The Lower Rio Grande Valley is one of the top birding
destinations in North America. There are about 30 bird species found here
that are essentially "Mexican" birds and only occur in the U.S.
close to the border. Many of these birds are quite colorful and a real
treat to see, such as the Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Altimira Oriole,
Plain Chachalaca, and Buff-bellied Hummingbird. In spring 2005
Crimson-collared Grosbeak and Blue Mockingbird occurred - who knows what
2006 will bring! Cost, from Harlingen, $1,495.00 including ground
transportation, lodging, meals, and guiding.
Tentative Itinerary
Day 1. Meet in Harlingen at the airport. Local birding, if time allows.
Overnight in Harlingen area.
Day 2. Today we'll drive north through extensive private ranch lands,
towards Rockport, stopping along the way to look for Crested Caracara,
Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Olive Sparrow, Long-billed Thrasher,
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Cave Swallow, and White-tailed Hawk. Overnight in
Rockport area.
Day 3. In the morning we'll take a boat ride to view over-wintering
endangered Whooping Cranes, before they leave for their some breeding
grounds in Canada. We'll also visit Port Aransas and Mustang Island in
search of rails, waterfowl, gulls, terns, and shorebirds. We should get
good looks at Roseate Spoonbill, Reddish Egret, and American
Oystercatcher. Overnight in Rockport area.
Days 4,5,6. We'll head back south to McAllen, where we'll spend the
next few days exploring some of the top birding sites in the country,
including National Audubon's Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary, Santa Ana
National Wildlife Refuge, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Salineno,
Falcon Dam, and Zapata. Nights in McAllen.
Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary protects 32 acres of native Texas Sabal
Palm. Buff-bellied Hummingbird is present year-round, and very rare
sightings, such as the Crimson-collared Grosbeak, have been recorded.
Tamaulipas Crow is sometimes found at the nearby Brownsville landfill.
Santa Ana refuge is recognized as "a birder's paradise".
Several lakes and subtropical thorn forest attract over 300 bird species,
such as Least Grebe, Ringed Kingfisher, Couch's Kingbird, Hook-billed Kite
and Great Kiskadee. Topical Parula and Gray Hawk are often found in nearby
Anzalduas county park.
Bentson Rio Grande State Park has wonderful hiking trails with more
chances for Rio Grande specialties such as Altamira Oriole, Plain
Chachalaca, and Northern Beardless Tyrranulet. Eastern Screech Owl and
Common Paraque are easily heard (and often seen!) after dark.
Salineno, Falcon Dam, and Zapata offer more chances to see specialties,
such as Brown Jay, Green and Ringed Kingfishers and Audubon's Oriole. We
will also search for the rare wild Muscovy Duck. At Falcon State Park we
usually see Scaled Quail, Greater Roadrunner and Say's Phoebe. In Zapata
we will look for White-collared Seedeater. We may also encounter Lark,
Clay-colored and Black-throated Sparrows and Lark Bunting.
Day 7-8. On these two days we will explore Laguna Atascosa National
Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding area. This refuge protects more than
45,000 acres of native coastal vegetation. A total of 392 bird species
have been recorded here, including the recently re-introduced Aplomado
Falcon. Our schedule will remain flexible, to enable us to look for any
newly discovered rarities in the area, or seek out any special species
that we may have missed. Nights in Harlingen.
Day 9. Morning birding possible, as airline schedules dictate. Tour
officially ends in Harlingen.
