Texas - Spring Migration
Saturday 18th April to Saturday 2nd May 2009
AA9032
One
of our longest-running birding destinations, Texas continues to delight and
amaze us with its variety and sheer numbers of birds. Along the coast – at
High Island, Bolivar Flats and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge - wetlands
are alive with ibises, herons and wildfowl, with vast flocks of pelicans,
waders, gulls and terns massed on the mudflats and beaches. Coastal
woodlands attract migrating warblers, vireos, waxwings, flycatchers, orioles
and buntings; and in Brazos Bend State Park, alligators lurk alongside
American Bittern, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron. The Rio Grande Valley should yield some colourful neotropical
birds like Green Jay and Altamira Oriole, and we may also add some desert
species such as Greater Roadrunner, Pyrrhuloxia and Cactus Wren. If you‘ve
not been to Texas yet, or if you want to refresh your memory, come with us
and see why we keep going back!Day 1: Scheduled flight from London to Houston, Texas. We then drive the short distance to Conroe. There may be time for a little pre-dinner birding in W G Jones State Forest, where Blue Jay, Brown Thrasher, Pine Warbler, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal and Red-eyed Vireo are among the possibilities.
Overnight – Conroe
Days 2 & 3: The morning of Day 2 will be spent in W G Jones State Forest, which is excellent for woodpeckers, particularly Red-cockaded, Red-headed, Pileated & Red-bellied. The wealth of other bird species includes Eastern Bluebird, Northern Cardinal and Brown-headed Nuthatch. We then drive to Rockport on the Central Texas coast, where on Day 3 we will focus on the excellent coastal and wetland species and also raptors. At Connie Hagar Reserve, ducks should include Redheads and Buffleheads along with Roseate Spoonbills and a number of heron species. We will take a boat trip to Aransas NWR to experience the wealth of birdlife, visiting in particular a number of heron rookeries and shingle islands for breeding terns and Black Skimmers. Even in mid-April it is still possible to encounter here a few lingering rare and endangered Whooping Cranes. Other bird species we may see include: Common Loon, Eared Grebe, Reddish & Great Egrets, Tricoloured & Little Blue Herons, White Ibis, Blue-winged Teal, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Caspian & Forster’s Terns, Bonaparte’s & Franklin’s Gulls and Belted Kingfisher.
Overnights- Rockport
Day 4: We drive to the Lower Rio Grande Valley visiting Aransas Bird Centre en route. This is a superb reserve, with a boardwalk through marshland and reedbeds. Birdlife is abundant, with a wide range of species present including Least Grebe, Roseate Spoonbill, Green Heron, Least Bittern, White-faced Ibis, Sora, Black-bellied & Fulvous Whistling-Ducks, Cinnamon, Green-winged & Blue-winged Teals, American Wigeon, American Avocet and Marsh Wren.
Overnight - McAllen
Days 5 - 8: During this period we visit several excellent reserves on the Rio Grande: Santa Ana NWR, Sable Palm Sanctuary, Anzalduas County Park and Bentsen State Park all offer great birding. Here we shall look for Plain Chachalaca, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Green & Ringed Kingfishers, Cave Swallow, Curve-billed Thrasher, Great Kiskadee, Altamira & Hooded Orioles, Tropical Parula, Green Jay and Olive Sparrow. Southwest of these reserves are two more wonderful sites – Laguna Atascosa NWR and South Padre Island. Laguna Atascosa supports a wealth of wetland species and also Aplomado Falcon and Groove-billed Ani, while South Padre is noted for several species of rails that occur there. We may also travel further north along the Rio Grande, perhaps as far as Salineno & Falcon Dam, which will give us the chance to see desert species – Greater Roadrunner, Cactus Wren, Verdin, Pyrrhuloxia and Black-throated Sparrow and in riverside scrub, perhaps the elusive Audubon’s Oriole and Brown Jay. Overnights – McAllen
Day 9: After breakfast we drive to Rosenberg with stops for birdwatching en route.
Overnight – Rosenberg
Days 10- 13: On Day 10 we’ll visit Brazos Bend State Park, where the host of species includes Anhinga, American Bittern, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Prothonotary Warbler and Swamp Sparrow. We then head for High Island - our base for the next four days, where we shall be within easy reach of the full range of eastern Texas habitats. The birdwatching ‘Mecca’ of High Island is a haven for migrants in inclement weather, offering some exciting birdwatching when a ‘fall’ occurs; possible species include Cerulean, Blackburnian, Hooded, Kentucky & Worm-eating Warblers, Red-eyed & Yellow-throated Vireos, Wood & Swainson’s Thrushes, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Scarlet Tanager and Blue Grosbeak. Marshes at Anahuac NWR hold a wealth of wetland birds, including Tricoloured, Great & Little Blue Herons, Least Bittern, Purple Gallinule, Roseate Spoonbill, King Rail, Blue-winged Teal and Seaside Sparrow. Tidal mud and sand at Bolivar Flats attract masses of gulls, terns and waders: Reddish Egret, American Avocet, Piping & Wilson’s Plovers, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Black Skimmer, Western Sandpiper, Royal & Forster’s Terns. Seaside and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows can be found in the adjacent vegetation.
Overnights – High Island
Days 14 & 15: After a morning spell at Audubon Woods, we drive to Houston for the afternoon flight back to the UK, arriving on the morning of Day 15.