Birding the Río Grande Valley
Texas Roadtrip, Part 3: Our travels continued with visits to three birding hotspots
near McAllen, Texas, just north of the Río Grande and the Mexican border.
Where do the real birders go?
Before our trip, we called up Craig’s cousin Ron, birder extraordinaire, to ask for his suggestions as to where we should go for the best birding in Texas. He mentioned a few places that he remembered from his graduate school days and then suggested that we Google “Texas birding hotspots.” So, of course, we did.
We found a lot of useful information, but one site, “Birding Locations,” was particularly helpful (link below). It’s an amazing resource put together by a young wildlife biologist, Colton, who created an interactive map of Texas birding hotspots. When you click on any hotspot, you’ll find detailed information about how things work there and how to make the most of your time. We just wish we had discovered this site before going to Big Bend — it might have gotten us up earlier!
In the McAllen Area, Colton had three recommendations, and we followed them west to east, continuing the trajectory of our trip. The first stop was Bentsen – Río Grande Valley State Park. On the second day, we visited Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and the third day we checked out Estero Llano Grande State Park. I’m happy to report that we reformed our ways and managed to get out to each site around sunrise — which, since the spring-forward time change, is not until about 7:45 a.m.
Day 1: Birds at Bentsen
Our visit to Bentsen – Río Grande Valley State Park was the most exciting, because it was our first time birding in this part of the world, so almost everything was new to us. We counted twenty-six species that first day and I, of course, took lots of pictures.
We started out at the feeders near the entrance, along with all the other early birders, where we hung out for perhaps half an hour, watching the different birds come and go. Then we slowly wandered around the park, stopping for a while at a bird blind that overlooked another set of feeders. These two sites were the best for photography, I found, and most of these photos were taken at one of them.
The first birds to arrive at the first feeder were a flock of plain chachalacas, who scrabbled for seeds on the ground and played king-of-the-mountain on the hanging suet feeder. In their shape and movements, they reminded me of nothing so much as some of the smaller dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
In Bentsen, the red-wings were present in large, active, noisy groups. They would descend en masse into a tree and start up a raucous chorus, which might go on for several minutes. Then, as if in response to a signal, they would all suddenly fall silent and take to the air… only to settle again somewhere else and start up a new song.
Here’s a sample of their song (turn the volume up to get the full effect):
Another noisy and ubiquitous bird — not just in the parks but everywhere in urban areas — is the great-tailed grackle. Grackles are a bit comical with their extravagantly long tails, and the males put on quite a show this time of year. I took these photos of a bird I encountered in the parking lot as we were leaving Bentsen, but he was far from unusual: we see these guys cutting up wherever we go.
I especially get a kick out of their varied calls: they squeak, they whistle, they chirp; they make sounds like crumpling plastic or car alarms… it’s a true cacophony when grackles gather:
After leaving Bentsen, we made a short stop at the National Butterfly Center, right next door. They also have a bird-feeding station, so we braved the heat to see who might visit. We saw no new birds, but I got these shots of a grackle gorging on an orange.
Day 2: A quiet morning at Santa Ana
The next day we were again up early and off to catch the morning guided walk at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Only three of us joined the guides, Sue and John, on this quiet morning. We saw few birds and only one that we hadn’t already seen at Bentsen. As I mentioned, a big thrill of birding for me is encountering “new” birds, so this experience was a bit of a letdown.
The one new discovery was a little least grebe, in the northernmost reaches of his range.
We saw another least grebe at Estero Llano Grande (see below). Those bright yellow eyes are unmistakable!
We saw both hooded and altamira orioles. The two are difficult to tell apart, but if you can see their wings, you can recognize the hooded oriole by the white bar on its wing; on an altamira oriole this bar is orange. From the front, though, they look pretty much identical — so your guess is as good as mine!
Day 3: Not to be missed!
Despite our chagrin at seeing so few birds at Santa Ana, we decided that we simply had to push on and check out Estero Llano Grande State Park, because hotspot guide Colton was so enthusiastic about it. Excellent decision! And our timing was perfect, it transpired, because we were able to catch the weekly bird walk-and-talk led by Ranger Tom, who was terrific — full of knowledge and energy and bad puns.
There are lots of ponds on the park grounds, so waterbirds were in abundance. Below, a white-faced ibis (right) wades near a snowy egret (rear), an American coot (center), and a few gadwalls (left).
We finished the walk with a tally of our collective sightings. Craig and I made our final count to be sixty-five species for the day (I’ll spare you the list!) — though many of these birds were seen only by someone else in the group and not by us. Not sure those really count… Anyway, we saw lots of birds!
Why do I take all these bird pictures?
A typical day on this trip ends with me sitting at my computer in a hotel room, downloading and reviewing the day’s photos. Then it’s a matter of sorting, culling, labeling and, eventually, editing some of them. And writing a blog post about them. Truth be told, it’s a lot of work! So why do I bother? These are some of the reasons:
- First is the sheer pleasure of seeing how my photos come out. When I’m in the field, I occasionally check the pictures in the camera, but it’s not till I see them on the computer screen that I get a clear sense of how bad or good they are. It’s like Christmas when I find a shot that came out particularly well. (Of course, this is true for any sort of photograph, not just bird pictures.) I can’t help but be grateful that digital technology provides this relatively instant gratification. I remember all too well the agony of waiting to have pictures developed, only to discover that most of them are out of focus!
- Taking pictures helps me pay closer attention and really look at the details of the birds. I try to find a balance between my documentary instinct (take more pictures now!) and being present and attentive to what I’m experiencing in the moment.
- In some cases, a photograph simply serves the practical purpose of confirming an identification. Even a slightly-out-of-focus picture can help you identify a bird.
- In working with my photographs, I see the birds a second time — which helps me remember the birds we encounter, so that I’m more likely to recognize them in the future. I like to think this process is making me a better birder.
- There’s also the challenge of learning more about photography and becoming more adept with my camera. Birds aren’t easy to photograph: in the main, they’re little and wiggly and won’t sit still long enough to have their pictures taken — at least, not by me! I fail much more often than I succeed, but the successes keep me going (intermittent reinforcement — thanks, B.F. Skinner!). I like to think that taking pictures of birds is also making me a better photographer.
- Looking back over my photos with Craig is a wonderful way for us to remember and relive these moments — again, this is not true of bird pictures alone.
- It’s also fun to share my photographs of birds with other family and friends: it’s a way of helping them understand a little of our bird-nerdiness. And these days you don’t even have to sit through the agony of an endless slideshow but can just scroll quickly through! Honestly, I’ll be surprised if people actually read what I write here — I figure most are just here for the pictures. And if you are reading this, then bless you!
- Finally, I love the challenge of creating a satisfying image out of an unpromising original shot.
Photoshop magic
I’m endlessly grateful for the miracles that can be wrought with the deft use of Photoshop, and I thought you might be interested in seeing the before and after version of one of my pictures. Of course, my camera does a great job of capturing lots of detail, even in low light — which is huge. (RAW rules!) But I’m always amazed to see how some simple edits can brighten and transform a photograph, revealing detail that I couldn’t see in the moment, even with binoculars. Thanks to our friend Jim for some excellent Photoshop tips — and hooray for technology!
As I spend hours and days looking at and photographing birds, I find myself thinking of my dear friend Marian Shaffner, who passed away in 2015 and who also loved to take pictures of birds. Here’s to the lovely, joyful person you were, Marian, and to the delight in birds that you shared with me and with others. Your memory is a blessing.
Connections
- Birding Locations: Your Guide to Texas Birding — This is an amazing resource put together by a young wildlife biologist who wanted to help people figure out where to go to see birds. Check out his map of Texas Hotspots, then click on any one to get details information about how things work and where to go. Awesome site!
- Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
- National Butterfly Center
- Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
- Estero Llano Grande State Park
5 thoughts on “Birding the Río Grande Valley”
Loved it as usual…. I have been trying to find the information about your Photography machine but have been unsuccessful. I know you once wrote it in one of your posts. Would you please, when you have time, re send it? Thanks so much. I love the variety of birds, it is wonderful to look at…. and I read it all!! hahaha
Beautiful captures and I am so envious of your latest adventure. Jenny, I read every word you write because it transports me to the time and place. Great times and memories!
Jenny,
i’m just so amazed at how clearly focused your birds and beasts appear. I’m viewing your artistry on my big computer screen now where I will view all your efforts from now on.
Do you begin your search via a binoculars and then quickly switch to your camera? I’m thinking that would be quite a juggling act. I guess I just gave myself away as non-birder. All I can say is thank you for sharing your photographic magic and the beautiful variety of birdies.
Jenny,
Excellent article even if I’m bias as I am from from Our great Rio Grande Valley.
Really enjoyed article felt as if one is there as well. Particularly enjoyed sounds incorporated in to the piece.
Not a birder per se but who does not appreciate our the beauty in nature.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Thank you for taking the time to write, Jaime! I especially appreciate your comments, since you know the Rio Grande Valley well. We just loved our time down there and hope to go back one day.
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