at South Llano River SP where I hoped to get some more looks and photos of Golden cheeked Warblers (the park is one of the most western spots to get the species). After getting up early I arrived a little after 6:30AM and then spent the next two hours plus exploring the area. Unfortunately I had to deal with some drizzle and overcast conditions during my time there and struck out on finding any Golden cheeked Warblers. In fact I had just a couple warblers with just one each of Orange crowned Warbler and Nashville Warbler. I’m sure with more time to explore I could have turned up more stuff but with nearly a five hour drive still looming ahead of me I wanted to get on the road. In the middle of the afternoon I arrived at my lodging in Terlingua (to the northwest of Big Bend NP) and got settled and made preparations for the long hike the following day. 

Colima Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Colima Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Colima Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Townsend's Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Townsend's Warbler, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Chisos Mountains, Big Bend NP, TX, Apr 10, 2026

Friday morning was the day for the long hike up into the Chisos Mountains at Big Bend NP to look for the Colima Warbler. Colima Warbler breeds primarily in Mexico with its range just barely reaching into the US in the upper parts of the Chisos Mountains. The species just starts to arrive in the area in mid April with most arriving later in April. With none reported so far for the year in the area I was worried I would miss it. In order to see the species you have to hike up into the mountains and it is a steep hike. One can either take the most direct route up the Pinnacles Trail or the less steep but longer Laguna Meadow Trail. I decided on the most direct route so the hike would be steep. I arrived well before dawn and started the hike around 5:20AM and the hike was even steeper than I remember…although being a bit older probably didn’t help! I made it up to the pass through the mountains right around dawn and started the walk down the Boot Canyon Trail. After about 3/4 of a mile I heard a Colima Warbler singing and after a few issues with my phone I was able to get some recordings as I searched for the bird. After quite a bit of looking I caught sight of the bird as it worked through the trees feeding. I got a few marginal photos despite the bird not being very cooperative for shots. The bird was still singing when I left to continue my walk. Finding the warbler fairly quickly was fantastic as it took the pressure off a bit for the rest of the day. If I had missed seeing one I had plans to try again the following day but that prospect was not high on my list of fun things to do as it would necessitate another drive down to the park, another hike up and down, limited time available to look for the bird and then the long drive to my lodging in New Mexico. With my main target down I then decided to continue my hike down to Boot Spring and then a return trip down the Colima Trail to the Laguna Meadow Trail in the hopes of turning up more Colima Warblers. During the very long walk back down my right leg started hurting and it only got worse as I continued down. Unfortunately stopping to give it a rest only made moving again harder as it started stiffening up so I pressed on. Despite walking multiple miles more in appropriate habitat I never saw or heard another Colima Warbler. In fact the only other warbler I saw for the entire morning was a single Townsend’s Warbler. The day continued to heat up as I made progress toward the car and eventually arrived at the car a little after noon and not long after my water ran out. I then had a well deserved break and more water. I had thoughts about stopping at a few other spots but I was beat and the leg needed a rest so I headed back to my lodging. The Colima Warbler became warbler species #30 for the year and was the first Colima Warbler seen in the US for the year.

Warbler species total for the Texas portion of the trip came to just five species but two of those were big targets for me so it was quality over quantity.