A South Texas Birding Trip - Winter 2014

The Great Lower Grande River Valley Trip of 2014

     This is the first North American bird trip I’ve taken with both Carol and Steve. Carol and I visited Trinidad and Tobago a few years back and and that was great. But, a plain manila folder type of trip in the US? Never. There are hot spots that draws birders from around North America and, sometimes, the world. Southeast Arizona in the spring first comes to mind. But there is also the Upper Gulf Coast in Texas (also in the spring), south Florida and the keys (again in the spring), and the lower Rio Grande Valley in the spring and/or winter. All of these are to be avoided in the summer because of the heat and humidity but Arizona is at least tolerable in the summer if you’re in the mountains. Heard enough? 

     I threw out the possibility of going to south Texas in the winter awhile back to Steve and he was more than open to it. He said an extended weekend would work best and I figured that should be enough time to see the things we want. Carol then threw her hat into the ring as she’s been off work for awhile due to her battle with breast cancer. Cancer should have known better as she is in good spirits and her energy is high. So, it was decided. A “Yes, dear” from me and we took off as a threesome. The following is how it went.

Thursday 1/30

It never seems to vary. When you fly anywhere from California, you have to catch an early flight. In this case, 6:30 AM. Fly to Houston and then wait a few hours to catch our connecting flight to McAllen. We meet Steve, who had flown in from Sacramento, and we all made the connecting flight. We were all wondering if we were to get a propeller driven or jet aircraft. It was a jet but seemed about two feet wide in the passenger compartment. Very cozy, or cramped, your choice. We arrive at McAllen about 5:00 PM, get our car, check into our motel, and hit the road for our first bit of birding before dark. The book says Anzalduas Park closes at 6:00 but the gates said 5:00 so we lose out there. Back to the motel to gather ourselves for dinner. By the way, the motel we stayed was Comfort Inn Suites and was more than just fine for the price. We would all recommend it. Anyway, we finally decided on dinner at Schneider’s German Gasthaus and Beer Garden. Texas has a pretty rich germanic history so I thought the food might be pretty authentic. It took awhile to find it as it appeared to be a bit of a dump but the sign said open. We went in, saw a number of customers, and Spaten beer signs, so I figured we were in good hands. I was right. I’d say 3 1/2 stars out of 5 if I was grading. BBQ and Mexican food will wear out its welcome, if that’s all you eat. We left stuffed, back to the motel, and bed.

Great Kiskadee at Santa Ana NWR

Friday 1/31

We get up early, but not too early and head on down to Santa Ana NWR which is arguably one of the most recognizable names in the American birding world. The whole time we were on this trip the weather was either blustery, cold, rainy, or any combination of those. That kept hawks down a bit and made birding a little more of a challenge but the rewards made it worthwhile. The place had changed since I was last there in 1977 (I think) and the dynamics of the bird populations have changed a bit also. We were fortunate in showing up when we did as a guided tour was about to begin at 8:30. How could we say no? Local folks always know the birds and where to find them. Joan was our guide and she showed us plenty. We still saw the regulars at the feeders and on the ponds. We also went on some hikes (all level and easy) in the refuge which was some welcome exercise. Highlights were Least Grebe, Chachalaca, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Olive Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, and Groove-billed Ani (unexpected). Not a bad start. 

That takes us up to lunch so we head north and catch a great BBQ spot called Willie’s in Alamo. This place was a hole in the wall but was full of people eating. You stand in line, order what you want, they pile it on your plate (plastic), throw a piece of white bread on top (traditional), give you a plastic fork, and point you to the seats. I had brisket. My standard for brisket is simple; if it falls apart when you poke it with your finger or a fork, it’s good. The sauce also plays a significant role. This passed both with flying colors and we weren’t cheated in portions. I looked around and I’m surprised the heart unit of some major hospital didn’t spend a lot of time there just waiting. No liquor license but it gets 5 of 5 from me. 

Birding the roads at Bentsen

We then head on down to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and get better looks at the same things. The one bird we saw there that we never saw anywhere else was Altamira Oriole; two males at a feeder. Beautiful. We also actually had some sun today, by the way. By the time we finished here, it was back to McAllen and dinner. We had dinner at Costa Messa (their spelling) and it was extremely full and noisy. Food was primarily Mexican and it was pretty good but not great. I’d say 3 stars.

Altamira Oriole at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Sate Park

Saturday 2/1

Less than a mile away from our motel was a city park called Quinta Mazatlan. We had tried that first when we got to our motel but we read it was closed so we didn’t bother. We tried now as we had the time. It was open and we were in the office when we bumped into a young man that was to lead a bird walk at 8:30. Turns out we were his only takers. His name is John Brush and he was well worth the price of admission ($2.00 for the silver set). The place is an old 1930s home with a large garden of mostly native plants set in an urban area. It’s a magnet for birds. Pretty windy but still saw good things; Chachalacas walking around our feet and 4 (5?) Clay-colored Thrushes at a feeder. I’m a pretty independent birder but when you’re in an area that is new to you, all the cheeps, twitters, call notes, etc. can be frustrating. What the hell was that? In my area I know most of the sounds so it’s easy. That’s why it’s great to hook up with a local birder such as John. He told us more about the environmental battles that are being fought in south Texas as well as showing us the birds. It seems that there are battles to be fought everywhere. Just too many people. I remember south Texas as being pretty unpopulated and running at a leisurely pace. Not so much anymore. The highways were wide (not there in the 70s) and busy. Anyway, it’s a great place and I’d recommend it for a first stop on a trip to south Texas if you’re staying in McAllen. Another reason this was a nice place to visit was the garden was well-signed as to the types of plants and had some fine sculptures throughout. 

After leaving Quinta Mazatlan we head north along highway 77 up to Corpus Christi and then to Rockport where we will be taking a Whooping Crane Bird Cruise on Sunday. It’s about a three hour drive to Corpus where we stop to have lunch at Doc’s along the highway right beside the bay. Food was ok. As we head north and on to Padre Island, we stop and bird areas that have been set up in good viewing areas along the highway. One of the stops I consider pretty funny. There was a group of British photographers and they were getting good shots of what I consider very common birds. I guess you have to look at things from their perspective. Still, hundreds of pictures of a winter-plumaged Yellow-rumped Warbler seems a bit excessive. Whatever. Continue up to our motel in Ingleside. We check in ask where is a good place to eat and the girl said Black Beard’s. It looked like a biker bar but turns out to be a family oriented place with Mexican as well as just about anything else you might want to eat. It also featured an old guy who looked like an old cow poke as the entertainment. He was pretty good on the guitar and his voice was ok but he was drowned out by the patrons. Too bad. 

Sunday 2/2

We get up early enough to get to the dock and the Whooping Crane tour by 7:30 AM. It was drizzly as the boat pulled away. The captain talked pretty much non-stop but he certainly knew his stuff. Gave histories of most of the birds we saw and was more than capable in his identification abilities. We got great looks at the cranes but also decent looks at Crested Caracaras, a single Merlin, a great shot of Peregrine Falcon hitching a ride on a barge. The captain of the pusher probably thought we were all insane as our boat paced the barge alongside to get views of the falcon. Funny if nothing else. It was cloudy and fairly cold the whole time out but we got good looks at the above birds as well as American Oystercatcher, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis, and more. Money well spent. We got back about noon so we then looked for a place to have lunch and chose a place called Kody’s in Port Aransas. Kind of a dump but the food was fine and the place was warm. We then head on back down to the valley and our next stay; Vieh’s Bed and Breakfast. We checked in as we were greeted by some cats, a small dog (Skeeter), Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, and Peacocks. Quite a greeting. The humans were ok too. Lana and Charlie were our hosts and they kept care of us the two days we were there. Good breakfasts and evening ice cream. No, no complaints. Well, yeah one. They have roosters that got up a little too early for me. We had dinner at place called Longhorn Cattle Company. They usually are packed but there was hardly anyone there as the Super Bowl was on and Texans don’t miss football. 

Our captain on the Whooping Crane tour

Monday 2/3

Clay-colored Thrush at Sabal Palms

The day is cold as we head on down to Brownsville and the Sabal Palms Sanctuary run by the local chapter of the Audubon Society. The headquarters is in the Rabb Plantation Home built in 1892. Beautiful. We birded the area, especially around feeders, and picked up a few good things. The only new bird we saw was a beautiful Yellow-throated Warbler. Our target bird was the Buff-bellied Hummingbird which we never saw. It was a case of “You should have been here two minutes ago.” From there we head out to South Padre Island mainly to stop and have lunch at the Padre Island Brewery. Good brew and a new t-shirt. Life is good. We then head to Laguna Atascosa NWR. On the road to the refuge headquarters and visitor center we chanced upon three Harris’ Hawks and I think I’ve only seen five or six in my life. Beautiful bird. We then walked around the refuge and got looks at a Long-billed Thrasher as we left. Oh, we saw our only alligator there. Our last stop was Hugh Ramsey Nature Park which is right in the middle of Harlingen. It was cold (have I said that yet?) and drizzly and not much in the way of birds but the bathrooms were open. Yay! We did get pretty good looks at a Green Kingfisher which made that stop worth while. We then had dinner at Colletti’s in Harlingen which was a pretty nice place. Pretty quiet with not a lot of patrons. Very different from most of the places we had dinner as we could actually have conversations without yelling. What? You dropped what in your soup? Once the staff found from whence we came some came over and talked to us. Mostly “Why in the hell did you come here?” Nice place. Off to Vieh’s for our last night. 

The "Wall" at the border near Brownsville

The Rabb Mansion at Sabal Palms

Tuesday 2/4

We wake up with emails from United. Our connecting flight from McAllen to Houston has been cancelled. What!? We head on down to the airport to see what’s going on; without checking in the car. Just being safe. The lady at the desk helped as much as she could which wasn’t much. She got Steve on the next flight as there was only a single seat available. She gave us options and poor ones at that. The same flight the next day was available and she could get us on. The alternative plan was to drive it. That’s about a six hour drive to Houston, through the city as the airport is on the north side. I told the lady to give us a minute. Carol and I huddled up. I wanted a post pattern but she though a sideline and out of bounds would be better. In other words, which is cheaper? Another night in McAllen plus another day of a car AND food OR drive now. We chose the post pattern - drive. We told the lady and then went over to the Dollar desk to see what they could do. They said one way and drop off would be $115. I said done! We traded keys, jumped in the car, and left. The United lady said to write United a letter to see if we could get the connecting flight money back. You mean there’s a question there? As I write this, we have not heard back from United. Anyway, we made it through to the airport with time to spare and met Steve. We said our good byes and he left for his flight as his left earlier. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I’m just glad I didn’t have a guitar in checked baggage (inside joke).