I just got back from a birding trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley with fellow Kansans, Rodney Wright and Robert Trenton Reed. Our Facebook posts generated numerous inquiries about our itinerary and I thought making it into a blog post might be the best resource for other birders.
Note/Disclaimer: This itinerary was created with the following thoughts in mind:
- Find Lodging in a LRGV city as close to Kansas City as possible - minimizing the drive to/from the area. Harlingen seemed to fit the bill, so that was our "base camp."
- We only had three full days to bird, so the sites visited had to be within one hour of Harlingen, to maximize birding time.
- The number of "hotspots" in the area is mind numbing, but since we had limited time, we had to narrow our choices. The spots picked were based on eBird records, information provided on the Rio Grande Valley Birding Facebook page, posts to the "texbirds" listserv and "A Birder's Guide to the Lower Rio Grande Valley" by Mark W. Lockwood et al. A list of resources will be provided at the end of this post.
Day 1 - Sunrise at the South Padre Island Convention Center
The Convention Center is a great spot for shore birds and in the spring provides wonderful views of migrating songbirds. This spot provided the greatest diversity of the trip. Highlights include, Black-throated Green, Parula, Nashville, Tennessee and Black-and-White Warblers within arms reach. The flats behind the CC provided Sandwich, Caspian and Royal Terns, Reddish Egrets, Black Skimmers and Tri-colored Herons - among others. The boardwalk provided great views of Clapper Rails - with one walking directly beneath us!
Valley Land Fund Migratory Bird Sanctuary - This area consists of six wooded lots that have been improved for migratory songbirds. Located south of the Convention Center on W. Sheepshead, it is easy to find because of the cars lining the streets. We found Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Parula, Worm-eating, and Black-and-White Warblers here, along with Northern Waterthrush, Blue Grosbeak, Gray Catbird and Long-billed Thrasher.
Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary - late morning to mid afternoon. This provided us the first opportunity to view Lower Rio Grande Specialties - Olive Sparrow, Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca, Green Kingfisher, Great Kiskadee, Bronze Cowbird and Buff Bellied Hummingbird.
Harlingen Arroyo Colorado Birding Center / Hugh Ramsey Nature Park - This area was located fairly close to our hotel in Harlingen and seemed like a nice way to end the day. Not particularly birdy, but we had Olive Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinch, Green Kingfisher and Brown-crested Flycatchers here.
Click on Image for Larger View
Day 2 - Sunrise at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
We went here with great expectations and the vast amount of birds calling in the parking lot really raised our expectations. It was cool and foggy most of the time we were here. We had Swainson's, Broad Winged and Harris's Hawks here, and a kettle of 60+ Mississippi Kites flying directly above us while standing on the observation tower. This was the least productive spot on the trip.
Estero Llano Grande State Park - We were told that this was a "don't miss" spot and it certainly did not disappoint. Common Pauraque, Clay-colored Thrush, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Cinnamon Teal, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Long-billed Dowitcher, Black-necked Stilt, Purple Martin and Green Kingfisher were some of the highlights. Red-crowned Parrots were nesting here, but we did not see them.
Frontera Audobon - Less than ten minutes from Estero Llano, we headed here in hopes of seeing the Blue Bunting and Crimson-collared Grosbeak that had been seen there during the week. While we dipped on those two birds we had great views of a Clay-colored Thrush singing directly above our heads. Other birds of note include Worm-eating and Nashville Warblers and a Blue-headed Vireo.
Joe & Tony Oliveira Park - 104
El Paso Rd, Brownsville, Texas, 78520 – this was a wonderful spot to view a
large number of parrots coming into roost for the night. Arrive about an hour
before sunset – and wait. Eventually you will see (and hear) parrots coming
into roost. Watch them closely to determine what tree(s) they have selected for
the night. You may have to do a little walking to make this determination. We
were able to see Red-crowned, Red-lored, White-fronted, and Golden Crowned
Parrots, and several Green Parakeets (only the Red-crowned Parrots and Green
Parakeets have established breeding populations and are therefore the only ones
“countable” – at this time). A big "Thank You" to Gavin Bieber of WINGS who helped us track down and identify the parrots.
Altamira Oriole, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
April 16, 2016
Day 3 - Sunrise - Drive to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
During the drive to Laguna Atascosa NWR we heard Botteri's Sparrow and saw Crested Caracara, Swainson's Hawk and Aplomado Falcon. One of the best spots at the refuge were the Potato Trees growing behind the visitor center. A large variety of birds were feeding on the fruits. We saw Orchard, Altimira and Baltimore Orioles, Pyrrhuloxia, Golden-front Woodpecker, Painted-Bunting, Indigo Bunting, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Long-billed Thrasher and an ABA Code 4 Crimson-collard Grosbeak. Osprey Overlook provided us with "up close and personal" views of a perched Green Kingfisher.
Return to Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary - We had nothing planned for the afternoon of our last day - leaving it open to chase birds we might have missed. One bird we were hoping to see was the Ringed Kingfisher - which is substantially larger than the Belted Kingfishers we see in Kansas. We headed back to Sabal Palm and headed to a blind, where we watched and waited for 45 minutes. And then we heard the distinctive call of the bird in question. We hoped for a good view as it flew by the blind, but instead the bird decided to perch in a snag directly in front of the blind - where he stayed for a full 15 minutes. Stunning. A great way to end the trip.
Ringed Kinfisher - Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary
April 16, 2016
Resources
The
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has created the Great Texas Wildlife Trails
and the one for the Lower Texas Coast - Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail is
very helpful and can be found here - Lower Texas Coast Birding Trail
“ABirder’s Guide to the Rio Grande Valley” by Mark W. Lockwood, William B.McKinney, James N. Patton and Barry R. Zimmer
You
can sign up for the TEXBIRDS listserv here - TEXBIRDS
RioGrande Valley Birding Facebook Page
Lower Rio Grande Valley Birding Hotline
LagunaAtascosa National Wildlife Refuge Bird List
SantaAna National Wildlife Refuge Bird List
Bird Guides – in many of the locations listed on this post,
you will notice guides leading groups of birders. You will likely overhear some
great information from these guides. We were very lucky in that all of the
guides we met were very happy to share ideas and suggestions on different
birding locations. But be careful, do not intrude on the “tour” the guides are
providing. Many of their clients paid a great deal of money to participate in
the tour and may not be happy if the attention of the guide is diverted by some
overzealous “free loaders.”
Yes, this really happened!
