Eagle breeding site
Another district close to Houston Airport is Pearland, which has one of the most southerly breeding sites for the Bald Eagle, close to a reservoir with a heronry that provides close views of Roseate Spoonbill, during the breeding season.
The Gulf Coast is rightly famous for the birding sites that stretch all along it, so one strategy is to start in the north and head south, if aiming to do a circular route like I did. Beaumont and Port Arthur hold excellent wetlands and woodlands that are magnets to breeding and migrating birds.
Cattail Marsh is an artificial wetland that attracts an impressive diversity of waterbirds including Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teals, White-faced Ibis, American Avocet, Greater and Lesser
Yellowlegs. Close to Port Arthur is Sabine Woods, which is one of the most famous migrant hotspots along the coast. It is often the first landfall in spring for birds that have migrated across the Gulf of Mexico. Tired warblers, vireos, buntings, thrushes and other songbirds seek food and shelter in the trees and bushes here.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Prothonotary, Audubon’s, Yellow-throated and Hooded Warblers, Red- eyed and Philadelphia Vireos, and Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes are examples of the wealth of birds that can be found here on a good day in April; and it’s a site that shouldn’t be missed.
The coast is flat, low and marshy, with a high water table, but there are a few raised areas where trees and bushes grow; these raised areas have woods that are easily seen by migrants, as they approach. Smith Oaks is another example of one of these migrant hotspots with the bonus of a heronry with breeding Roseate Spoonbills.
Close by is Sea Rim State Park with Clapper Rails, Prairie and Cape May Warblers. Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge is another superb wetland for waterbirds, and one of the best sites for shorebirds, including Wilson’s Snipe, and Least, Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers.
Moving down the coast will bring you to Bolivar Flats where the beach holds Brown Pelicans, lots of shorebirds, gulls and terns; including Piping and Snowy Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Laughing Gull, Royal and Forster’s Terns. White-winged Kites can be seen perched on roadside wires. Most of the world population of the endangered
Whooping Crane spend the winter at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. And they can be found on grassy sand flats in quiet corners of the refuge.
Whooping Crane was a priority species for me and, as most of them are only there between mid- October and late March (although there are usually a few around in April), you will need to take that into consideration if you wish to see a species that was almost extinct 80 years ago.
It is certainly worth a visit here at any time of year, as Port Aransas has some excellent wetlands and areas of trees and bushes attracting a wide variety of migrants. Baird’s Sandpiper, Yellowthroated Vireo and Swamp Sparrow were just three of the species I saw during one visit.
Soaring hawks
If you like to see spectacular raptor migration, then Hazel Bazemore Park, near Corpus Cristi, is the place to go in autumn. In excess of a million birds have been counted in some years, with Broad-winged Hawk being the most numerous, creating a spectacular sight.
Spring migration for raptors can also be impressive in South Texas, as the birds migrate north along the Gulf Coast of Mexico before funnelling into the USA. During an April visit, I watched in awe as a few thousand Broad-winged Hawks soared over the border with Mexico on their journey to breeding grounds, mainly on the eastern half of the States.
The Gulf Coast of Texas has excellent birding areas throughout its length, and at the southern end, close to the Mexican border is South Padre Island. The Nature Centre here is another place with good information and overlooks a wetland fringed by bushes that can be dripping with migrants. In addition to Franklin’s Gulls, terns and shorebirds, many migrant songbirds can be found, including Tennessee, Nashville and Hooded Warblers, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and four species of Kingbird – Tropical, Couch’s, Western and Eastern.
Moving inland along the southern Texas border, the Lower Rio Grande Valley is rightly famous as being one of the top birding areas in North America. The Rio Grande is a river forming the border with Mexico and has good habitats for birds along its length. In addition to the breeding and migrant North American species, a number of Central American species of birds, butterflies and dragonflies make their way here as breeders or vagrants.
The forests and scrub along the valley provide rich habitats for birds, and there are also wildlife sanctuaries and urban parks that help provide accessible places to make it easier to find some of the valley’s specialities.
For example, the suburbs of Brownsville and Harlingen are two places where the endangered Red-crowned Parrot can be found, while good views of Green Jays can be gained at Hugh Ramsey Park.
Other birds at the northern edge of their range here include Altamira Oriole, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Plain Chachalaca, Hook-billed Kite, Grey Hawk and Common Black Hawk to emphasise the exotic mix that can be experienced in this species-rich area of Texas.
Another interesting urban park I visited was Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen where, in just a couple of hours, I had great views of Eastern Screech Owl, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Clay-coloured Thrush,