Big Bend’s Biodiversity: From Cacti to Critters

• Egidio Leitao

Lens-Artists Challenge #306 – Habitat

Ocotillo and the Chisos

The National Geographic Society defines habitat as “a place where an organism makes its home.” Tina’s Lens-Artists challenge for this week is Habitat. Her post struck a chord with me: “We hope you’ll join us this week to explore the habitats of both human and/or animal “residents.” Please visit her post and be as inspired as I was when I wrote this post.

I decided to focus on the biodiversity of Big Bend National Park, one of my favorite national parks in the USA. With two distinct ecosystems – mountain and desert – Big Bend offers a variety of habitats ranging from plants to animals. It is far from me to try to be comprehensive here. Here’s why. According to the National Park Service, Big Bend has 1,200 species of plants, including 60 cacti species. It has 22 species of bats, 11 species of amphibians, 56 species of reptiles, 75 mammal species, over 450 recorded bird species, and many other living organisms. It is truly a world in itself. For this post, I will focus on a minuscule sample of animals and plants I have encountered in my many visits to Big Bend. If you prefer to skip the text, I have added a slideshow at the end of this post. Just click here to go directly to that section. You will see all images in a large format.

Let’s take a look at some Big Bend plants. Besides Agaves and Lechuguillas, the most striking colors a visitor can see in Big Bend include the Ocotillo and the Texas Prickly Pear cactus. The Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) produces bright red flower clusters that can be spotted far away. The plant is generally leafless unless there is plenty of moisture in the air. So, when you see leaves on an Ocotillo, it’s often a sign of rain. According to the Desert Museum, the Ocotillo plant can reach 20 feet (6 meters) in height. It is a wonderful sight when you drive around Big Bend’s Chihuahuan Desert and spot blooming Ocotillos.

Ocotillo flowers
Texas Prickly Pear Cactus

Almost as synonymous with Texas as Bluebonnets, the bright Texas Prickly Pear cactus flowers are another species thriving in the Chihuahuan Desert habitat. The Texas Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia lindheimeri) is the official state plant of Texas. Every part of this cactus is edible. Next time you have a Mexican dish with nopales, you will eat these cactus pads. Also, its fruits can be made into jellies, candies, and drinks.

Another common cactus in Big Bend is the Christmas cactus or the Cholla cactus. The Christmas Cholla (Cylindropuntia leptocaulis) is shrubby and can grow up to 6 feet (1.8 meters). Like the Ocotillo, its red fruits are also vibrant. Because it produces red berries around December, it is called a Christmas Cholla.

Christmas Cholla Cactus

Also, scattered throughout the park, visitors can spot Mock Vervain (Glandularia bipinnatifida) flowers. These pinkish-purple flowers reach about 1.5 feet (45 cm) tall. According to Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants, their preferred habitat includes deserts, foothill canyons, washes, and mountains.

Mock Vervain

Now, let’s look at some of the biodiversity in animal habitats. There are plenty of opportunities for birding in Big Bend. The National Park Service says there are “excellent birding locations” because of multiple habitats. With “desert springs, open desert, grasslands, pinyon-oak-juniper woodlands, and moist forested canyons” at your disposal, a visitor never runs out of opportunities to see and photograph birds in a variety of habitats.

Mexican Jay
Lark Bunting

If you are in Big Bend‘s Chisos Mountains area, you can be assured that you will always encounter a Mexican Jay or Lark Bunting while along the most popular trails, such as Lost Mine, The Window, and even the easy loop around the Basin.

Juvenile Roadrunner

When we last visited Big Bend, we spotted a juvenile roadrunner hiding well on a cactus during our hike on the Chihuahuan Desert‘s Grapevine Hills trail. I had to zoom to 400mm to capture the image here.

While life can be hard for many animals in the Chihuahuan Desert, others, such as snakes and lizards, have no problem in that habitat. The park has 31 species of snakes and 22 species of lizards. The Greater Earless Lizard is one of those reptiles. The one in this photo is likely a male since they exhibit striking colors during mating season. One very interesting fact about these lizards — other than that they don’t have ears — is that they can detach their tails to escape predators. The tails will continue to wiggle to entice predators.

Greater Earless Lizard
White-Tailed Deer

In closing, I want to showcase two common, large animals in Big Bend. White-Tailed Deer wander around just about anywhere in the park. The deer photo I show here was taken right by our cabin. I was sitting on the front porch watching an entire deer family grazing in the late afternoon. They seem very comfortable around humans, but they keep an eye on us, anyway. If you stay at the Basin (the name of the area with lodging facilities in the Chisos Mountains), you will always see deer.

Black Bears have an interesting story in Big Bend. The National Park Service says, “Sometime during the late 1980s, a female black bear from the Sierra del Carmen in northern Mexico started a journey.” She crossed deserts and mountains and ended up at the Chisos Mountains. She might have encountered a male bear that had done the same journey. Although bears had lived in Big Bend during the early 1900s, “researchers do not know exactly why the bears returned, but it is due in part to the preservation and restoration of habitat in the park,” says the NPS. Today, visitors can see Black Bears on several trails, including popular areas in The Window and Lost Mine trails. Sometimes, the park even closes the Lost Mine trail because of bear activity. This photo was captured from inside my car as I made a turn near the Lost Mine trail parking lot.

Black Bear

I want to thank all of you who joined my challenge last week. I am glad that the technical side of it did not stop you from showing your beautiful images. As expected, many of you have used the rectangle technique without attaching a name to it for years. It’s an easy concept. Your responses were amazing. I learned a lot from you by looking at the photos shared on these challenges.

As in previous years, the Lens-Artists team goes on hiatus in July. There will be no challenge on July 6. Then, for the rest of July, we will feature three guest hosts:

The Lens-Artist team will return on August 3 when Patti leads us on her Pilotfish Blog again. Stay tuned. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.

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61 thoughts on “Big Bend’s Biodiversity: From Cacti to Critters”

  1. Truly wonderful photos, Edigio. I especially love the juvenile Roadrunner. How on earth did you manage to spot him? It is incredible that with so many habitats we can’t accommodate everyone. Nature has her own way of adapting.

  3. What a wonderful choice for the challenge Egidio! Your images are stunning and the variety of wildlife in the park is amazing. I loved the little multicolored lizard – a detachable tail no less!! Rather gross however to think of it still wiggling afterwards LOL. Loved the little roadrunner also, so sweet. Terrific response I loved all of it. It would be rather a shame to have skipped the informative and interesting text my friend.

  4. Jo, I loved your statement about Nature’s own way of adapting. Thank you very much for your kind feedback. It means the world to me. As for the roadrunner, another hiker saw me photographing the area and told me about where to look for the Roadrunner.

  7. Thank you so much for sharing these images of the beautiful habitat of Big Bend National Park. I love the colorful flowers and the different animals that live there.

  9. Awesome response Egidio! It’s amazing to me how many beautiful plants can grow in a desert. But, then, I guess it depends on the desert! Your flowers are colorful and gorgeous. And the animals were amazing also. The Greater Earless Lizard is handsome when he’s showing his colors. He certainly doesn’t blend in. Again, wonderful post.

  11. These are gorgeous photos Egidio! I love the sunset, bright colors, flowers, and bear images especially and didn’t know that Big Bend supported such diversity. Well done!

  21. What an amazing selection of photos you got here Egídio . Thanks for sharing this beautiful place with us. I’ve never been to Big Bend before. Loved it 😊

  22. A wonderful post. The photos are the stars of course, but your showing us the interdependence of all this life and these habitats made it special indeed.

  24. Wonderful images and lots of fascinating info – a super post for this challenge! I especially enjoyed the flowers and the colourful lizard 😀

  26. Beautiful images Egidio and what an amazing habitat for plants, flowers, insects and wildlife to share 😊

  38. What a wonderful array of habitats and their occupants. How lucky you are to travel to such interesting parks (and nature reserves).

    Having originally been a flower photographer myself, I couldn’t help but be drawn to your flowers.

    Love that lizard too. It must be easy to spot with those gorgeous colours.

    Also, thanks for sharing the information on each photo. I found that very informative and interesting.

  39. We had Big Bend on our list to visit, but ran out of time last year. It needs to be back on our list. Wonderful bird images, Egidio. I’ve been attempting to learning birding with my camera, so far with disappointing results… >grin<

  40. Beautiful photos of a beautiful place that I regret not having made a visit there more of a priority.

  41. Thanks, John. The best part is I was waiting for a dinner table at a restaurant in Terlingua. That was just in front of our eyes.

  43. Thank you very much, John. If/When you decide to go, make sure it’s late fall, winter, or very early spring. At those times, the weather there is wonderful. About birding, it helps I get plenty of training with the bird feeders right outside out dining room.

  45. I’ve been thinking about getting feeders, but with us gone most of the winter, I’m afraid they would become dependent upon them. But then, what do I know? >grin<

  48. Great photos, Egidio! I especially liked the ocotillo flowers, the colorful lizard, and the jay. There’s so much to see in that park!

  56. Such a wonderful habitat you picked, Egídio and your photos are awesome, as expected. I really enjoyed your post.

  57. A beautiful post – photos and facts. I so loved your opener, and the little roadrunner! I cannot understand how you spotted him! A beautiful park and habitat well documented here. Thank you for taking us!

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