Questionable judgment

Waking up today to a cold miserable world, I felt desperate to escape. So I decided to go south to Big Bend National Park and look for the Nutting's Flycatchers that had been seen there before flooding had closed the road to Santa Elena Canyon. Then it had been an eight mile walk in, and now down to one mile.  Piece of cake! Someone had walked in and seen them two days ago. And it was bound to be warmer there.

It's a tedious 2½ hour drive for me from Alpine. At the park entrance I asked if the road was open yet, and was told no, so I expected to have to walk a mile. Luckily, it was open. And luckily, I had tossed a heavy jacket and long-johns into my vehicle at the last minute.

When I got to the location (Santa Elena Canyon Overlook), it was bitterly cold and windy. I started to question my judgment. Do people with impaired judgment know they have impaired judgment? The forecast had been clear that the whole area was cold and windy; and would stay that way all day. What was the matter with me? Was I of sound mind? Flycatchers can't forage in bad weather like that. Especially rare tropical ones.

I figured the energy I had saved by not walking in would be best spent climbing down the steep slope to the trees and bushes far below the overlook to search for birds there. During that climb was when I questioned my decision-making skills the most.

After nearly two hours of not seeing a single bird, I thought maybe the canyon itself would be a more sheltered place to look. Luckily, the road to it was open too. As I approached the confluence of the Rio Grande and Terlingua Creek right at the mouth of the canyon, I thought I heard an unfamiliar call note. Was trying to remember what the Nutting's call note sounded like. Suddenly, two birds flew into the canyon. I got binos on one of them. It seemed good for a myiarchus flycatcher, brownish with yellow belly. To get into the canyon to search further would require either wading across Terlingua Creek or walking upstream along it until I could cross, which I did. 

Next, the only route into the canyon was up a gazillion stairs. There was too much surrounding vegetation for me to get a photo, but here's an old one I found online. Even if I got up the stairs, going back down would be more treacherous. My knees just do not work. Reluctantly, I turned back.

I stopped at the oasis to check feeders there. Saw three Lucifers in the short while I was there.

Plans are in the works for me to ride to Santa Elena Canyon with someone Thursday. Driving long distances, especially when I'm exhausted, makes me so sleepy. I constantly nod off, then jolt awake. But what if I didn't? Can't risk it.

I took our Bougainvillea inside at our house in Alpine before last night's freeze.

Next weekend it'll be back into the 80°s. If winter birding isn't good, I'm not going to be a very happy camper this winter. I'm optimistic though.