| New England Seabirds | Wandering Birder | Wandering North America | Texas - Rio Grande Valley |
| Rio Grande
Valley Texas Winter 2005
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 Golden-fronted Woodpecker |
Years ago I came to the Rio Grand Valley on one of my first Bill Drummond birding trips. It was a great week and I resolved to some day come back and stay longer. Finally this year I became a "winter texan" staying 5 weeks in the valley. My home was the Encore RV Park in north Harlingen. This is a convenient spot for birding the eastern end of the valley. It is located just off Business 77 with easy access to Highway 77 and 77/83 to Brownsville and 83 to McAllen. (The park has been sold and will be renamed to something perhaps it might revert to being Sunshine RV Park.)
This is not wilderness camping. There are more than 1,000 sites and 2,000+ old people sharing space with many well controlled dogs. Sites are close together. I found it safe and very quiet. I enjoyed the swimming pool and used the library, post office and laundry. Monday- Friday they serve breakfast at 6:30 AM and lunch. It is a regular community with activities including: square dancing, ping pong, horseshoes, Saturday night concerts, Sunday church services,shuffleboard, wood shop, billards, crafts, and kazoo band. The cost is $30 a night if you stay one night or $12 if you stay a month. I liked it so much I have already made reservations for next January for the same site. #960. You can also rent a cabin at this park for month long stays and birders should consider this option.
There is a small lake in the campground where I listed: Vermilion Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted Sandpiper, Snowy, Great, Cattle Egret, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Couch's Kingbird. A Common Poorwill was heard at night. Buff-bellied Hummingbird patronized a feeder opposite the office.
I ate every now and then at the Luby Cafeteria in San Benito. Across the street near Walmart was another RV Park where I went to look for Red-fronted Parrots and Green Parakeets. I am sure they are there if you go later, but I missed them. I did see Black-capped Vireo. I am told this was an unusual sighting for this time of year.
Harlingen has a great library with internet access. Across the street from the library is the city lake with a large flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Park in the library lot and walk around the reservoir to get the best look.
My usual routine was to make a visit to each popular birding site once a week: Laguna Atascosas NWF, Sabal Palm Audubon, Frontero Audubon, Santa Ana NWR,Benson State Park and private reserves like Los Ebanos. Your duck stamp or Golden Age passport gets you into the NWRs. Buy a membership at Sabal Palm for $15 as you will probably go there more than once and the admission is $5. Frontero Audubon costs $2.50 a visit but a membership starts at $40. Benson State Park costs $2 a visit. Other places ask for contributions and some request a healthy $10 a visit. There is good birding along many of the farm roads and its free.
A Great Year for Rarities
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This was a good winter for rarities from Mexico showing up
north of the river and thus "countable". I was lucky to see and photograph this Blue Bunting on my first visit to Santa Ana. On subsequent visits it was reported in the day log, but I didn't see it again. I participated in a canoe trip down the Rio Grande River along the Santa Ana border ( $20). We saw many Spotted Sandpipers and three species of kingfishers: Green, Belted, and Ringed. This short stretch of river gives you some idea what the area was like before it was "improved". Those spending a week in the valley would never devote a day to this river trip, but it should be part of a month long trip. |
Regulars
The valley has some regular birds of big interest to North American birders because they do not move much farther north. These include:Green Jay, Brown Jay, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Paraque, Common Poorwill, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Aplomado Falcon, Green Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Neotropical Cormorant, Couch's Kingbird, Tropical Kingbird, Verdin, Chachalaca, Altamira Oriole, Hooded Oriole, and Audubon's Oriole, Long-billed Thrasher, Curved-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren, Black-crested Titmouse, Olive Sparrow, Pyruloxia, Kiskadee, Clay-colored Robin, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, White-tipped Dove.
| The Green Jay is a very common bird at feeders in the
valley. But what a bird. This one was photographed at Laguna Atascosas feeders.
If I could bring one bird home to NH it would be the Green Jay. Oranges and grapefruit are commonly used at feeders in the valley. There is a good selection of wintering warblers in the valley.Orange-crowned Warblers are everywhere. I especially enjoyed Yellow-throated Warblers. White-eyed Vireos are fairly common and even sing. |
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One special treat of the valley is a visit to Salaneño where birders are invited to join the Dewinn's in their yard to watch the feeders. Chairs are provided. You may bring: peanut butter, cornmeal, or oranges to contribute to the feeders. The Dewinns also accept, but do not solicite cash contributions. |
| A family of Brown Jays showed up at the Dewinn's feeders.
Immature birds like these two have yellow bills. The feeders also attract the three species of Orioles: Altamira, Hooded, and Audubon's. The Dewinns chase Grackles away from their feeder show. |
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| On South Padre Island go to the convention center. I was there with Bill Drummond's trip on a busy afternoon. The building in the background has a whale mural on the side. |  |
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Clapper Rail stalking around under the boardwalk in the afternoon with several people on the boardwalk. We also saw a Sora Rail. |
Laguna Atascosas
The national wildlife refuge of Laguna Atascosas was one of my favorite trips because it was so easy to drive there from Harlingen. On the way I stopped at a pond on Farm Road 345 just outside of Rio Honda and found 20 + Fulvous Whistling Ducks along with Black-necked Stilts, other ducks and shorebirds. The fields just before the refuge had a flock of Snow Geese one trip. They also yield Long-billed Curlew, Bobwhite Quail, Red-tailed Hawks, Harris Hawk, American Kestrels. The road into the refuge always has a Roadrunner or two or three.
| The fifteen mile drive is very pleasant during the week when
there is almost nobody else there. Look for the large flock of Red-headed
Ducks just offshore. I also had Verdin, Long-billed Curlew, Snowy
Plover on this drive. I had no luck finding Aplomado Falcon although
it is reported to be here. I did see the falcon on road 100 near Laguna Vista.
Road 100 goes to South Padre Island. Check out the radio tower and the
telephone lines on the north side of the road. Crested Caracara in Yucca is a common sight in the valley and especially at Laguna Atascosas. |
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Cement Mixers
Several events made my stay nicer including going to the birding festival in Victoria, Tamalipas Mexico. I joined Bill Drummond's tour for a week and went with them to El Canelo B&B to see the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl ($30) . I Always enjoy Bill's great trips and this one was better because Barbara was along. Hang around bird feeders in the valley and you will catch up on the news from home. I learned that two of my friends are engaged. Way to go S & J.
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One day at Sabal Palm I ran into my old friend Ron Haaseth, a real expert on birding the valley after living in Texas for several years. We birded together one day. Thanks Ron for the great guiding. |
| One event was most unpleasant. While driving toward
Brownsville to look for the Golden-crowned Warbler about 9 AM on Highway 77/83
which is under construction, I followed directions to merge left. Several cars
behind me also began to merge and the traffic in front of me slowed. Of course
not everybody slows down as they should and a cement truck lost it crashing
into a pickup truck and injuring the driver seriously. The accident caused a
domino effect and eventually hit my camper. The Albatross is seriously wounded.
I was able to effect emergency repairs and drive it home to NH for more
extensive repairs. As I write this I still hope to get to Alaska this summer.
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On the way home, I camped at the Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee where Eastern Bluebirds and Pine Warblers fed in the grass around the camper. It is early spring here, but not in NH where another snow storm welcomed me home.
The wounded Albatross will fly again. It has proved to be a cozy little home for me on the road and I miss it. My sister gave me a subscription to Sirius Satellite radio for Christmas and I enjoy good music, news and the superbowl broadcast ( Go Pats) . I have a small TV which sometimes picks up a station or two and a small DVD player for movies and bird videos. Otherwise I spend evenings reading.