Touring South Texas

The Rio Grande Valley of Texas is one of the most exciting birding destinations in the USA and a Mecca for USA birders (and especially Big Year birders). Why? Because of its proximity to the subtropics of Mexico (only a few hours are required to drive to the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas, Mexico), the prospect of finding a Mexican vagrant is tangible. In recent years such strays have included Social Flycatcher, Bat Falcon, Stygian Owl, White-throated Thrush, Mangrove Swallow, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush, Black-vented Oriole, and Amazon Kingfisher. Some tropical species are becoming regular visitors to “the Valley” as it is known locally. For example, Mexican Violetear, Tamaulipas Crow, Brown Jay, Blue Bunting, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Roadside Hawk, Rose-throated Becard, Tropical Parula and Golden-crowned Warbler have each occurred multiple times in recent decades. Some tropical species have actually expanded their populations to breed and prosper in south Texas. These include Hook-billed Kite, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Audubon’s Oriole, Altamira Oriole, Morelet’s Seedeater, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Clay-colored Thrush and Ferruginous Pygmy-owl. An entire economy based on visiting birders has developed in south Texas, complete with a network of bird sanctuaries called World Birding Centers, each charging a small entrance fee of $3-10 per person. 

Winter is the popular season for birding in the Valley, in part due to the mild weather. Many northern birders come to the Valley for the winter, like migratory birds. These "fair-weather birders" are known as "Snowbirds" in the Valley. During the summer, the heat can be unbearable. I visited the Valley one recent July and found the heat tolerable, and the birding was just as fabulous. Having the trails to myself without the throngs of visiting birders was appreciated as well. However, I would appreciate the throngs for this visit as the extra eyes should help track down species needed for my Biggest Year. I had scheduled a visit from Jan 19-26 and would be accompanied by John Vanderpoel, a seasoned Big Year veteran from Niwot, Colorado, my son Nick Jr (who is currently living in Austin TX) and Irene Fortune of Loveland CO. I would rely on John for guidance with the itinerary and many other pearls of wisdom related to his successful Big Year in 2011, when he observed 744 species in the ABA Area - Continental (which excludes Hawaii).

I began the tour at the McAllen airport on Jan 19 with 217 species on my Biggest Year list. John and I arrived in the morning. With a few hours to kill until Irene would arrive, Nick Jr picked us up in his Suburu and whisked us off to the nearest World Birding Center which was Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. At the parking lot, John spotted the first good bird of the trip- Yellow-throated Warbler. Walking the trails, we encountered many of the common South Texas target species such as Plain Chachalaca, Inca Dove, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Tropical Kingbird, Clay-colored Thrush, Long-billed Thrasher, Green Jay, etc. Nick Jr. spotted a Black-headed Grosbeak, an eBird rarity. I spotted another eBird rarity- Winter Wren! Summer Tanager, Nashville Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker were also noteworthy during our 3-hour stay. After collecting Irene at the airport, we drove an hour east to Brownsville and stationed ourselves at Oliveira Park in Brownsville waiting for the arrival of roosting parrots. We expected to see thousands of resident Red-crowned Parrots with some exotic species mixed with them, but the parrots never showed up leaving us (and about 20 other birders) disappointed. We settled in for the night at our roost site in Harlingen TX (Quality Inn). My Biggest Year list total had jumped to 244 species.

On Jan 20, we returned to Brownsville, arriving at the campus of the University of Texas hoping to find the resident Social Flycatcher which had been missing since Jan 7. It remained missing but we did get killer views of several dozen raucous Red-crowned Parrots. The campus was very birdy and we assembled a list of 42 species for eBird. We spent the rest of the morning exploring some under-birded hotspots along the Rio Grande River east of Brownsville - Sabal Palms Sanctuary and Southmost Nature Preserve. Unexpected species included Nashville Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Chihuahuan Raven and Hooded Oriole. After a brief lunch, we headed to the Laguna Vista Nature Trail on South Padre Island in an unsuccessful attempt to find a staked-out Tropical Parula. However, we added Rufous Hummingbird, Ringed Kingfisher, White-tailed Hawk and many other species in the effort. Biggest Year list total now at 263 species.

After transferring to the Alamo Inn in Alamo TX (a fabulous lodge run by birders for birders), we were better situated to make an attempt on our most wanted bird targets: Hook-billed Kite and Rose-throated Becard at Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park and Morelet's Seedeater and Groove-billed Ani at Salineno Wildlife Preserve. On Jan 21, we drove 30 minutes west to "Bentsen" where we met Mark and Joanie Hubinger, local "snowbirds" transplanted from Michigan. They lived minutes from Bentsen and knew the daily habits of both target species there. First, we would station ourselves at the Familia Nature Center waiting for a brief appearance by an immature male Rose-throated Becard. After about 45 minutes, I spotted the becard and about 20 assembled birders let out a collective sigh of relief. We then hopped on the tram that would take us about a mile to the vicinity of the hawk watch platform where 7 Hook-billed Kites had taken up residence to reduce the enormous snail population in that part of the park. Here we met several more groups of birders all seeking the same thing. David Koehler of Idaho showed us a photo he took of a flyby kite earlier that morning. We also met Tammy and David McQuade of Florida, prominent Big Year birders who manage to find over 700 species in the ABA area annually. They also had had a brief encounter with flyby kites. After a couple of hours of searching, we gave up to get lunch with our hosts, the Hubingers, We did however add another rare Winter Wren and a Swamp Sparrow to the trip list, as well as important South Texas targets Least Grebe and Green Kingfisher. Nick Jr. refound the becard and I was able to obtain a photo which I uploaded to the eBird checklist. After lunch, Nick Jr. headed back to Austin, and Mark dropped us at the airport where we rented a new vehicle. He then guided us to another target species, a beautiful Audubon's Oriole at the National Butterfly Center. With just a couple hours of daylight left, we decided to return for another attempt to find an elusive Hook-billed Kite. Irene and I speed-walked the two miles from the parking area at Bentsen and were rewarded with a couple of flyby kites but unfortunately no photos. The kite was year bird number 269.

We departed the Alamo Inn early on Jan 22 for the 90-minute drive upriver to Salineno. Here we met the McQuades again who got our hopes up when they told us they had already found the seedeater and the ani. However, after two hours of searching, we weren't so lucky. So we headed west to Falcon State Park where we found Northern Bobwhite visiting the park's bird-feeding station. Acting on a tip from a birder we met earlier, we checked near the boat ramp for Sprague's Pipits. To find a pipit, we gathered a group of birders including David Koehler and JoJo and Steve Audet, a couple from Maine. Creating a line of walkers spaced 25 feet apart, almost immediately a candidate was spooked from the short grass. It flew only a short distance, characteristically undulating as it flew, and showing off white outer tail feathers. Its visibly thin bill ruled out similar Vesper Sparrow, and a second bird flew overhead vocalizing. Photos and audio file were added to the eBird checklist. Adding this species to my Biggest Year list took a group effort. It was a lifer for David, JoJo and Steve, making it even more satisfying. We then headed west to Zapata TX where we had a picnic lunch at Bravo Park and found one of our most challenging targets - a single Morelet's Seedeater popped in front of me as I tried to spish in a Blue-headed Vireo. With this feather in our cap, we began the 3-hr drive east across the uplands of south Texas to Corpus Christie. My Biggest Year list was now at 275.

We spent the next two nights in a "no-frills" motel on Mustang Island, about a half hour south of Port Aransas. On Jan 23, After finding the pair of Aplomado Falcons perched on their hacking platform just north of our hotel, we found several other targets at the Leonabelle Butler Birding Center in Port Aransas, including Whooping Crane and Clapper Rail. After a celebratory sit-down lunch, we got lucky quickly finding a previously reported Groove-billed Ani at Oso Wetlands Nature Trail near Corpus Christie. We drove north to look for LeConte's sparrow near Rockport which never made an appearance, but we added many other species such as Sedge Wren, Sandhill Crane and others. Went to sleep with 286 species on my Year List.

On Jan 24, our final morning in the Corpus Christie area was rainy but I added several shorebird species including Piping Plover and Short-billed Dowitcher as well as Gull-billed Tern but missed an overwintering vagrant Bar-tailed Godwit near the Texas A&M Campus. We then headed south to drier climes to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, where we successfully scored two important South Texas targets - Tropical Parula and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet. We also found a third Winter Wren for the trip! We returned to the Alamo Inn for our final two nights in Soiuth Texas with 291 species on my Year List.

Jan 25th was enormously successful. We joined several dozen birders scouring the trails at Estero Llano Grande State Park. Here we tallied 70 species including staked-out Dickcissel, Fulvous Whistling-Duck and Common Pauraque. I helped identify an immature female Broad-tailed Hummingbird, arguably the rarest find of the trip so far. After lunch, Irene and I visited Frontera Audubon Sanctuary in Weslaco, TX, where I found an even rarer species: Bay-breasted Warbler (which should be wintering in Colombia). The three of us then went to the HEB supermarket in McAllen. What was I shopping for? You guess it! New Year Birds and we found two (Green Parakeet and Bronzed Cowbird) among the thousands of communally roosting Great-tailed Grackles that draped the telephone wires and decorated the car rooftops throughout the parking lot. I ended the day with 301 Year Birds.

Jan 26th was our final morning. We had until 2:30 pm to return our rental vehicle after adding new trip species. I had hoped to reach 200 species for the trip but would be content with 194 species. We added Yellow-headed Blackbird at the Progresso Granary in Mission, TX, and Monk Parakeet in Hidalgo, TX (where a flock of 6 Long-billed Curlew landing on a residential street was an interesting spectacle). At Anzalduas Park along the Rio Grande River, we added an adult male Northern Parula. At mid-day we met up with Mark and Joanie Hubinger at the National Butterfly Center where Mark showed us a roosting Eastern Screech-Owl. The last bird of the day ironically was a beautiful Yellow-throated Warbler at Roselawn Cemetery. Irene spotted it. She had not yet joined the trip when the first one was found at Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center on Jan 19th. I returned home to Fort Collins with 304 USA year birds, which put me in the top 3 of those reporting their list totals to eBird.org. The hordes of species added during this Pilgrimage to the Mecca that is South Texas launched John and Irene into the top 100 of eBird users as well.