Going stir crazy... Llano state park

Amazing shots! You definitely raised the bar with those. Love the painted bunting too

In Big Bend, two good half day hikes from the basin area are the Lost Mine trail, and the trail to Emory Peak. The view from Emory peak is fantastic.

great shots Gary

Thnk's all...
Bsmotril. I plan on camping in the Basin first so I will look into the two hikes you talk about. I guess I need a landscape lens. I will do a search on here to see what others recommend. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. I do not have any landscape lenses and don't know how to use them. But I hate to go and not take a landscape pic.

Great shots Gary. I have LLano State park next on my list. I would love to get a shot of the Painted Bunting.
My wife and I spent a week in Big Bend this spring. Birding and hiking was our goal. We took our RV and stayed in the "Rio Grande Village" It was spring, like I said so I am not sure what you will see, but in the Village, there are places you can drive to and have a short walk to some very good birding areas. I had my 600mm and it was the best place we found in the entire park that didn't include a ton of hiking.
We hiked the Chisos mountain trails too, but they are very demanding, at least for us. The views from the South Rim are outstanding, but the thought of carrying a long lens up there hurts my everything. We did see some birds on those trails, particularly in Boot Canyon, but the Rio Grande Village was more of a target rich enviornment.
Big Bend is one big desert. The river and the Chisos are the lifeblood for the animals. When you get away from either of them, you don't see very much, at least in terms of wildlife....
Good luck, any questions or whatever, PM me or post something and I will help as best I can.