Photo Gallery
Photos by Michael O’Brien
We begin our South Texas tour in the coastal prairie where waterfowl, including Snow and Ross’s Geese, are abundant…
…and where raptors like this Ferruginous Hawk line the roadsides.
Thorscrub forest stands in the Lower Rio Grande Valley still supports small numbers of the precocious Ferruginous pygmy-Owl.
Arriving in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, we’ll be greeted by such stunning gems as Altamira Oriole…
…Green Jay….
…and this more subtle but equally lovely White-tipped Dove.
…where we’ll likely see Least Grebe…
…and Green Kingfisher.
In our wanderings we may see an Aplomado Falcon, recently reintroduced into south Texas.
We may also see Clay-colored Robin, an uncommon and shy resident right along the Rio Grande.
Some of the rarest Valley specialties, like these Brown Jays at Chapeno, are not reliably present ever year…
…and White-collared Seedeater is found at only a few sites in the Valley, including, as here, in Zapata.
Always a delightful stop is our visit to the feeding stations at the Salineño trailers where we might see…
…Hooded Oriole…
…or an Eastern Screech-Owl peering from its box.
One of the most exciting aspects of birding here is the possibility of seeing a stray from Mexico like Crimson-collared Grosbeak…
…Gray-crowned Yellowthroat…
…Green-breasted Mango….
…Elegant Trogon…
…Roadside Hawk….
…or Blue Mockingbird, all seen on recent tours. What will next year bring?