BIRDING TRIP REPORT

Rio Grande Valley, Texas

January 21 - 25, 2025

The Rio Grande Valley is widely considered one of the best birding areas in the United States. It contains a diverse range of habitats ranging from thorn scrub and wetlands at Estero Llano Grande State Park to the coastline of South Padre Island. The big draw is the substantial number of species that may be widespread throughout Mexico and Central America, but whose northern range extends just over the border. Take a look at the range maps for the Plain Chachalacha, Ringed Kingfisher, or Altamira Oriole - they barely cover the southern tip of Texas and nowhere else in the United States.

I had a week gap in my work shifts, so I decided to head to McAllen, Texas as a last minute decision, thinking it would be the only warm place in the U.S. in late January. I was very wrong. I had planned to fly in on January 21, but switched my flight to January 20 as the forecast for Houston started to look like snow. The Houston airport ended up shutting down for the entire day on the 21st, and ended up getting 3" of snow. In McAllen there was barely any precip, but it was still very cold (below freezing the first morning I was there) and only warmed up gradually over the 5 days I was there. I'm going to blame the cold for the reason I didn't see a Green Kingfisher, the one species on my really-want-to-see list that I never encountered.

Some of the highlights were a decent number of both Green Jays and Altamira Orioles, the two birds I most wanted to see. I was very lucky to get a great look at a Buff-bellied Hummingbird in my first 10 minutes of birding the first day, only to never see another on the trip. I had my closest look ever at a Wilson's Snipe (and probably can't get any closer without sitting on one) and saw plenty of the Northern Cardinal subspecies which are a more vibrant red with a larger crest than their more northern counterparts. And I got a brieft glimpse of an Aplomado falcon, an ABA Code 3 bird.

It was a great trip, and I'll defintely go back sometime soon to look for a Green Kingfisher. Hopefully the return trip will be during breeding season, so that when I see a Black-bellied Plover the next time it actually has a black belly.

65 Lifers

138 Total Species

65 Lifers

Photography Highlights

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Burrowing Owl

Altamira Oriole

Northern Shoveler

Crested Caracara

Redhead

American Coot

Common Pauraque

Roseate Spoonbill

Green Jay

Plain Chachalaca

White-tailed Hawk

Black-crowned Night Heron

Lincoln's Sparrow

Wilson's Snipe

American Oystercatcher

Verdin

Vermilion Flycatcher

Curve-billed Thrasher

Black-crested Titmouse

Least Grebe

American White Pelican

House Finch

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-necked Stilt

Ringed Kingfisher

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Inca Dove

Hooded Oriole

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Aplomado Falcon

Green Heron

Great Kiskadee

Least Sandpiper

Common Gallinule

Northern Cardinal

Clay-colored Thrush

Black Skimmer

Black-and-white Warbler

Carolina Wren

Muscovy Duck

Wilson's Warbler

Rufous Hummingbird

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Green Jay

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Harris's Hawk

Audubon's Oriole

Long-billed Curlew

Blue-headed Vireo

Little Blue Heron

Forster's Tern

Loggerhead Shrike

Long-billed Thrasher

Marsh Wren

Black-bellied Plover

Marbled Godwit

Sora

Blue-winged Teal

American Wigeon

Gull-billed Tern

Mottled Duck

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Reddish Egret (White Morph)

Altamira x Audubon's Oriole Hybrid

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Crested Caracara

Altamira Oriole

Species List by Location

Lifers are bolded and underlined.

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands

Black-crested Titmouse
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Clay-colored Thrush
Double-crested Cormorant
Eastern Phoebe
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Kiskadee
Green Jay
House Sparrow
Inca Dove
Long-billed Thrasher
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Shoveler
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Plain Chachalaca
Roseate Spoonbill
Spotted Sandpiper
Western Cattle-Egret
White-winged Dove
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Estero Llano Grande State Park

Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge

Hugh Ramsey Park

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Black-crested Titmouse
Blue-winged Teal
Clay-colored Thrush
Common Pauraque
Curve-billed Thrasher
Harris's Hawk
Mourning Dove
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Olive Sparrow
Pine Warbler
Plain Chachalaca
Tropical Kingbird
Turkey Vulture
White-tipped Dove

Harlingen Soccer Complex

Black-necked Stilt
Franklin's Gull
Laughing Gull
Ruddy Duck
Western Cattle-Egret
White Ibis

San Benito Waste Water Treatment Ponds

American Pipit
American White Pelican
Black Vulture
Blue-winged Teal
Brown Pelican
Cave Swallow
Crested Caracara
Double-crested Cormorant
Greater Scaup
Least Sandpiper
Mottled Duck
Neotropic Cormorant
Northern Shoveler
Redhead
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Snowy Egret
Tropical Kingbird
Turkey Vulture
Vermilion Flycatcher
White Ibis
White-tipped Dove
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Buena Vista Cemetery, Brownsville

Black-and-white Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Orange-crowned Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Tropical Kingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler

UTRGV Brownsville Campus

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Green Heron
House Finch
Mourning Dove
Muscovy Duck
Northern Mockingbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Tropical Kingbird
White Ibis
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Weaver Road, Harlingen

American Pipit
Burrowing Owl
Greater White-fronted Goose
Long-billed Curlew
Northern Harrier
Sprague's Pipit

Harlingen Highway

Crested Caracara
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Kiskadee
Sandhill Crane
White-tailed Hawk
Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Laguna Vista Nature Trail

Altamira Oriole
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Curve-billed Thrasher
Hooded Oriole
Lincoln's Sparrow
Northern Mockingbird
Olive Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
White-eyed Vireo
White-tipped Dove
Yellow-rumped Warbler

South Texas EcoTourism Center, Laguna Vista

American Kestrel
Aplomado Falcon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Great-tailed Grackle
Long-billed Curlew

South Padre Island

Zapata Memorial Boat Ramp

American Oystercatcher
Black Skimmer
Black-necked Stilt
Forster's Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Laughing Gull
Reddish Egret
Ruddy Turnstone
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

Altamira Oriole
American White Pelican
Belted Kingfisher
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Clay-colored Thrush
Cooper's Hawk
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Great Kiskadee
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Mockingbird
Plain Chachalaca
Ringed Kingfisher
Rufous Hummingbird

National Butterfly Center

Altamira Oriole
American Goldfinch
Audubon's Oriole
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Green Jay
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Olive Sparrow

Quinta Mazatlan, McAllen

Carolina Wren
Clay-colored Thrush
Inca Dove
Ladder-backed Woodpecker