Trans-Pecos, River Loop, 4/10/26

I woke up to a sunny cool morning and had to decide where to go.  I wanted something different and I thought I needed Painted Crescent so I decided on a loop through Marfa down through Shafter and back along the Rio Grande to Terlingua might be fun.  In restrospect I had forgotten I had already seen Painted Crescent in Arizona.  Oh well, it would still be a new Texas butterfly for me.

The drive to Marfa and south through the high grasslands proved uneventful.  It was still a little cool for the few flowers to produce anything.  It was starting to warm by the time I reached the old mining town of Shafter and the always fun Cibolo Creek crossing.  I pulled off before the stream crossing and was greeted by a soaring Zone-tailed hawk.  Bet there's a nest in the nearby cottonwoods.

Got my only Nysa Roadside-Skipper for the trip.

Marine Blues were by the stream but it was still a little early for odes to be out.

I bid adieu to the javelina and headed on down to Presidio.

It was nice to pass through Presidio on a pleasant cool morning.  This remote border town on the Rio Grande often boasts the daily high temperature the Nation.  There are a half dozen or so iNat records of Painted Crescent along the river.  I figured the nearby BJ Bishop Wetlands might be a good place to look.  At least I might see a few migrant birds.

The little set of  ponds for the city of Presidio's treated wastewater is an oasis in this part of the Chihuahuan Desert.  I didn't see much at the little butterfly garden at the entrance.  Driving along the ponds I saw a couple of impossible to photograph Orange Sulphurs.  I parked at the covered picnic table and walked to the south border of the pond.  Lincoln's and Swamp Sparows called but there were few birds.

Then I spied a couple of blues flitting in the clover at the water's edge.  I fired a few shots.  These blues have tails!  Eastern Tailed-Blue!  This was not a butterfly I was expecting.  Later I found it would be a first Presido County record on iNat.  They are common in moist east Texas.

Well that was cool.  As I returned to the picnic table and sat down to eat lunch, a small pale butterfly sailed past me.  The shallow dainty wing beats made it look like a Nymphalid.  Small pale Nymphalid?  I chased after it and managed a few shots.  My recent experiences with Mexican Crescent in the RGV made this one easy to ID.  It was like a Mexican Crescent with pale submarginal spots on the fore wing.  I had found my Painted Crescent.

After lunch I walked the south border of the pond and found my only Western Pygmy Blue for the trip.

And then a surprise grass skipper.  The default small orange skipper out here is Orange Skipperling.  But this one has a wite band on the under hind wing.  It's our old friend the Southern Skipperling.  Only the third Presidio County record on iNaturalist.  There are no records for next door Brewster County.

 

I saw several more Painted Crescents.  They seem variable like our Mexican and Phaon Crescents.

This dead Poorwill was a sad find.  Hope it wasn't the result of a local jackass with a gun but I bet it was.

With Painted Crescent in the bag, I thought why not go up to Ojito Adrentro in Big Bend Ranch State park.  I've not heard of any ode reports from there in years.  The beautiful isolated riparian canyon used to hold a population of Mayan Setwings.  After all the dry years I don't know if there's even any water up there.  My only visit was fifteen years ago so what the heck.

It's a long bumpy ride though the dusty desert to the trail head.  It was just as I remembered it though maybe with a few more dead cottonwoods.

The half mile hike through the desert was easy but the portion through the cottonwoods was rough.  Trees had fallen and the trail had been poorly maintained.  I did manage to find my only Erichson's White-Skipper for the trip.

And a Texan Crescent.

I scrambled around fallen dead trees and boulders hoping to find some water.  It looked grim.  But a Springwater Dancer gave me hope there was some water somewhere.

Then I found a few pools guarded by Flame Skimmers.

Here's a fun photogenic net-winged beetle.  iNat calls it the Bloody Net-winged Beetle.  Mike Quinn concurred.

The end of the box canyon was lush and had a nice pool.  No sign of the Mayan Setwings.  It may be early in the year for them. 

Lots of Lavender Dancers.

Well the Ojito Aldentro side trip took a lot longer than I had planned.  Also the rugged hike about wore me out and by the time I had driven the long dirt road back out to US 90, I was running out of time.  I would have like to have spent some time along the river, but I barely had time to race though the beautiful scenery to get to a restaurant in Study Butte for dinner.  I was exhausted by the time I got back to Alpine.

The next day I drove an uneventful 530 miles back to Mission.  I picked up a few sparrows but clouds kept the butterflies away.  Not a bad trip.  I'd give it a B.