Plain Chachalaca: a subtropical species found in chaparral thickets along the Rio Grande River. Photo: Lynn Bieber-Weir
South Texas is blessed with the most distinctive avifauna of the contiguous United States. No fewer than 30 species are more-or-less restricted to the region. In addition to the resident and breeding species present, early April brings a wide array of migrant passerines, raptors and shorebirds as they stream north; the diversity of birds in this relatively small five-county area at this season is truly staggering. The lower Rio Grande Valley is also well known for its butterfly, dragonfly and reptile diversity. There are more species of butterflies in the Valley than have been recorded in all of North America east of the Mississippi River! We’ll have a full week to explore a range of faunal regions, from the broad coastal plain with its shallow lagoons and grasslands, to the scrubby mesquite/cactus forests of the drier uplands and finally to the dense stands of sabal palm, huisache, Texas ebony and Montezuma bald cypress that line the river itself.
This tour can be taken in conjunction with our tour The Upper Texas Coast in Spring.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6 p.m. in Harlingen. Night in Harlingen.
Day 2: For our first morning we’ll visit the National Audubon Society’s Sabal Palms Sanctuary, the largest extant native palm forest in the lower Rio Grande Valley. In addition to the palms, the sanctuary’s numerous ponds, grasslands and Rio Grande riparian forest support large numbers of area specialties including Green Jay, Great Kiskadee and White-tipped Dove, and one never knows what rarities might occur. If Tamaulipas Crows are present this year we’ll visit another of the valley’s premier locations, the scenic, if fragrant, Brownsville dump. A number of rare gulls have also been found here but even if there are none, we should get fine views of migrant Franklin’s Gulls, at this season especially lovely with their rosy pink breasts. In the afternoon we’ll venture out to the long sand beaches of Boca Chica where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico. On the way we’ll pass through Texas coastal plain where we hope to encounter White-tailed Hawk, Aplomado Falcon and a host of gulls, shorebirds and waders. Night in Harlingen.
Day 3: Today we’ll return to the coast, this time exploring the migration hot spot of South Padre Island. The southern part of the island is quite developed but some small sanctuaries, several with permanent water, and a number of well-vegetated and little-traveled residential streets can attract and hold literally thousands of brightly colored migrant warblers, tanagers, orioles and grosbeaks among others. Such “fallouts” require the right weather conditions, of course, but if we are lucky enough to be there when one occurs, the spectacle is simply astonishing. Throughout the tour we’ll keep an eye on the weather map and should the right conditions occur on any of the days we are in Harlingen or McAllen, we’ll have the option of adjusting our schedule to get back to the coast. We’ll also seek out shorebirds and terns, possibly including American Avocet, Marbled Godwit and Gull-billed and Sandwich Terns.
If migration is light, we’ll visit Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and explore the long loop road that passes through bays, beaches, mudflats and grasslands. Flocks of Roseate Spoonbills and White-faced Ibis are regular and the grassy scrub holds White-tailed Kite, Botteri’s Sparrow and the some of the largest Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes in Texas. Night in Harlingen.
Day 4: We’ll depart early for the densely vegetated Frontera Audubon Thicket, a small but lovely park near downtown Weslaco. Here we should encounter Golden-fronted Woodpecker and observe Buff-bellied Hummingbird as it attends the flowerbeds. In recent years Frontera has been very productive for vagrants and more localized species such as Groove-billed Ani and roosting Common Pauraque. We will also visit the Valley Nature Center Thicket in Weslaco which often harbors migrants and parrots, and has a small colony of breeding Yellow-crowned Night-Herons; the McAllen Sewage Ponds; and Anzalduas County Park where we hope to encounter some mixed flocks and perhaps the charming Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. Our last birding stop for the day will be along the Rio Grande itself at the Roma Bluffs. Here we’ll have our first prolonged look at the river, scanning from the banks for a passing Muscovy Duck or Red-billed Pigeon and exploring a small trail that runs downstream from the road. Night in Zapata.
Day 5: Today we’ll visit Chapeno, just downstream from Falcon Dam, where we will spend the morning investigating riparian forest for some of the harder to find South Texas specialties such as Audubon’s Oriole, Ringed and Green Kingfishers, Red-billed Pigeon and Muscovy Duck. The riparian vegetation downstream from the Falcon Dam spillway is particularly lush with older native hardwoods such as Texas ebony and huisache. We’ll also spend some time searching for Chapeno’s resident Brown Jay family, one of only two family groups known in the U.S. Once done at Chapeno we’ll venture upstream to the desert chaparral of Falcon State Park. Here among the cactus and scrubby mesquites we’ll look for a variety of desert birds not easily found in the lower valley such as Scaled Quail, Lark, Clay-colored and Black-throated Sparrows and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. Close study on the ground is often worthwhile as well since the area around Falcon Dam is home to a large number of lizard species otherwise found only in Mexico. Night in Zapata.
Day 6: We’ll devote most of the morning to searching for White-collared Seedeater, a very local resident of the upper Rio Grande Valley that is closely tied to thick riparian grasses. We’ll look in several consistently productive areas near Zapata and San Ignacio where thick grasses also support large numbers of wintering sparrows, and we’ll spend some time teasing apart field marks for the local species. Once successful with the seedeaters we’ll drive back to McAllen with stops along the river to search for any of the specialties we might have missed. In the late evening we’ll visit local Red-crowned Parrot and Green Parakeet roosts. Night in McAllen.
Day 7: We’ll visit a large salt lake north of McAllen where in spring a wide variety of shorebirds and a good selection of the local Tamaulipan scrubland birds should be present. This lake was an economically important site for salt extraction and served as the major source of salt for Monterrey. Here we might see Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Cassin’s Sparrow, and we’ll have a great opportunity to study White-tailed Hawk, Northern Bobwhite and other upland species. In the late afternoon we’ll visit a selection of wonderfully constructed artificial wetlands near McAllen in hopes of finding Tropical Kingbird, Cave Swallow and roosting herons. If the birding is slow we’ll also make a brief stop at a constructed dragonfly pond and butterfly garden for a quick peek at the other flying jewels of Texas. Night in McAllen.
Day 8: This morning we will arise early to visit the new Bentsen State Park, now managed jointly by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the World Birding Center. We will begin before dawn, seeking out Elf and Eastern Screech-Owls, and Common Pauraque along the entrance road. This famous 587-acre park has a wide variety of habitats and affords incredibly close viewing of several relatively tame Texas specialties including Least Grebe, Green Jay, Altamira Oriole, Clay-colored Robin, Olive Sparrow and Long-billed Thrasher. Most of the resident breeders should be in full song, and we’ll spend some time listening for the “peer-peer-peer” calls of Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet among the ever-present chorus of Plain Chachalacas and Great Kiskadees. Here too we will spend some time on the hawk tower, on the lookout for migrant hawks which can sometimes occur by the thousands at this time of year. If they are present we will make an effort to locate Ferruginous-Pygmy Owls, which in recent years have colonized the area. On the way back to Harlingen we will stop along some agricultural roads looking for short grass or wet fields that may harbor migrant Upland or Buff-breasted Sandpipers, or perhaps American Golden-Plover, Sprague’s Pipit or Hudsonian Godwit. Night in Harlingen.
Day 9: Our final day will be flexible to allow us to look for any local rarities or species we might have missed. If conditions are good, we’ll head back to the coast hoping to encounter a fallout of migrants on South Padre Island. If the weather is not conducive for a fallout we’ll visit Santa Ana NWR. This incredible refuge boasts the second largest birdlist of any refuge (after Laguna Atascosa) and can prove productive for Tropical Parula, Clay-colored Robin and waterbirds. Night in Harlingen.
Day 10: The tour concludes this morning in Harlingen.
Updated: 12 June 2007
Prices
- 2010 price not yet available
Notes
The maximum one-leader group size is reduced from eight to seven. The maximum two-leader group size remains 14.