The Rio Grande Valley is one of the nation’s best birding spots due to its location at the southern tip of Texas. Many tropical species reach their northernmost range in the Rio Grande Valley and there is always the opportunity for a rare visitor to appear. The Valley encompasses the coastal areas of the Gulf of America west to the subtropical woodlands of the mid valley and further west to the arid Tamaulipan thorn scrub near Falcon Lake. These varied habitats provide an opportunity to compile an extraordinary daily list of species.

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Starting in the western end of the Valley, we visit Salineno, Falcon State Park and a few other local sites along the Rio Grande River in search of Muscovy Duck, Audubon’s Oriole, Red-billed Pigeon, Ringed Kingfisher as well as several desert birds such as Cactus Wren, Scaled Quail, Black-throated Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Greater Roadrunner and others.  Continuing towards the mid Valley, we stop at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Anzalduas County Park and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. These sites are widely known for seeing such species as Hook-billed Kite, Green Jay, Altamira Oriole, Gray Hawk, White-tipped Dove, Plain Chachalaca and Buff-bellied Hummingbird.

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Continuing east towards the coast, we stop in Harlingen to see Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets going to their daily roosts. Heading towards South Padre Island and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, we will have a chance to see Aplomado Falcon, Cassin’s and Botteri’s Sparrows, and several species of wading birds and shorebirds. If we are in the area during spring migration and the weather conditions are favorable, we may experience a fallout and several of the wooded lots on South Padre Island will be full of orioles, buntings, warblers, vireos and thrushes.

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Best times to visit and what to expect:

Mid April through Mid May during spring migration- Neotropical migrants

November through March - Wintering waterfowl and passerines 

Some of the resident species found year-round include Muscovy Duck, Altamira Oriole, Green Jay, Hook-billed Kite, Plain Chachalaca, and Common Pauraque among others.