South Texas Birding Tour

Welcome to Texas. I’m exhausted just thinking about this trip—a feeling you’ll doubtless share if you make it through this long blog post. Given that this was a “dedicated birding trip,” my wife sat this one out. This was the least relaxing vacation I’ve ever taken. It was thematically similar to my Arizona trip last year, but even faster paced, with more locations to visit and less downtime. For 8 days and 7 nights, my friend Mark and I made a big loop around south/central Texas, either birding or driving or birding or driving from dawn until dusk.

Our 1,500-mile loop began in Austin, followed by a night of camping in Hill Country. After that, we headed south to the Rio Grande, and the bulk of our trip involved a slow progression southeast along the river, visiting different refuges, parks, and a private ranch along the US-Mexico border. Eventually, we made it to the Gulf (of America?). After some coastal birding, we headed north along the coast and eventually back to Austin.

Exhausting as it was, the trip was incredibly rewarding. I’ve never seen so many birds in such a short amount of time. I know I said that about AZ last year, when my friend Jon and I observed a whopping 176 species in a week. But everything’s bigger in Texas: Mark and I observed 246 different species of birds on this trip. We probably could’ve gotten to 275 if we had strategically picked locations to maximize our species count; however, our itinerary wasn’t driven by quantity, but rather quality. We focused on finding South Texas specialists that are found nowhere else in America—basically Mexican birds that just barely venture into the states. Usually, when you go looking for certain birds, you see some and miss others; I’d normally call a 70% hit rate a success while birding on vacation. This trip, we saw almost every single target bird, save one or two longshots. We also saw a ton of other interesting wildlife, especially herps.

The weather varied hour-to-hour, but with predictable themes each day. Southeast Texas is a lot more humid than Southeast Arizona! We enjoyed lows in the low 70s, and didn’t enjoy highs in the lower 90s (it was 10-15 degrees cooler in the mountains). Morning generally featured cloudier skies, which gave way to bright, hot, sunny afternoons. Afternoons and evenings were extremely windy, especially as we got closer to the coast. We had only occasional light rain, so the weather didn’t dramatically impact our trip.

The logistics were pretty straightforward. Of course, I did a lot of front-end planning, but that was mainly to figure out the key birding hotspots and to book a couple birding tours (on otherwise inaccessible private property). We booked the first two nights’ lodging in advance, but played everything else by ear, deciding each night’s hotel each afternoon. Our sojourn took us through well-traveled lands, and we ran into lots of other birders (often repeatedly, at different locations) during the trip.

Ok, on to the play-by-play:

Day 1: Austin to Lost Maples

After a poor night’s sleep and a very early morning flight, we arrived in Austin around 10 AM. My first breath of fresh Texas air was complemented by our first bird sighting: a pair of Great-tailed Grackles performing a courtship display in the road at the airport. These big black birds were ubiquitous throughout the trip, and I won’t mention them again.

After picking up our rental car, we were out birding (for real) by 10:30 AM. Deciding where to bird was easy: the area’s best birding destination is about a mile from the airport. The Hornsby Bend wastewater treatment ponds are about what you’d expect in terms of overall ambience: smelly, noisy, hot, with some rain and breeze thrown in. But the birding was exceptional. We easily picked up 55 species, without spending much time in the riparian area near the river. The shallow ponds were loaded with 13 different species of shorebirds (including breeding Black-necked Stilts, an American Golden-Plover, a Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitchers, lots of Wilson’s Phalaropes, etc.). The deeper ponds still held good numbers of waterfowl (including a Snow Goose, a Northern Pintail, a Canvasback, some Redhead, and lots of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, among other more common species). In general, the birds here were mostly familiar east-coast species, with a sprinkling of birds that are much more common in Texas, like Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Crested Caracaras. These two species—some of my all-time favorites—were basically the “trash birds” of the trip, present basically everywhere.

While at Hornsby Bend, we also picked up a herp lifer: The aptly named Common Spotted Whiptail (aka Texas Spotted Whiptail), along with some enormous Guadalupe Softshell Turtles (a lifer subspecies) and some Red-eared Sliders. I may have seen another turtle species (Texas Cooter, a would-be lifer), but I didn’t get any photos.

After a drive through downtown Austin to visit the capitol and pick up provisions, we hit the road to the mountains, due west. As is always the case when one leaves civilization, the scenery got better and better. The aptly named Hill Country of central Texas features a mix of evergreen vegetation set against arid micro-cliffs and valleys, with all the high points at approximately the same height—basically a dry, carved-out plateau. I haven’t seen anything exactly like it elsewhere, but it reminded me of portions of Arizona and Utah.

We got to Lost Maples State Natural Area around 6 PM. After setting up our tents at the campground, we went on a short hike up the road and into the hills. What a beautiful place! The evening birding was a bit of a tease. I saw a single lifer: the ubiquitous Black-crested Titmouse (which, as of blog writing, has been downgraded to a mere subspecies of Tufted Titmouse by the scientists—in other words, not actually a new species for me). I heard 4 other new birds, including Black-capped Vireo, Golden-cheeked Warbler, Olive Sparrow, and White-tipped Dove; heard-only lifers are not the most satisfying. We also heard what was likely a Tropical Parula. We encountered 2 other lifers on the hike: Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (also heard-only) and what I believe were Plains Longear Sunfish in the small creeks running through the valley.

Later in the evening, at the campsite, we were treated to a nice chorus of nocturnal animals, including Chuck-will’s-widows and 2 more lifer frogs: Barking Frog and Gulf Coast Toad. It was an excellent night camping, and I wish we had time to stay longer at Lost Maples!

Day 2: Lost Maples to San Ygnacio

The morning of Day 2 was dedicated to Lost Maples. We embarked on a longer-than-expected hike, but it was basically our only hike of the trip, so that was fine. The birding was excellent, and we were able to get eyes on some target species that we’d only managed to hear the last night. We got particularly good looks at Golden-cheeked Warblers. They look and sound a lot like Black-throated Greens (which were also abundant here). But gold-cheeks are way more interesting, since Central Texas is the only place in America to see them, and only during the breeding season. Similarly exciting were Black-capped Vireos, which have a similarly restricted range. The vireos were a bit more difficult to locate visually, but we eventually got good looks at a courtship display. I also got brief looks at the Tropical Parula from last night. Count it! The birding in general was fantastic, with 52 species, including an intriguing mixture of eastern and western species. In general, we were most interested in the western birds, like Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Bewick’s Wren (whose highly variable songs confused us the entire trip), Lesser Goldfinch, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Rufous-Crowned Sparrow, Scott’s Oriole, etc. But the more familiar eastern birds were still interesting; some had different songs than we’re used to (Yellow-throated Warblers) and others are simply great birds (Painted Buntings) or were super-abundant (Black-and-white Warblers were literally everywhere). Texas is a huge state, located at the middle of the country, so it’s not surprising that it’s such a convergence zone for different species.

Our long hike around Lost Maples involved a nice assortment of other animals, too. Our only non-human mammal sighting was a huge, dark, Rock Squirrel. There were lots of fish in the creeks, including what may have been endemic Guadalupe Bass (not sure). We had a couple unidentified lizards and a possible Texas Cooter (also not sure). The invertebrates were more obliging; of 7 species of butterflies, 4 were lifers for me (Red Satyr, Reakirt’s Blue, Desert Checkered-Skipper, Funereal Duskywing). Of 5 species of odonates, 2 were lifers (Dot-winged Baskettail and Kiowa Dancer).

I really enjoyed our limited time at Lost Maples SNA. The scenery reminded me of the various sky islands in Southeastern Arizona, if a bit less dramatic. I’d like to spend more time there, so it’s a must-visit on a return trip to the area. (The same cannot be said for all the places we visited this trip!)

After about 18 hours in the mountains, we hit the road around noon and headed south to the Rio Grande Valley. It was a long 5-hour drive without many highlights, other than a Swainson’s Hawk and more Scissor-tailed Flycatchers than I ever expected to see in my life. We eventually made it to the border city of Laredo. It’s not a great place. Watching a couple Rock Pigeons copulate on the sidewalk, and eating an obligatory Whataburer, basically summed up Laredo for us.

A short drive later, we made it to San Ygnacio, a small, sleepy town between Laredo and Zapata. We had pre-booked a couple beds at a B&B that purportedly catered to birders. The birding revenue appears to have dried up over the years; we were the only guests at the unstaffed B&B. They seemed to have forgotten about our reservation, and ended up giving us a room with only one bed and a futon. For the rest of the trip, we made same-day reservations at national chain hotels, each of which were cleaner, cheaper, and much more convenient. I wish it wasn’t so, but it is what it is.

The main draw to San Ygnacio wasn’t the B&B, but rather the park and trails along the Rio Grande. The birding was great. This was our first introduction to many of the South Texas specialty species we came so far to see. Let’s start with the lifers. (Note: Mark had already seen some birds I hadn’t, and vice versa, but in general we were both excited to see all the birds I’ll mention). Immediately upon arrival at the park, I got 2 lifers: Green Jay and Long-billed Thrasher. They were in full-on combat mode, mobbing something on the ground. Turns out it was an enormous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (also a lifer), which nearly ate Mark. Other lifers included a flyover Red-billed Pigeon (found essentially nowhere beyond this stretch of river), several Chihuahuan Ravens, and a distant Harris’s Hawk soaring over Mexico. We both added many species to our respective Mexico bird lists. But even better, I added a few more birds to my America list (I’d previously seen these species on a short trip to the Yucatan): Plain Chachalaca, Great Kiskadee, Couch’s Kingbird, and Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Other interesting birds included Inca Dove, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Hooded Oriole, Bullock’s Oriole, and Bronzed Cowbird. We saw most of these species on many more occasions throughout the trip; I probably won’t mention them again.

We relaxed on the riverbank as the sun set. The Rio Grande is not a particularly large river, at least not compared to east coast waterways. Mexico was literally a stone’s throw away. There was border patrol presence on both sides of the river, but the overall vibes were friendly and relaxed.

Come nightfall, the border infrastructure became a boon. Ultra-bright lights attracted swarms of Signate Looper Moths and other insects, which in turn attracted swarms of Lesser Nighthawks—at least 35. After dark, we also heard several Common Pauraques (lifers), one or two of which we flushed from the path as we walked home.

I won’t mention all the other wildlife we saw, but highlights included an American Beaver, a few Desert Cottontails, brief looks at a Blue Spiny Lizard (lifer), a couple nocturnal Texas Tan Tarantulas (lifers), hundreds of Red Harvester Ants (lifers, common along the river), and some Red Saddlebags (the most common dragonfly the area).

Day 3: Santa Margarita Ranch

I barely slept a wink in San Ygnacio, and Day 3 featured our most intense day of birding. It was rough, but rewarding. We spent essentially the entire day at Santa Margarita Ranch, a private landholding on the river, just south of Falcon Lake. You have to pay to play, but it’s worth it. It’s essentially the only location in America to see at least two species of birds (currently). Our guides were world-class, and we were joined by half a dozen other birders (many of whom we ran into later on our trip).

We started around dawn, at the border wall. This is apparently Governor Abbot’s Wall (not Trump’s Wall), and we spent most of our day on the other side (though still in America). The first few hours involved posting up on some impressive bluffs overlooking the river, making good use of both binoculars and spotting scopes.

The birding from the bluffs was incredible—arguably the best general birding of the whole trip. We probably saw more than 70 species in the first couple hours. I saw 5 lifers: Green Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Groove-billed Ani (a pair copulating), Clay-colored Thrush (distant looks), and Audubon’s Oriole. I also added Tropical Kingbird to my America list. We also saw a couple Muscovy Ducks—my first sighting of this species in its natural range; prior sightings in FL were of naturalized birds (i.e., introduced to the area, but breeding naturally for a long period of time). We saw more interesting species at the bluffs than I could reasonably list here; highlights included several Red-billed Pigeons (our last sightings of the trip), a dozens of Swainson’s Hawks migrating northbound, a few Gray Hawks, over a dozen Chihuahuan Ravens, lots of Neotropic Cormorants (which I struggled to distinguish from Double-cresteds), some Cave Swallows, a Cactus Wren (perched on a prickly pear cactus in Mexico), a photogenic Black-throated Sparrow, and a heard-only parula (likely Tropical Parula).

After the bluffs, we drove through a semidesert area, where we stopped to listen to a Scaled Quail and watch an impressive of birds flying overhead, including dozens of hawks, American White Pelicans, and a surprise Wood Stork.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon sitting and hiking around the riparian forest bordering the river. Here we saw Brown Jays! Santa Margarita Ranch is the only reliable place in the nation to see them, so this is a big tourist draw. We saw them sitting on a nest, plus many other intimate and natural behaviors, like eating marshmallows at the bird feeding station. At the feeding station, I got another lifer: Altamira Oriole, plus first-ever looks at an Olive Sparrow, first-ever looks (though fleeting) at a White-tipped Dove, and much better looks at Clay-colored Thrush than I’d managed earlier in the morning.

We made a short hike through the woods. The main highlight, after lots of searching, was a pair of Rose-throated Becards near their nest—a lifer for many, and only the second time I’d seen this species. I also got close looks at a Green Kingfisher.

I managed to see or hear 101 different species of birds during the tour, and our more experienced guides picked up a handful more that I didn’t notice. I think that’s a new single-location high count for me.

We encountered many other animals while at the ranch. Of the 4 species of mammals, 1 was a lifer (Rio Grande Ground Squirrel), and another was noteworthy (Black-tailed Jackrabbit). Herps were less abundant than I’d expected. No lizards or snakes. We saw 2 species of turtles in the river: a Rio Grande Cooter (I think; and if correct, a lifer) and a Texas Spiny Softshell (a new subspecies for me). We also stumbled upon a memorable collection of hundreds of (unidentified) baby toads on the riverbank. Also present in the river were several massive Alligator Gar (lifers). The invertebrates were abundant. Of the 14 species of odonates I observed, 3 were lifers: Black Setwing, Eastern Ringtail, and Sulphur-tipped Clubtail. Similar story for butterflies; of the 7 species observed, 2 were lifers: Lyside Sulfur (they were everywhere; 100+) and Western Giant Swallowtail. We also saw another tarantula on the road during our pre-dawn drive in.

By the time our tour ended mid-afternoon, I was totally gassed, mainly due to the lack of sleep the night before. We checked into a hotel in Zapata, where I napped for a couple hours. Then it was back to Santa Margarita Ranch for a night tour. This, too, did not disappoint. The birding in general was great, and we re-saw many of the same exciting birds as earlier (including the family of Brown Jays). But we weren’t there to bird; we were there to see a bird. Not just a single species, but a single bird: a Mottled Owl, first recorded here in November 2023. I don’t think there are any other verifiable records of this species seen alive in America. It’s a pretty big deal. The first 20 minutes of our search were a bit discouraging. We received no response to our guide’s attempts to draw the bird out; we suspected it was too windy for the owl to hear us. But after some patient waiting, it finally happened! The owl started singing, and eventually came right next to the road to check us out, offering amazing looks and photo opportunities. She followed us along the road for a quarter mile, seemingly curious, maybe lonely. Her comfort with human presence proved advantageous, as she swooped in mere feet away in to grab a large cricket that we kicked up from the road. What an experience!

We encountered various other interesting nocturnal birds at the ranch, including Lesser Nighthawk, Common Pauraque, and Common Poorwill. We got decent looks at the poorwill as it awkwardly flew into our lights on the road; I’d heard but never seen that species before. In addition to birds, we heard a few species of frogs down in the floodplain, all of which were lifers for me: Mexican White-lipped Frog, Western Narrow-mouthed Toad, and an unidentified toad.

On our drive back to the hotel in Zapata, we stopped for a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake on the highway. It was handsome, albeit a lot smaller than the monster in San Ygnacio. What a day!

Day 4: Zapata to McAllen

The first three days had already yielded 167 different species of birds, including the vast majority of our target species. On Day 4, we began the “hotspot hopping” phase of the trip, driving from one location to the next, but not spending much time in any one place.

The morning started off with some good hotel parking lot birding. The Holiday Inn in Zapata was the least scenic area we birded all trip. It’s defining feature was a large bridge and a nice debris pile. We flipped some plywood and other trash, hoping to find a snake or scorpion, but had no luck. The birding, by contrast, was surprisingly productive. More than 500 Cliff Swallows swarmed under the bridge—more than I’d ever seen in one place before. The hotel parking lot itself featured a ridiculous assortment of birds, including Crested Caracaras (chased by Western Kingbirds), Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, a male Painted Bunting, etc.

Next up was a marginally more scenic town park in Zapata. Our goal was to find a pair of Morelet’s Seedeaters. This was essentially our only chance to see this species; they’re apparently more common a bit farther upriver, but we were NOT going back to Laredo! Anyway, at “Bravo Park,” lady luck continued shining, and a singing male seedeater greeted us the second we stepped out of the car. We also got brief glimpses at its mate. This tiny park and adjacent golf course held a nice assortment of South Texas birds; I’ll resist the urge to list them all off. My favorite sighing (other than the seedeaters) was of a Northern Bobwhite right next to the sidewalk. These little quail are much more common in Texas than NC.

As the morning temperatures climbed, our next couple stops involved birding-by-car in arid, semi-desert habitats. First was a short visit to Starr County Park, near the end of Falcon lake. Highlights included decent looks at a Groove-billed Ani (much closer than the day before), 4 Cassin’s Sparrows, a few Vermillion Flycatchers, and dozens of Lark Sparrows.

A short drive down the road took us to Falcon State Park, where we spent a couple hours. Highlights included several cooperative Greater Roadrunners, a Lesser Nighthawk on its nest—really just a gravelly area on the side of the road—an incredibly photogenic Crested Caracara, a couple Pyrrhuloxia, and more Northern Mockingbirds than I’ve ever seen in one place.

Further south was the Salineno Wildlife Preserve. This would’ve been a good site for riverfront birding early in the morning, but it was unbearably hot by mid-day. So, after chatting with a local fisherman, I mainly waited in the car while Mark looked for birds. On our way out of “town,” we stopped at a roadside shack and picked up some amazing tacos. This was our first of three truly exceptional taco meals. 

After an hour more driving, we arrived at our home base for the evening: McAllen (actually a pretty nice town). Our first stop was the National Butterfly Center. It’s a small plot of land, but loaded with great habitat and wildlife. Conditions weren’t ideal (the afternoon was hot and a bit windy), but it was still fairly productive. Upon arrival, we were treated to another Lesser Nighthawk, which seemed to be nesting in a closed-off section of parking lot. A trio of Mexican Ducks (rare this far downriver) flew over, the only ones we saw all trip. We saw an Eastern Screech-Owl sticking its head out of a nest box; this was the first one I’ve ever seen (though I’ve heard a dozen or so). We also saw a Curve-billed Thrasher on a nest (a lifer for Mark) plus an Altamira Oriole on nest. The birdfeeders drew in some interesting birds, including Green Jays, a White-tipped Dove, and an Inca Dove.

No surprise, but the Butterfly Center had lots of butterfly habitat, and I was eager to find some exotic species found nowhere else in America. Alas, apparently spring is just about the worst time of year for butterfly diversity in South Texas. Go figure. Of the 10 species we spotted, zero were lifers for me! Nonetheless, highlights were a bunch of Queens (very common here), a Reakirt’s Blue, a Southern Dogface, and a Fatal Metalmark. There wasn’t much odonate habitat, but a small stream attracted a lifer: a female Carmine Skimmer.

Next, we headed into the McAllen suburbs, made a few laps around the block, and then hung out in a bank parking lot. This was not your typical birding experience. But it’s the best way to see Green Parakeets in America. Around 6 PM, these noisy parrots finally flew in and landed on power lines at the intersection. They apparently return here each evening, though I can’t imagine why. This Central American species is naturalized in the lower Rio Grande Valley (and not many other places in America), so I was happy to count it as my second lifer of the day. We also got great looks at a Rio Grande Ground Squirrel while cruising a neighborhood park.

After checking the parakeet box, we left town and headed to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. The park is huge, and we didn’t have much time to explore (a bike would’ve helped). On a fast-paced walk down to a resaca (seasonally flooded oxbow), we saw a handful of interesting species, including a few Mississippi Kites, a Ringed Kingfisher, several dozen Stilt Sandpipers (surprisingly common throughout the trip), White-faced Ibises, a Roadrunner on its nest, a Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and a bunch of other stuff. We were in a hurry, because we had to get back to the park entrance by sunset to see our final target of the day. After half an hour staring at a 2-inch hole at the top of an electric pole, we finally got good looks at the Elf Owl nesting here. This was my first sighting of this incredibly tiny owl species. Despite the waning light, it was a pretty good experience—much better than my distant heard-only record in Arizona.

8 birding stops made for a full, action-packed day!

Day 5: Lower Rio Grande Valley

Day 5 featured a deeper dive into the Lower Rio Grande Valley, as we visited several iconic locations from McAllen down to the Gulf Coast. This was by far the best day of the trip for herping; snakes and lizards had been unexpectedly uncommon on prior days.

We began before dawn with more of everybody’s favorite activity—driving around suburbs in search of naturalized parrots. Eventually, we heard the raucous cries of our targets: Red-crowned Amazons. There’s a possibility this flock of birds includes descendants of wild birds from northeastern Mexico, but the population here is more likely composed of naturalized escapees. In any case, it was nice to add this species to my America list. A flyover Yellow-crowned Night Heron was the next-best suburban bird.

After that, we visited a small but active colony of Monk Parakeets (another naturalized species) in Hidalgo. This was one of those not-so-ideal situations where we were birding from a car in a neighborhood right next to a busy school. We stayed just long enough to check out the parakeets, along with some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that decided a streetlamp was the ideal perch. A solid 50% of the bird species we observed in the neighborhood were non-native!

Our first “real” birding excursion took us a bit southeast of town, to Santa Ana NWR. What a place! Tons of wetlands, river frontage, a Spanish moss-draped forest, viewing towers above the treeline, etc.

We could’ve spent the entire day there, but we were in a bit of a rush, given our plans to meet up with one of Mark’s friends at our next stop. Our “rushed” visit to this riparian paradise nonetheless featured 54 species of birds over 2 hours, plus lots of other interesting wildlife. Bird highlights included 2 new birds for my America List (Least Grebe and Harris’s Hawk), our first Soras, Common Gallinules, and Mottled Ducks of the trip, and lots of other interesting South Texas birds.

The birds were great, but the herps were the real highlights. We saw not one, but TWO Texas Coralsnakes! We inadvertently scared the first one off, but spent lots of time admiring the second one as it foraged along the riverbank. Other interesting herps included a Rio Grande Leopard Frog (lifer), over a thousand juvenile toads (maybe Giant Toad—if so, lifer), and a Rose-bellied Lizard (lifer).

Next up was Estero Llano Grande SP. We met up with Mark’s friend Huck, an expert birder and part-time resident at the park for many decades. Huck was very generous with his time, expertise, and knowledge of the park. This is another location that exceeded expectations, with a diverse array of wetland habitats. Despite the mid-morning heat (already upper 80s!) and wind, we saw another 55 species of birds. Highlights included the expected South Texas species, a Purple Gallinule, a White-tailed Hawk (lifer), Olive-sided Flycatcher, and lots of shorebirds, including our first American Avocets of the trip. The park featured a nice mix of herps: 3 species of lizards, a Diamondback Watersnake (lifer), a Texas Spiny Softshell turtle, and several American Alligators (apparently a locally re-introduced population). I didn’t spend much time with invertebrates, but I got barely-identifiable looks at a Spot-tailed Dasher (lifer dragonfly), plus dozens of Great Pondhawks, a Band-winged Dragonlet, and a few other species.

After an amazing lunch at Nana’s Tacos (our second of three excellent taco meals), we drove northeast to a random manmade pond next to a cane sugar processing plant and an endless sea of sugar fields. It was hot and brutally windy, but the birding was fantastic. The highlight was a flock of 75 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, a few Gull-billed Terns, at least 100 Dickcissels, and hundreds of other ducks and shorebirds. I’ve never seen so many Stilt Sandpipers (430+), Long-billed Dowitchers (300+), or Buff-breasted Sandpipers (75) in my life.

We checked into our motel in Los Fresnos mid-afternoon. It wasn’t the nicest place on the planet, but it was cheap, convenient located, and had a gloriously refreshing pool—just what I needed to cool off my chigger bites.

We squeezed a few more birding adventures into the late afternoon and early evening. First was a random pulloff on State Road 100, where we spent some time hoping to see an Aplomado Falcon. No luck with the target bird, but we did see a good mix of other species, including a couple dozen Long-billed Curlews, a white morph Reddish Egret, and another White-tailed Hawk. We left 15 minutes before some other folks apparently saw a falcon there… That’s how it goes.

We then headed over to Lagun Atascosa NWR, a famous birding destination that unfortunately did not live up to the hype. It might have been better if we had bikes; the so-called “wildlife drive” is closed to vehicular traffic, so we didn’t spend much time there. Although the birding was a bust, the herping made up for it. We saw 2 lifer snakes on the road: Texas Indigo Snake and Bullsnake (a subspecies of Gopher Snake).

On the way back to the hotel, we made a second stop at the falcon pulloff, which was again unsuccessful, and almost unbearably windy. Consolation birds included an enormous flock of nearly 100 Long-billed Curlews, some Roseate Spoonbills, a late Northern Harrier, and lots of other stuff flying and foraging around the grassy wetlands.

We closed out the evening with local food in Los Fresnos—excellent taco meal #3 of the trip.

Day 6: Going Coastal: South Padre and Boca Chica

The dawn chorus at our cheap roadside motel featured a Common Nighthawk and a Tropical Kingbird—not too shabby. The rest of the day was mostly coastal. But before we got to the Gulf, we had to make one more try for the falcon at the famous roadside pulloff. We struck out a third time, but nonetheless had a nice collection of other birds, including our first Whimbrels of the trip.

Next up was the famed South Padre Island. It was nice, but perhaps not as remarkable as birding lore might suggest. We were hoping for lots of migrant warblers. It was the exact right time of year, but it turned out to be an unusually weak season for migrants up and down the Texas coast (according to all the local birders we talked to). We made five stops on the island throughout the morning: an undeveloped lot (maintained for wildlife habitat), the Convention Center (which features a nice boardwalk, plus some warbler habitat), a driveable sandflat just north of the Convention Center, a stretch of Gulf-front beach, and a mudflat near the KOA campground. Across these stops, added 16 more species to our trip list, including a handful of migrant warblers and a bunch of coastal birds. I won’t list them all; the best bird was probably a Piping Plover.

The nonavian highlight was a Four-lined Skink (lifer). The Gulf-beach wasn’t anything to write home about, but the recent East winds had washed up a handful of Portuguese Man-o-War jellies.

After our morning at South Padre, we went on an afternoon road trip around the Brownsville ship channel and Boca Chica Beach (now the home to Space-X Starbase). This part of the trip was interesting—a juxtaposition of large-scale industrial activity with wetlands and coastal prairies. A couple roadside stops yielded many more waders, shorebirds, and larids, including 4 more birds for our trip list. I’d say the best species were American Oystercatcher and Wilson’s Plover.

Starbase was hard to describe. A couple miles out, there’s a pulloff with a large tractor, lots of rubble, a 10-foot tall bust of Elon Musk, and two similarly large paintings of him and his dog (?). Then you get to the base itself, which you can drive right through. There was a rocket or two, along with some other impressive vertical infrastructure, but it was mainly an enormous construction zone. Between the time of our visit and the time of this (much-delayed) blog post, Starbase was incorporated as its own city. Not sure I’d want to live there, but maybe that’s just me. The road ends at the last beach before Mexico: Boca Chica beach. The pavement literally dead-ends into a narrow strip of dunes, debris, and sand; it was the least scenic beach I’ve ever visited. We didn’t stay long.

On our way out of Starbase, we spent a couple hours exploring nearby dirt roads (mainly Palmito Hill Rd.), hoping to find an Aplomado Falcon. Although we again struck out on the falcon, the midday birding by car was better than expected. We saw a good mix of wetland and prairie species, including Harris’s Hawk, Chihuahuan Raven, Gull-billed Tern, Whimbrel, Solitary Sandpiper, Lark Sparrow, and Cassin’s Sparrow. We also got brief looks at a Texas Spiny Lizard, another lifer.

Late afternoon took us to the last of the must-visit South Texas hotspots: the Sabal Palm Sanctuary near Brownsville. This place is awesome. It’s the last remaining sabal palm forest in Texas, and it’s as lush and primordial as it sounds. It was forest #1 of the trip, edging out Santa Ana NWR. It’s loaded with wildlife, too. We saw basically all the South Texas bird specialists, a mixed flock of warblers, and some wetland birds. We also saw more lizards than anywhere else; most were Common Spotted Whiptails, plus a few anoles. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Speckled Racers (this snake is found nowhere else in America, and is a key draw to the park). Among several odonate species was a female damselfly that may have been a Golden-winged Dancer; it also may have been the much more common Blue-ringed Dancer.

The wildlife viewing was nice, but more of a tease than a fulfilling experience. We arrived at 4:12 PM, only to find that the park closes its gates at 5 PM. We couldn’t cover much ground, and we were rushed and stressed the whole time. Here’s the real kicker: Despite making it back to the gate before 5, it was already closed and locked! We were effectively trapped on the Mexico side of the border wall! We had a chat with some friendly Border Patrol agents, but they couldn’t help us, since the gate itself was privately owned. Eventually, a golf cart came up from the sanctuary and liberated us.

Things got worse before they got better. On our way back through Los Fresnos, I got a speeding ticket—my first ever. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people pulled over as I did during this week in Texas.

Eventually, things turned around. We made a fourth and final stop at the falcon pulloff. Fourth time’s the charm, as they say. After a half hour of waiting, I yell: “IT’S DROPPING!” The strikingly handsome falcon stooped out of a large communication tower, flew around for a bit, perched on a distant power pole, and finally perched on an even more distant nest box. This species was extirpated from the United States before being reintroduced several decades ago As our experience shows, this was one of the rarest birds of the trip—hard to see even on a known breeding territory). This was my only bird lifer for the day, but it was well worth it!

Surprisingly, we saw more species of birds this day than any other: 108! The Texas coast turned out to be more biodiverse than I realized. After another long day well spent, we made a late drive north to a roadside hotel in Raymondville, which positioned us well for our next day.

Day 7: King Ranch & Victoria

The first six days of nonstop driving and birding, combined with a bit of sleep deprivation, left me exhausted. We weren’t sure whether we’d be able to realistically squeeze in our last full day’s activity: a tour of King Ranch. But we did, and it was worth it. Similar to Santa Margarita Ranch (Day 3), this was another private property, guided tour, pay-to-play birding experience. And again, it’s pretty much the only—or at least the easiest—way to see one species found almost nowhere else in America.

If King Ranch sounds familiar to you, you’ve probably seen hundreds of F-150s with this ranch’s branding. At 825,000 acres (across 4 divisions, not all connected), it’s a contender for the largest private ranch in America (depending on how you measure such things). We were focused on the Norias Division, in between the Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi.

The tour was a relaxed affair. We joined an excellent local guide and half-dozen other birders in a van, with occasionally stops to stretch our legs and look at interesting species or habitats. This isn’t the way I typically prefer to bird, but it turned out perfect given our (low) energy levels at the end of the trip. Our guide got everyone great looks at all our target birds, with minimal effort.

We managed 75 species over 7 hours and about 20 miles. The highlight was a single bird (and our primary motivation for visiting the ranch). We spent the better part of an hour hanging out with an absolutely adorable 6-inch-tall Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. It was hanging out in the branches of oak trees, near its nest hole and mate (who stayed hidden from view). There are probably several breeding pairs on the ranch, and at least a couple pairs in surrounding areas with suitable oak groves, but this is pretty much the only dependable way to see one in the States. This was my only lifer for the day, and my final bird lifer of the trip.

Other key target birds at the ranch were similarly easy to find. We got excellent looks at Northern Beardless-Tyrannulets (multiple locations, including one on a nest) and a Tropical Parula. This was a good spot for scrubby grassland sparrows; we had Botteri’s, Cassin’s, and Grasshoppers. Raptors were abundant, including close looks at a group of Harris’s Hawks, plus many White-tailed Hawks throughout the day. A few wetlands and nearby fields held a decent assortment of ducks and shorebirds; the highlight was a flock of 18 Buff-breasted Sandpipers. We also got better looks at Cave Swallows here than most other locations during the trip. There were lots of other species, but I won’t mention them. We didn’t see too many nonavian animals on the tour, other than White-tailed Deer.

After King Ranch, we continued our journey north, inching our way back towards home. We stopped in Victoria for some low-key birding at a town park on the Guadalupe River. Without much effort, we easily racked up 50 species, including a good number of migrants and a few other east-coast species. We ended up adding 8 species to our trip list at this location alone, bringing us to a whopping 241 species. The highlight was an impressive number of Mississippi Kites—at least 9, but possibly many more. We also saw (and Mark photographed) a Cagle’s Map Turtle, a turtle found essentially nowhere else on earth, and our last lifer of the trip.

We then drove some more, eventually reaching our lodgings in El Campo, between Corpus and Houston.

Day 8: Attwater to Austin

Our flight wasn’t scheduled to depart until 6PM, so our final day of the trip featured another full day of adventure. Our first stop was Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR, so named for one of the last remaining populations of the Attwater subspecies of Greater Prairie-Chicken. Although we arrived before dawn and covered a lot of territory, we did not see any chickens. This was disappointing, but expected; we knew from the start it would be a longshot. It was still worth the trip. The native prairie habitat was idyllic, with wildflowers and grasses as far as the eye could see.

I’ve never seen so many Dickcissels in my life. There were hundreds present, with males singing their little hearts out, and even a pair or two breeding right in front of us. It was also a haven for Northern Bobwhites. The best bird of the park was a Purple Gallinule on a small wetland. 

We angled back west towards Austin, making a couple last-minute stops en route to the airport. At this point of the trip, we’d already seen all the truly interesting birds. So, our motivation shifted to adding new birds to our trip list. Going into the trip, we were hoping to see maybe 200 different species. We surpassed that on Day 5, so we kept adjusting our target. By the end of the trip, we were basically searching for unremarkable birds that are common on the east coast. This mixture of obsession, delirium, and boredom ended up dictating the final locations we visited: “Dude, we gotta check out this neighborhood in Bastrop; we might get Pine Warbler.” We did hear a Pine Warbler in Bastrop, but not much else. A short hike along the (poorly named) Colorado River in Bastrop was scenic, but relatively unproductive.

More notable was lunch, at Billy’s Pit BBQ. It felt like a locals-only joint, and it served damn good brisket—our only brisket of the trip. Three taquerias and one barbeque joint—that pretty much sums up the culinary highlights of the trip.

At this point, we were less than an hour from Austin, so we moseyed back towards the airport. We had time to kill, so we ended the trip where we started: the Hornsby bend WWT ponds. The birding was just as good as before, with an incredible array of shorebirds and ducks. We had a few new highlights, including White-rumped Sandpipers, a Western Sandpiper, a Black-bellied plover, a Least Grebe, and some Monk Parakeets. 

That was it for our outdoor adventures. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Austin airport. Our flight was delayed, and then delayed some more. We got home a bit after midnight. All in all, a good long trip.

Summary by the Numbers

We covered 2300+ miles (round trip) by airplane. Texas isn’t close to NC, but at least the flights are direct. Once in the great state, our ambitious loop took us from the capitol, to the hill country, to the Rio Grande Valley, to the Gulf, and back up. We (mainly I) drove a whopping 1455 miles over 8 days. That’s an average of 180 miles (3-4 hours) each day. A small proportion of that was enjoyable birding-by-car. We spent more time birding afoot; we walked or hiked 35 miles, an average of 4.7 miles each day.  

So what did all that effort yield? In addition to a lot of great memories, interesting scenery, and a not-insignificant amount of fatigue, it yielded biodiversity.

We saw more birds than anything else. Go figure. But this is the reason people like birds. I don’t necessarily hold birds above other animal groups; I end up “birding” more than “mammaling,” “herping,” “oding,” or “lepping” simply because birds are more abundant and easily observed than most other animals. On this one-week trip, we saw an astounding 246* different species of birds. On our most productive day (day 6), we saw 108 different species; we had 4 days with over 100 species, and our average daily species list was 94. I got 23 lifers during the trip; these were front-loaded, but the only day I didn’t see a new lifer was our last and final day. I also added 9 additional (so, 32) species to my America list; I’d previously seen these species in Mexico or Puerto Rico. Speaking of Mexico, during our limited time on the border, we recorded 68 different species flying or perching in Mexico. In addition to lifers, I had a few other species “upgrades,” some harder to describe than others. I saw a native-ranging Muscovy Duck for the first time; prior sightings were of naturalized birds. I saw naturalized Red-crowned Amazons for the first time; a prior sighting was of more recently introduced birds. I also upgraded 4 species from heard-only to seen: Chuck-will’s-widow, Common Poorwill, Eastern Screech-Owl, and Elf Owl.

*numbers are based on species definitions at the time of the trip. Not long after, two species got “lumped” together, so Black-crested Titmouse and the common eastern species Tufted Titmouse are, once again, considered just a single species. This means we actually only saw 245 species of birds, and I only got 22 lifers and 31 new birds for my USA list.

This might not be a coincidence (in terms of my favoritism), but odonata was the second most biodiverse order of animals present in Texas. I saw 25 species of odes, including 6 lifer dragonflies and 1 or 2 lifer damselflies.

Butterflies took third place, with 20 species, including 6 lifers. This is actually a pretty weak number. I’d like to return in the fall or winter, when butterfly diversity is higher, and spend more time looking for the large number of rare South Texas specialists.

The next most abundant group of animals—lower in number, but high in excitement—was the reptiles. I saw 17 species reptiles, including about 13 lifers. This included: 5 snakes, all lifers (Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Texas Coralsnake, Diamondback Watersnake, Texas Indigo Snake, Bullsnake); 7 identified lizards, with 5 lifers (Common Spotted Whiptail, Blue Spiny Lizard, Rose-bellied Lizard, Four-lined Skink, Texas Spiny Lizard); 4 turtles, with 3 likely lifers (Texas Cooter (I think), Rio Grande Cooter (I think), Cagle’s Map Turtle) and 2 new subspecies (Guadalupe and Texas Spiny Softshell); and 1 alligator (historically indigenous, but more directly a result of reintroductions).

Mammals were next, with 9 species, including 1 lifer (Rio Grande Ground Squirrel) and 2 new subspecies (of Rock Squirrel and Fox Squirrel).

Last but not least (other than the various groups of animals I haven’t even tallied up), we have amphibians. We encountered 6-8 species—all lifers for me. Several were heard-only, in typical frog fashion.

Final notes—basically notes to self for the next time I return to Texas. Next trip, I hope to go to Big Bend (and might even be able to convince my wife to join). We had considered that for this trip, but realized that would be way too much to tackle in one week. As far as South Texas goes, we saw most everything there is to see. But if and when I return, here’s how I’d prioritize my time: Must-revisit locations include Santa Ana NWR and the Sabal Palm Sanctuary. I’d also like spend some more time in Hill Country. Second tier locations I’d like to revisit include Hornsby Bend (might as well, if flying into Austin), the National Butterfly Center (for butterflies), and probably Bentsen RGV and Estero Llano Grande State Parks. I’m not sure I’d make the effort to hit South Padre again, but perhaps I’d give Laguna Atascosa a second try if I had a bike. That’s pretty much it.

	4/24	4/25	4/26	4/27	4/28	4/29	4/30	5/1
	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8	TOT
Species	88	88	105	85	103	108	104	79
New Trip Birds	88	35	45	13	22	25	13	5	246
New US Birds	5	10	9	2	4	1	1	0	32
New Lifers	5	7	6	2	1	1	1	0	23