Rethinking Zoo Exhibit Design – Part 1 – Story Telling

For four years, I worked at the Dallas Zoo.  My job was to convey information about the animals, habitats, and various and sundry facts to the general public.  I like to think I did a good job.  In reality, I probably didn’t.

If I failed, it wasn’t entirely my fault.  Educators can only work within the parameters of what they are given.  The exhibit design itself.  While I worked there, I had some vague inklings about how this aspect affected the visitors’ experiences, but nothing was concrete.

Then, I left to become a teacher.  Most zoo people, when they become teachers (and this is a large number of zoo people) go into the field of teaching science.  I didn’t follow this path.  Instead, I went into teaching English.  This was a huge change – and one I do not regret.

Science versus English

In some ways, science and English are polar opposites.  Science deals with facts, while English deals with story.  In science, your opinion doesn’t matter.  I don’t care how much you feel that the world works in a certain way, if it doesn’t, if it can’t – then you’re wrong.  Simple.  End of story.  In English, your opinion is just as valid as the next person’s.  As long as you can justify why something makes you feel a certain way, then it is valid.  At least to you.

Science is devoid of emotion.  At least good science is.  English is full of emotion.  We can see this as the two sides of human nature.  Introvert and extrovert.  Yen and yang.  Male and female.  Hot and cold.  Black and white.

But, the world is gray.

Humankind hates absolutes.

And here is where the two areas mesh together.

In order to make an impression on a normal person, you must first strike at their emotions.  Awe, fear, joy, excitement, wonder, trepidation.  Any and all of these can heighten an experience.

These emotions aren’t science.  They have to come from somewhere else.  And this is where my English programmed brain starts to kick in.

What is the best way to connect to people?

                So, you want to connect with another human being?  You want them to remember what you have to say.  You want them to come away feeling accomplished.

Tell them a story.

From time immemorial, we must have a story.

And here is where zoos fail.  Never once, have I seen a complete story in a zoo.

What is a story?

                For zoo people, perhaps it’s best to explain what a story is not.  A story is not theming.  By theming, I mean dressing up the set to look like Africa or Asia or Central America.  This is an element of story, but not the whole enchilada. Story telling is not having an endless string of exhibits of animals all from vaguely the same place.  Story is not having someone sitting there, like I myself used to do, telling you all about the animals.  Story is bigger than that.

The Elements of Story

A story must have five elements for it to work.

1. Setting is the part that zoos most often get right.  By definition, setting includes the where, the when, and the emotional feel of a story.  A good setting is a must for a great exhibit.  In a zoo, this includes landscape design.  If what you see doesn’t match what the story tells, then the story doesn’t work.
2. There could be endless debate on what the characters of the story could be. Some might argue that the characters are the animals themselves.  I’m going to disagree here.  In order for a story to work, the characters must grow and change.  For the most part, zoo animals don’t do this on a scale quick enough for zoo visitors to appreciate.  If there is a tour guide, then that guide might be the character.  If the story is well-crafted, there might be some villainous character or a mysterious character that you are trying to find.  But, by far the most appropriate character is the zoo visitors themselves.  If you engage the visitor and make them an active part whereby they are participating in the story, then they come away emotionally affected and enriched.
3. The theme here can be boiled down to “What is the moral of the story?”  What is your story about? This, along with setting, most zoos can do fairly well.  In fact, may confuse theme and setting for one another.
4. The above three can be accomplished by most zoos, but not conflict.  Conflict is the struggle in the story.  What are your characters fighting against?  Without a struggle, there is no story.  Kurt Vonnegut, in his own personal assessment, said this:

“Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”

In other words, the character must have something to do.  There must be some goal, and the goal must be hard to reach.  The harder the goal is to reach, the more enjoyable it is for the character.  If your zoo character is the guests themselves, then they must be given a challenge.  It is up to each individual zoo and exhibit to determine what that challenge is, but the more complex, the better.  A challenge that cannot be completed in one visit, or even in ten visits, will keep the characters interested and coming back for more.

5. Plot, in many regards is the most complex element.  There must be a story line.  The must be a beginning a middle and an end.  In the beginning, you must introduce your characters, your setting, your theme, and your conflict.  But don’t give everything away in the beginning.  A story where you see the end at the same time as the beginning is hopeless.  Hide things.  Make twists and turns.  Have dead ends.  But don’t have plot holes.  There are five points to a plot line:
   1. Introduction – simple, this is where you introduce all your elements
   2. Rising action – this is where your conflict takes hold. This is the bulk of the plot.
   3. Climax – where the conflict is resolved
   4. Falling action – where everything starts to go back to normal
   5. Resolution – the happy ending (or maybe not so happy in some stories)

Many plotlines show each of these as representing equal fifths of the story.  That is, the Introduction takes 20%, the rising action takes 20%, etc.  This simply isn’t the case.  The climax is a single point.  In most stories it is 80-90% of the way into the story.  The climax of a 200 page novel would occur perhaps on page 170.  One of my personal favorites is the great American novel Moby-Dick.  Here, the climax is on the second to last page, or about page 499 out of 500.  If the climax is too early, then the reader is bored by too much resolution.  Things going back to normal are of no interest.  We want bad things to happen in our stories.  We also want that happy ending.  When Luke blows up the Death Star, there are only about 5 minutes of movie left in Star Wars.

Zoos need to figure out what the climax of the exhibit is.  What is the key point?  Where does the exhibit’s conflict reach its breaking point?  If this question cannot be answered, then the whole storyline falls apart and we are left with the individual elements of the story and no story itself.  We have scaffolding with no building.

While I make no claims that this is the only way to connect to the guests, it is a tried and true one.  It is the method by which television, movies, plays, opera, musicals, comic books, novels, and a whole host of other media connect to us.  They resonate to us through the power of storytelling.

Zoos have been around with us for a long time, yet using story, an actual story and not the pseudo-stories passed on to us as real, to convey their message seems revolutionary.  It seems out of the box.  How come when other entities try it – and succeed –it seems like a no-brainer?

So, before you say your exhibit has a story, you must ask yourself two questions;

1. What is the conflict?
2. How is that conflict resolved?

If neither of these two questions have an answer, then you have no story.  Go back to the drawing boards.  Make it clearer.

Day 14 (ish)

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Today would be my last day in Arizona.  From my campground, I headed up to Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon.  I wasn’t expecting to add much up here, but a few more looks at Arizona mountain birds would be nice.  I saw a few good birds here like Grace’s Warbler and loads more Yellow-Eyed Juncos, but I was able to add a Violet-Green Swallow to my list.

#400 Violet-Green Swallow

It was time to head down the mountain and leave Arizona.  I think, at this point, I’m done birding Arizona for a while.  I’ve gotten pretty much all the needed species with a few exceptions (Gilded Flicker being the biggest need).  I think birding another state will now give me better outcomes.

On to California.

Before I left, I did pick up one new mammal, the Harris Antelope Squirrel.  They were running back and forth across the highway for a good park of the trip.

First stop in California was the Salton Sea.  It’s a good birding spot – when it’s not 109 degrees outside.  Holy shit.  This sucked.  First off, the GPS, when you try to go to the Sonny Bono NWR, leads you to a field with no trespassing signs all around it.  Good job!  I finally got to the NWR after nearly an hour of wandering around and backtracking my paths.  Goal here was one stupid bird, the Yellow-Footed Gull.  It was about a half-a-mile hike to get to the gulls.  I was drenched with sweat when I got there.  My eyes were burning from the salt.  It took some looking, but I finally found them as well as a few California Gulls.

#401 Yellow-Footed Gull

#402 California Gull

Time to get out of Dodge.

From here, I headed on in to San Diego.  Good birds here.  Last year on my trip here I went to La Jolla Cove, where I promptly has a panic attack from how crowded it was.  Also, it was a punch in my humility button how unattractive I felt among the SoCal beautiful people.  This year. I went again.  No panic attack this time thankfully.  Did pick up a few birds though.

#403 – Brandt’s Cormorant

#404 – Heerman’s Gull

#405 – Western Gull

I also pick up California Sea Lion and Harbor Seal as well as California Ground Squirrel.

No panic attack here.  I’m good.  On to the campsite.

I intended to camp at San Onofre State Beach.  It’s a little farther north than I would have liked, but campsites in California are hard to come by.  Plus this site has showers.  I stunk by this point.

I got in just before the last light faded from the sky.  I was able to pick up a few more birds.

#406 – California Towhee

#407 – Wrentit

Not too bad of a day to pick up 8 bird species and four mammal species.

Day 13(ish)

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Today would be an easier day.  The previous day was a whirlwind.  There would’t be another like it.

I really had only one bird goal today.  It had been two, but one of those got taken care of the previous day (Elegant Trogon).  Today’s goal was Sulphur-Bellied Flycatcher.

Since I had slept in my car that night, I didn’t get the full effect of the dawn chorus, nor did I get any night birds.  Shame.  I really could have used a Flammulated Owl.

I was active by about 6:30 and headed down to the feeders at the Santa Rita Lodge.  I’ve birded these feeders numerous times, so I didn’t expect anything new.  I didn’t get any new birds, but i did get a new lifer mammal, a Yellow-Nosed Cotton Rat.  They were all over the bushes.

After about 30 minutes or so, I decided to head up the canyon to get my flycatchers.  I knew from my friend Steve that they would be all over the trail where the trogons were usually found.  It was another uphill hike.  I was really getting tired of these.  My calves won’t forgive me for a while.  Surprisingly, I heard Trogons barking before I found the flycatchers, but find them nonetheless I did.

#399 – Sulphur-Bellied Flycatcher (lifer #488)

It was time to leave Madera Canyon.  It was time to go the the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  I love this place.  Granted, I don’t love the weather.  Middle of the day Sonoran Desert hot in late June = no bueno.  I pick up no new birds here, but am able to walk the grounds for about three hours drinking prickly pear iced tea and thinking about zoo design.

From here, I head to a place I had some reservations about: the International Wildlife Museum.  It’s run by the Safari Club, so it can be thought of as a shrine to big game hunting.  Only, it really isn’t.  It’s no different than the taxidermy displays at a natural history museum.  Except that these are better.  The diversity if enormous.  There are even a few mounts of extinct species (Passenger Pigeon and Pyrenees Ibex).  I’m more than a little interested in comparative ungulate taxonomy and have followed the proposed massive revision in ungulate taxonomy over the past few years with great interest.  A visit hear, to my mind, only confirms some of these splits in my mind.  For instance, wildebeest have been expanded from two species to 5 or 6.  This display shows the huge variation among populations.  If these were birds, birders would have split these years ago.

From here, I headed back in to Tucson.  I needed a rest, so I found a Starbucks.  Good thing I did too.  The monsoon season had started early.  There was a huge thunderstorm that rolled through.  For those keeping score, it has now rained on me every single day in the desert (both Chihuahuan and Sonoran).

I stay here a few hours and let the storms pass.

From here, I head up to Mount Lemmon.  Mount Lemmon is one of the tallest mountains in Arizona.  Some years, you can actually ski here.  I went up the mountain, only to realize that I was about out of gas, so I headed down the mountain.  I got gas and headed back up the mountain.  I found a camp ground, set up camp, then watched more storms roll in.  What gives Arizona?  Really?

I stayed in my car for a bit and waited for the storms to pass.  Luckily, these weren’t too bad.  I slept to the sound of Mexican Whip-poor-wills and Whiskered Screech Owls.

Day 12(ish)

Friday, June 26, 2015

The sun rises early in the mountains in Arizona.  I saw the sun, but it wasn’t.  I was awakened at 4:00 by some odd hooting calls.  Turns out, three birds were calling.  The Mexican Whip-poor-will, which I had gotten in Big Bend and in the Chiricahuas, so nothing new. But the best way I can think of to be rudely awoken is by the sound of a Spotted Owl, a bird of almost mythic proportions.  Also there were Whiskered Screech Owls.

#383 – Spotted Owl (lifer 482)

#384 – Whiskered Screech-Owl

I lay awake listening in my tent for some time before I actually got up.  The sun wasn’t quite up yet when I ventured out of my tent.  I decided to go out and try and decipher the dawn chorus.  I walked around the campsite for about an hour before I returned.  And I returned with:

#385 – Arizona Woodpecker

#386 – Western Wood-Pewee

#387 – Cordilleran Flycatcher

#388 – Grace’s Warbler

Not a bad haul.  I wanted to head next to Ramsey Canyon, but the preserve doesn’t open until 8.  This is, so far, my biggest complaint of the trip.  Opening at 8 in Arizona is a rarity – especially for a nature-centered destination.  Most places open at 7 or earlier.  The sun has been up for 3.5 hours at 8, people are settling down to mid-morning.

Addendum:

In reviewing the species I saw here, I’m now convinced that I saw a Buff-Bellied Flycatcher.  It’s the expected Empid up here, with Cordillerans being more scarce.  The bird was rather rusty in color with a yellow bill.  My initial call on the day was Buff-Bellied, but I second guessed myself.

#389 – Buff-Bellied Flycatcher (lifer #483)

Instead of going straight there, I went to Beatty’s Guest Ranch, home to hummingbirds.  I was trying to get the White-Eared Hummingbird, but it was being elusive.  Lately, it’s only been seen in the late evening.  Oh well.  For a place famed for its hummer diversity (12 or 13 species in one day is their record) it was surprisingly lackluster.

On to Ramsey.

There were two very rare reported birds here.  I wants them precious.

I got there, the helpful volunteer told me how to find the birds, and I was off.  2 mile hike, I can handle that.

Oh, crap.

I’m a flatlander.

That’s 2 miles, up a mountain.  I suck at mountains.  At least my ass is getting toned.

On the walk up I collect:

#390 – Dusky-Capped Flycatcher

#391 – Painted Redstart

#392 – Red-Faced Warbler

These are good birds.  The Red-Faced is a great bird in fact.  But they are incidental.

Bark, bark, bark.

(Or in French)

Barque, barque, barque.

I hear it calling.  I know what it is.  But dammit, I want to see it.  It’s not even the bird I want.

There it is again.  Another one.  They’re all over.  My nemesis bird is calling to me, but I can’t see it.

I keep trekking up the mountain.  Two miles up is a rarity.  Well, to be specific, two rarities.  A pair of Tufted Flycatchers.  To the best of my knowledge, I believe these are the 9^th and 10^th birds ever reported in the US.  And boy, do they put on a show.  They’re completely caffeinated and won’t sit still.  A real delight to see.

#393 – Tufted Flycatcher (Lifer #484)

“Hey, there’s a pair of Elegant Trogons nesting up the path about 50 yards.”

“Can I see them?”

“Sit on that rock and wait.”

Not 30 seconds later, I see the male Elegant Trogon fly out and display.  I finally see the bird I’ve chased after 5 times now.

#394 – Elegant Trogon (Lifer #485)

Going back down is far easier than going up.  I follow a local birder and his friend who really knows his birds.  He spots a small gray rattlesnake – my first ever wild rattler.  It’s almost cute.  I want to pick it up.

I don’t.

I’m not stupid.

The other goal is the Flame-Colored Tanager.  There’s a breeding pair back down on something closer to level ground.  I tried to spot it before I headed up, but to no avail.  It’d be there when I got back from the Tufted Flycatcher.  The local birder told me to listen for a Western Tanager call without and buzz to it.  I’ve got a pretty good ear.  Hell, I’ve got a damn good ear from being trained as a classical musician.  In music, my specialty is being able to listen for odd tone colors.  This should be a cinch.

I listen.

There’re lots of Westerns calling.  All have a faint buzz to them.  The local birder said to listen for a call that is sweeter than the others.

Then I hear a pure phrase.  No trill.  No warble.  No buzz.  It calls just once, but I’m sure it’s different.  It’s in the right spot.  It’s the right tone color.

#395 – Flame-Colored Tanager (Lifer #486)

The reason I can safely say this is a Flame-Colored and not a hybrid, which are seen more often, is that these specific birds are a mated pair, confirmed by many expert birders.  Anywhere else but at Ramsey Canyon, had I heard that specific call, I couldn’t have been sure to my ID.  Here, I can be.

Three lifers and another three year birds? I think I like Ramsey Canyon.  Well except for the four hours of hiking it took to reach the Tufted Flycatcher and to see the Trogons.  It was almost like a mini death march.

I forgive it.

From here, I decide to head on to Paton’s place in Patagonia.  Nothing I need here, but a nice spot for restful birding.  I do manage to pick up a Gambel’s Quail here, which I had missed on all my trips to Arizona so far this year.

#396 – Gambel’s Quail

There are two other birders there.  I briefly remember meeting them earlier at Beatty’s.  They’re chasers too.  Well, at least one of them is.  The other is just along for the ride.  I tell them about a spot two miles west of town that’s good for Thick-Billed Kingbird.  They tell me about a spot that’s just west of Nogales that’s good for Five-Striped Sparrow.  We decide to hook up.

First we head to the rest stop just outside of Patagonia.  I’d read that it’s almost a certainty for the Thick-Billed Kingbird, and within a few minutes, we had it.

#397 – Thick-Billed Kingbird (lifer #487)

From here, I follow the other guys.  They have a book that gives “exact” directions to the sparrows.

Evidently, by just west of Nogales, they meant 40 miles outside of Nogales.  And by 40 miles, they mean 40 miles of unpaved road.

This was a nightmare. I should never have tried something without thoroughly researching it.  It was 4 hours of bumpy roads and getting lost.  I gave up.  I felt sick to my stomach from the tossing.  The other guys thought I was a quitter.  But, night was falling and a thunderstorm was setting in.  There were going to set up camp in the middle of nowhere a mile from the Mexican border in mining country.  I wanted to be somewhere safe.

Oh, I did at least pick up a Northern Goshawk out there.  So that was good.

#398 – Northern Goshawk (lifer #488)

Me following them lost me my chance at the Buff-Collared Nightjar at Madera Canyon.

C’est la via.

Oh, and to top it all off, there was no available campground at Madera.  I was pissed.

Time to sleep in the car.

My car needs Fabreeze.

The post in which I resume my trip. Day 11(ish)

Thursday, June 25, 2015

I got up and flipped a coin.  Heads I’d go back out, tails, I’d wait a few days.

Heads.

I got a late start.  I left by around 7 in the morning.  Luckily, most of my bags were still packed.  With returning so quickly, then leaving to my parents for my grandmother’s funeral, I didn’t have a lot of time to unload and reload.

This day was supposed to be one long day of driving.  The goal was to have one birding stop, and then drive straight to Arizona.  In total, 13 hours of straight driving if I had no stops.  Luckily, there would be two time zone changes, so my arrival time would be two hours before I was supposed to get there.  This will suck on the way back.

First stop was gas (I needed to tank up 3 times that day).

I then drove straight to Odessa and the UT Permian Basin campus, where I’d had a report that Burrowing Owls would be easy to find.  They were, and a few minutes later, I was back on the road.

#382 – Burrowing Owl

Rest of the day was driving, and stopping to eat, pee, and gas up.  Oh, and Border Patrol checks.  Oh, and I got pulled over by a nice New Mexico State Trooper who saw I was a birder and let me go.

My destination tonight was Ramsey Canyon.  Well, it turned out to be Carr Canyon next door to Ramsey.  Ramsey has no campgrounds, so Carr would do.

The campground was about 8,000 feet in elevation, so it was a good schlep up there.  It was all but empty when I got there around 9:00.  I set up quickly and went to sleep.

Days 8 and 9

June 17, 2015

I awoke super early in the morning.  Changing two time zones the day before will do that.  I go from the last light of day ending around 10 PM to sunrise at 4:45.  That’s a big switch.

The dawn chorus is in full effect.  My one goal here is the Mexican Chickadee.  Chickadees are usually easy to find.  They’re gregarious.

They’re supposed to be here too.

We start looking and listening.  Yellow-Eyed Juncos are everywhere.  What would be a fantastic bird anywhere else, is getting in the way of finding the chickadee.  They have a buzzing call that throws me off every time I hear it.  We start looking up in the top of the trees.

We start to see lots of little birds flitting about, but in the low light, they’re hard to ID.  Then, one catches our attention.  It’s high up, small, and clearly not a junco.  There’re two of them.  Yellow breast on one I notice.  My friend Keith sees orange.  It’s a warbler of some kind.  Up here, there are two options: Grace’s or Olive.  Either would be a lifer.  Both have yellow or orange bellies.  But, the Grace’s have striping, our bird didn’t.

#377 – Olive Warbler (lifer #480)

Fist pump.  That’s a good bird.

Lots of wildlife up here, like the diminutive Coue’s White-Tailed Deer.

Coue’s White-Tailed Deer

We wander up the trail.  We see some Steller’s Jays.

Steller’s Jay

A little further up the trail, I notice that there are now some fir trees interspersed in the pine trees.  Then, the chickadees arrive.  Finally, after 4 trips to these mountains, I get the Mexican Chickadee.

#378 – Mexican Chickadee (lifer #481)

Mexican Chickadee

Mexican Chickadee

Mexican Chickadee

Mexican Chickadee

We head back to our camp.  Just as we turn back, Keith says, there’s a yellow bird up there.  I turn am hear a whoosh by my head.  I’m nearly hit by a Western Tanager.  It clearly didn’t like my yellow hair encroaching on its yellowness.

#379 – Western Tanager

From here, we have a quick breakfast of Pop Tarts and try to figure out how best to do the rest of Arizona.  We try to lay out each day and what the plans and targets are.  We decide to go into the Chiricahua National Monument right next door to where we are (and by next door, I mean 45 minutes away through 15 miles of some of the worst dirt roads I’ve ever driven on).

We descend.  I’m able to spot both Mexican Fox Squirrels and Cliff Chipmunks.  Both year mammals for me.

Mexican Fox Squirrel

Then, about 3/4 of the way down, I spot two birds casually walking across the road.  They look like quails.  They are quails.

Just then, some asshole, comes ripping by on the road.  The only other car we see on the road.  The quails run off into the forest.  We scan for them.  They still there, acting nonchalant.  A pair of Montezuma Quail.  Just sitting there posing for us.

Montezuma Quail

Montezuma Quail

Turns out this was a good stop all around.  There’s lots of action here.  Some Coue’s White-Tailed Deer are near the stream and a Hepatic Tanager is flying between the trees.

#380 – Hepatic Tanager

It’s mid-morning by the time we get to the monument.  The birds are all hunkered away prepared for the heat of the Arizona day.  Nothing new to pick up here, but some great vistas.

By 11:30, we’re heading back to Wilcox and from there to Ramsey Canyon for hummingbirds and other goodies.  We stop on the side of the road to look at a couple of Pyrruloxia and scope out a few other birds.

At this point, I haven’t had a cell phone signal in about 18 hours.  I expect, I’ll have a few missed texts.

I do.

“Bret, call home immediately.”

“Where are you? Call home.”

“Get in touch, we need you.”

My parents and sister have been trying to reach me all morning.  This isn’t good.

I call home.  My grandmother has fallen.  She’s hit her head and is bleeding internally.

“Do I need to come home?”

“Yes.”

At Wilcox, I head right while Keith heads left.  It’s 12.5 hours back to Fort Worth.  I can’t do it in one day, but I’ll do as much as possible.

Things aren’t good back home.  I talk to my mom, dad, and sister.  Evidently hospice has been called and she’s been transferred from the local hospital to the large regional hospital.  It’s just a matter of waiting now.

My trip is over.

I make pretty good time.  Until El Paso.

There, 1,000 feet from the Mexican border, that funny wobbling in my car turns into a full blown and exploded front passenger side tire.  A good man knows how to change a tire.  A smart man knows how to and then calls AAA.

I get the tire changed. (The AAA guy was an idiot.  He didn’t even carry a tire gauge.  Ummm, that’s kind of your job.)  The wobbling is gone, and I head on home.

I make a pit stop in Van Horn.  I know there is a spot there that I might be able to pick up one more bird, the Gambel’s Quail.  I don’t see it, but I do get my first ever photos of Scaled Quail.

Scaled Quail

How odd it is that it’s in a graveyard.

I make it another couple of hours before I decide to stop.  I pull over to a rest area before I get to Midland.  I try to sleep here in the car.  It’s not ideal, but it’s unplanned.

I groggily awake in the morning.  I drive on in to Midland and Odessa.  The only reason to ever visit these two cities is to pee and get gas.

I make it home by about 12:30.

And now, we wait.

Day 7

June 16, 2015

I woke up, once again, after torrential rains to sunrise in the mountains.  There were still dark clouds on the horizon.  Before I got out of my tent, I had a chorus of birds calling.  One stood out.  There was a vireo calling.  In the campground, there was only one possible candidate, Plumbeous.

#376 Plumbeous Vireo

This would be the only bird I get today.  The rest of the day will be sight-seeing and driving.

First sight to see is Carlsbad Caverns.  I figured, why not, since I’m here.  It’s only 40 miles away.

Words don’t do the caverns justice.  It felt like a scene out of Journey to the Center of the Earth (which, it turns out, was filmed here).

From the Caverns, I heading on into El Paso.  I just wanted a short rest, gas, and coffee.  At some point along the trip, I noticed my car starting to wobble.  I didn’t think much of it and drove on.

After consulting with a few friends, they all convinced me to head immediately to White Sands National Monument.  So I did.

Once again, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

From here, I headed on to the Chiricahua Mountains.  I’ve been trying to bird this area correctly for a long time.  I got in late that night as the sun was setting.  Oh guess what, I had to drive through more storms.  Again.

I met a friend here who would accompany me throughout my Arizona leg and help find some of the awesome birds I needed.

Day 6

June 15, 2016

I awoke fairly rested that morning,  My goal was to get the Montezuma Quail and try for the Zone-Tailed Hawk.  I pack up camp and head to the top of the ridge.

Davis Mountains

I scan the horizon for any soaring birds, but it’s still too early for the thermals.  I’m able to see lots of Rock Wrens plus a few other birds.  Then I hear a distinct scream call.  It’s unmistakable.  Only one bird sounds like that.  Will it call again?  I hear a second call.  I’m sure this time, but it never calls again.

#372 Montezuma Quail (Lifer #478)

Try as I might, I never do find the hawk.  I leave around 9:00 or so and head to Balmorhea.  Balmorhea is a small town home to one of the few lakes in far west Texas.  It is also the only 100% reliable spot in the state for Western and Clark’s Grebes.

As I’m driving, I have an odd bird run across my path.  At first I think it’s a roadrunner, but the shape isn’t right.  It is grayish-brown with a long tail.  It stays on the ground the whole time.  It’s a thrasher, but what kind.  I’ve got two options here, Curve-Billed and Crissal.  The long tail is my first give away.  Second is habitat.  I see it in a canyonish area with denser foliage.  I’ve got a Crissal!

#373 Crissal Thrasher (Lifer #479)

I get to Balmorhea Lake about 10:30ish and break out my scope.  This is the first time on the trip I’ve needed it and it was by now buried under my suitcase.  I start looking for birds.  At first, the lake seems void of life, but slowly, a few birds start to appear.  They’re far off on the other side of the lake (it’s a very small lake, and I can see the whole thing from the roadside).  They’re grebes, but what kind.  I’m first able to ID a Western, then I see a whiter bird, and get my Clark’s.  Ten, fifteen minutes total and I’m done here.

#374 Western Grebe

#375 Clark’s Grebe

From here, I head on up to the Guadalupe Mountains.  This is a part of Texas I’ve never seen before.  It contains the tallest mountain in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, and the most recognizable mountain in Texas, the adjacent El Capitan.  The whole range is the remnants of a huge ancient coral reef. There are supposed to be good desert and mountain birds here.

El Capitan

I hike some of the trails, but it’s hot in the mid afternoon.  I don’t see or hear much.  I’d need to do several miles of hiking to get the birds I need.  I make the decision to get those birds where it will be easier in other states where I don’t have to hike 9 miles.

Oh, guess what…

More rain…

I get a fourth night in a row of thunderstorms in the desert.  Once again, I weather the storm in my tent.  This time, I really do start getting wet.  Nothing major, but water is getting in. Note to self, do not bring computer or other electronics into tent…

Day 5

June 14, 2015

Almost exactly one year ago to the day I swore to myself I would never do that again.  I swore that the Colima Warbler wasn’t worth all that trouble.  I swore that the death march was something that would, in all likelihood, kill me.

I did it anyway.

As I had planned, I awoke at three in the morning.  As I had not planned, the storms from the previous night returned in full vigor at one in the morning and blew my tent sideways.  “Fuck this,” I told myself – well, really more thought to myself, but I digress.  So, I went in my car and tried to sleep for the last two hours.  I didn’t sleep much, but I didn’t blow away either.

My alarm came.  I seriously thought about not getting up.  I didn’t.  I would make the death march.

It’s called the death march by birders because it is a minimum of a nine mile strenuous hike.  This hike is done to get a single bird – the Colima Warbler.  The Colima Warbler is only found in the US in the highest part of the Chisos Mountains.  It is only there for a few months out of the year, and for those months, it only sings for part of the time.  The song is sometimes the only way to find it.  It takes an average person some 6 hours to do the whole trip.  I’m not average.  I’m a fat ass (is fat-ass hyphenated?).  I’m out of shape and tubby – getting tubbier all the time.  It sucks.  But, that’s what being lonely and depressed will do to you (among other things).

I start the march at 3:15.  It’s slow going.  I have my spotlight to guide the way.  Occasionally, my way is also lighted by a lightning storm behind me (to the west I think – directions confuse me in the Basin).  That doesn’t bode well at all.  Sunrise won’t be until 6:49.  Three-and-a-half hours in the dark.

I’m able to hear the night chorus of insects and occasionally a bat that swoops close enough for me to hear.  I wish I could have ID’d the bats for my year mammal count, but outside of netting them, it’s impossible.  Finally, I hear the first night birds.  First to call is a Mexican Whip-poor-will.  If my ID from the night I came in the park was suspect, this was dead on.  It was the unmistakable whip-poor-will call.  Then Elf Owls start calling.  I probably have a dozen or more Elf Owls by the time I reach the top.  Finally, I hear a few Western Screech-Owls.

#362 – Elf Owl

At 6 in the morning, the lightning turns to rain.  I’m still a mile from where I need to be.  I was smart enough to bring a rain poncho.  Sexy it isn’t, but it is somewhat functional.  And hot.  It gets hot under there.  I trudge on in the rain for about 30 minutes.  It finally stops as the first hint of day approaches.  This high, I’m much closer to the sun than I was down below.  It bet dawn will get here sooner.

About the time I’m able to switch off my lamp, I start to hear more birds calling.  First that I can ID are Black-Headed Grosbeaks.  I never saw them, but I could hear them.

#363 – Black-Headed Grosbeak

I finally get to the top around 7:00. It’s 7,000 feet up.  I’d hiked about 1,600 feet up.  I still had more to go.  The birds are on the other side of the mountain.  The side I hiked up was the dry side.  The opposite side, that can only be reached by hiking is the wet side.  And it was totally different.  When I birded there before, I was there about 11 in the morning.  This time, I got there at dawn.  The morning and nighttime rains may have sucked at the time, but they had a miraculous effect on the canyon.

As I descended down the opposite side of the mountain, I stepped into a different world.  I was in a cloud forest.  I felt as if I were in Central or South America.  I was in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World.  There was true magic here.  The fog was dense, and the wind strong.  I could see the clouds blowing by giving brief glimpses of what lay ahead and beyond.

I started to hear the birds.  So many all at once, I couldn’t ID them at times.  Could that have been a Colima?  I asked myself that numerous times.

I can’t remember what order the birds came in.  But I know I was able to get in pretty quick succession two new vireos.

#364 – Gray Vireo

#365 – Hutton’s Vireo

Hutton’s Vireo

I also heard the faint cooing of a pigeon.  Had to be a Band-Tailed

#366 – Band-Tailed Pigeon

Then I heard a hummingbird.  It was a juvenile.  Hard to ID.  But then, the mother came in to feed it.  Broad-Tailed!  Lifer!

#367 – Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

The hummingbirds were right at the start of the Colima Train, presumably a good place to find them.  By this point, I feel pretty confident that I had hear at least one Colima.  They sound a little like the end of a Bewick’s Wren’s call.  There were numerous Bewick’s up there though, which made the ID difficult.

I start to head back.  Then I hear the call.  It’s an unmistakable Colima.  I scan for it.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, a second bird flies in.  Do I look at it, or keep looking for the Colima?  I look at it.  Dark gray body.  Yellow belly.  Rusty red crown.  COLIMA!  And it’s gone in less than a second.  But I had it.  I saw it for a little longer last year (maybe 5 seconds), but this look was definitive and soul satisfying.  I wish I could have gotten a photo, but alas, I’m not that quick.

#368 – Colima Warbler

I start heading back about 8:00, when most normal people would just be starting their hike.  Birders aren’t normal.  As I descend, I start to see White-Throated Swifts buzzing overhead.

#369 – White-Throated Swift

Going down is far easier than going up.  The one benefit to going up though is that by then end of this trip, if I keep doing that, I will have an amazing ass.  Damn, that is a glut workout.  I stop about once an hour going down.  When I went up, I had to stop maybe every 15 minutes to catch my breath.  At the first stop, I sit for about ten minutes when a large grayish hummingbird flied right in front of me for a split second.  It whirred as it went.  There are four possible hummingbirds according to recent reports from eBird.  One is the Broad-Tailed, which I had just seen.  It didn’t whirr.  Two more are the Black-Chinned and the Lucifer.  Both of these are smaller hummers.  They can be mistaken for one another.  Neither whirr.  That leaves only one option, the Blue-Throated Hummingbird.  I mull the ID over in my head all the way down the mountain.  By checking reports and guide books, I’m positive that it was a Blue-Throated.

#370 – Blue-Throated Hummingbird.

I finally arrive back at the lodge at 11:00.  I promptly go in and buy a nasty sandwich, that I immediately regretted.  I was famished and my legs were wobbly.

I decided to pack up camp and head on out.  I had paid for another night, but just didn’t feel like staying.  I had done everything I needed.

By noon, I was on my way to the Davis Mountains.

I got to Fort Davis at about 3 or so and got a campground.  “Oh, by the way,” says the front desk person lady, “there’s an Elf Owl nest at your campsite.  It’ll poke its head out every now and then.”  I’d say that’s a pretty good welcome to the Davis Mountains.

I then head to the bird blind.  My one target here is the Montezuma Quail.  They’re hard to find anywhere, and this is the most reliable spot in the state.  I run into some other birders at the blind, and the guy will not stop talking to me.  I sit there and take his incessant bantering on about how excited he was to see his first Eurasian Collared Dove or how good the Rio Grande Valley used to be in the day.    Granted, they do tell me a few things that I wanted to know.  Like, where to possibly find the quail, that there is a Zone-Tailed Hawk in the area, and where to find Cassin’s Kingbirds.  Actually, the last part wasn’t too hard.  We walked outside, that one of the pair points up, “There’s your Cassin’s.”

#371 – Cassin’s Kingbird

Cassin’s Kingbird

The most enjoyable thing about the state park are the showers.  I hadn’t bathed in nearly a week.  I was beginning to revolt myself from the stench.  It felt so good to wash away the funk.

Speaking of washing away, the storms were back.  I hadn’t set up my tent yet, and by 6 the deluge had hit, this time with hail.  How exciting (he said in a completely non-sarcastic way).

I rode out the storm in my car.  Trying to sleep.  Not really, I was taking full advantage of the free WiFi at the campgrounds.  By 8, I had had it.  The rain by then was just a drizzle.  I had to set up my tent and get something for dinner.  Camp was set up quickly, and for the second time that day I had donned the red rain poncho.

I ate.

Finally, I had one of the most restful nights of sleep I had had so far on the trip.  I fell asleep to the soft call of the Elf Owl.

Day 4

June 13, 2015

I had raced through the previous three days.  Now was time to relax.  I only planned light birding for the day and the rest of the time was supposed to be idol.  I could work on my new novel or my symphony or this idea I’ve got for a smaller composition for band.  Except it’s hot.

I got out of my tent around seven and talked to the park ranger for a bit.  I decided to do a bit of hiking up towards the Pinnacles Trail.  The Pinnacles is what I plan on hiking tomorrow.  I have bad memories of that hike from last year.  A year ago, it took 8 hours to hike 11 miles in 100 degree heat.  I finished in the midafternoon dehydrated and my fingers were swollen to the size of sausages due to altitude sickness.  This year, I’m planning things differently.  Step one: start earlier.  Last year I started the hike at 6 in the morning.  Seemed reasonable enough.  That’s too late evidently.  This year, I play it safe and will wake up at 3, and hopefully be out by 3:30.  That should put me at the top by sunrise at 7:00.  Step two: don’t start hiking from the campground, start from the lodge.  The lodge is a mile further up the trail (saving 2 miles round-trip) and about 400 feet higher in elevation.  This will save a lot of effort.  Step three: don’t stop on the way up.  Last year, I stopped every step of the way to look at birds and plants and deer.  At 3:30 AM there won’t be anything to look at.  I’ll go up quicker.  Step four: bring more to drink.  On the midway point last year, I ran out of water.  No way in hell am I doing that again.  I’ve got an 8-pack of fruit punch Gatorade and several bottles of water.  I’m ready to go.  With any luck, I’ll be back down by 10 before it gets too hot.

Speaking of hot, today is sweltering.  There is absolutely no shade at the campground.  I’m sure I’ll sweat off a pound or two just sitting here typing this.  I tried getting shelter in my tent, but it was even hotter.  Sane people don’t do this.

At any rate…

I’ve rambled on long enough about tomorrow’s plans.  Here’s what I did today.

On my mini hike, I was able to pick up a single new bird, a Scott’s Oriole.  It flew across the path twice.  I only glimpsed it, but it’s an unmistakable bird with its bright yellow and black coloration.

#359 Scott’s Oriole

I hiked this trail only for about an hour.  It gave me a good feel of how to proceed with tomorrow.  From here, I headed to the Rio Grande Village on the other side of the park.  It is a completely different habitat.  It’s right along the river, so a cottonwood riparian area for those who keep track of that kind of thing.

On the way there, out from the desert plants on the left side of the road hopped up a Scaled Quail.  I wish I had gotten a better look, but it was most assuredly a quail and the only possibility here is Scaled.  Add another lifer to the list.

#360 Scaled Quail (Lifer 475)

Down at the river, I was able to get great views of the nest Common Black Hawk.  It swooped down to fend off a Common Raven.  Then, it posed for a while while I took pictures.  The nature walk area was closed off sadly.  I knew they had closed off half of the campground down there to save on costs (how this saves on costs I have no clue).  I didn’t realize that this meant that the whole nature trail would be closed off as well.  I had been hoping to go down it on the off chance of seeing otters (a really remote possibility, and honestly, one that I should have done at dawn).  A friend of mine told me that it is possible that the otters in Big Bend may not me North American River Otters but rather Neotropical Otters.  A good photo of one could go a long way in determining this.  It’s an off chance, but not out of the range of reality.

Gray Hawk

Common Black Hawk

I was also able to pick up some Texas year birds today (including Common Black Hawk and Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher).  With those, my Texas tally of birds comes in at 334, which is good enough for #28 out of all Texas birders.  I should be in the top 20 within a week.

It’s 3:30 in the afternoon as I write this.  I’m slowly waiting for the sun to set and the temperature to drop.  My computer will probably overheat soon if I keep typing.  Early to bed, early to wise, and hopefully I’ll get a Colima Warbler.

Update.  Here it is three hours later.  I’ve now had two pints of ice cream and have the severe milk farts.  Bad choices are sometimes tasty.  That last part just came out wrong.  I was referring to the ice cream, not the… ewww… what were you thinking?

A little after five, the skies (ok sky singular) started to grow dark.  Looks like we were in for another storm, but it only threatened with lightning.  The thunder in the basin echoed like I’ve never heard before.

I should probably stop writing.  Vultures are swooping down a few feet from me.  I think they’re telling me I need a shower.  And to cut down on the ice cream.

I refuse to listen to the vultures.  My brain needs activity. I seem to be the only person at the campground who is camping by themselves.  I go to get away from everything.  Everyone else goes as a social experience.  People are playing music and cavorting.  Is nature not enough?  Is the sound of the wind in the trees or the call of Cactus Wrens not enough?  Is the stunning landscape not enough? Am I a hypocrite for writing this on a computer?  Probably.

I bet the other campers have no idea that there is a Painted Bunting calling in the distance, America’s most colorful bird.

Wait, is that a Painted?  Goes to get scope…

Woohoo!  It’s a Varied Bunting!

#361 Varied Bunting

Update Number 2

The clouds burst.  Rain and hail and thunder and lightning rained down in torrents.  I huddled in my little tent for the duration.  It was intense.  The tent blew in the wind.  Drops came in and I started to worry about getting everything inside soaked.  Luckily, my little $19.95 tent from Target was up to the task.  The storms have passed and I am ready to get some rest.