 Rio Grande Valley 2007
 April 27 - May 6, 2007
Ann Johnson and Jim Bangma, Leaders
April
27: Participants should plan to arrive at the Corpus Christi
airport between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. After a short birding foray
to an area near our motel, we will have dinner as well as our first
group meeting. Night in Corpus Christi - Best Western Garden Inn.
April 28: We begin the day birding Port Aransas and
Mustang Island looking for migrating shorebirds. Piping Plovers may be found on the beaches
and Roseate Spoonbills are often found in the shallow waters. White-tailed
Hawk is frequently seen on the coastal plain.
As we bird our way to Kingsville, we will
make a few stops along the Laguna Madre for salt flat species such as
Long-billed Curlew and Wilson’s Plover and be on the lookout
for Harris' Hawk. After an early dinner we make our first try at some south Texas
nocturnal species. Night in Kingsville - Best Western Kingsville Inn.
April 29: We leave Kingsville before daybreak
for an early arrival at El Canelo Ranch. Although our target is Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, this working South Texas
ranch will give us our first introduction to some of the other specialties like
Great Kiskadee and Green Jay. After an
afternoon of birding at Laguna Atascosa NWR, where we should find Reddish Egret
and hopefully Botteri's Sparrow, we head for the most famous parrot location in the country
as Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets come in to roost. Night in
Brownsville - Best Western Rosegarden.
 April 30: We begin the day by birding the Brownsville area. We will attempt to find a current
location of Tropical Kingbird, a rarity in the Valley. Always a must is a visit to National
Audubon’s Sabal Palm Sanctuary, hoping for glimpses of the loud but secretive
Plain Chachalaca. Leaving Sabal Palm we will wander the Port Isabel area
looking for the reintroduced population of Aplomado Falcon and other goodies.
We work our way slowly west across the valley for the night with birding
stops along the way. Night in
McAllen - Best Western Rosegarden.
May 1: We will spend the morning at Santa Ana, the �gem of the
National Wildlife Refuge system�. Green Kingfishers and Least Grebes may be
among the birds feeding in the lakes of Santa Ana. Later in the afternoon we
head to the World Birding Center's Bentsen State Park. Frequently there
are rarities in the park and we�ll make a special effort for these birds if they
are present. For the next four days we will take siestas (or do laundry) to avoid the
noonday heat and return to the field in the late afternoon, possibly staying
out past sunset for nocturnal birds like Paraque, Elf Owl and other critters. Night in McAllen
- Best Western Rosegarden.
May 2: Today we explore Anzalduas County Park for possible nesting
Gray Hawk, Clay-colored Robin, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet and other
specialties. For a change of habitat we will visit the Weslaco Audubon
Center where a couple of years ago several vagrants spent the winter. This
has been the most consistent place for Blue Mockingbird the last few years so
maybe with some luck...
Night in McAllen - Best Western Rosegarden.
May 3: An early morning start to reach Salineno
before dawn. This is our best chance
for a number of elusive valley specialties such as Red-billed Pigeon and
Muscovy Duck. The Salineno and Chapeno
areas sometimes have Brown Jays and Audubon’s Orioles and we will spend some
time looking for these Mexican prizes. Night in Roma - Roma Inn.
 May 4: Today we spend a bit more time along the river at Chapeno and
then head for the Falcon Dam
area. The habitat here is higher and drier and you will begin to feel the
flavor of West Texas. Vermilion
Flycatchers, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, Ringed Kingfishers, Painted Buntings
and Cassin’s and Black-throated Sparrows should fill our time. Night in Zapata
- Best Western Inn by the Lake.
May 5: Today we’ll search for the White-collared Seedeaters
that are occasionally found in Zapata or San Ignacio. After that, we�ll make a
leisurely drive back to Corpus Christi doing some scrubland birding along the
way. Night in Corpus Christi - Best Western Garden Inn.
May 6: The
trip concludes this morning for flights home.
Price: $1100 with $293 single supplement.
Minimum participants: 8. Maximum participants: 14. Cost includes ground transportation from Corpus Christi and
return, lodging, miscellaneous fees such as park entry, and guide
service. Tour participants will be responsible for their own
meals unless included in the itinerary. Pick-up service will
be available from the Corpus Christi airport where people driving to
Corpus may use the long-term parking during the tour.
All photos © Jim Bangma
|