February 25 – March 5, 2011
Cost per person, double occupancy: $2775
Single Supplement: $450
Deposit: $350
From Corpus Christi, includes eight nights lodging, all meals, transportaton, entry fees, guides, taxes, tips.
Not Included: alcohol, telephone, laundry, other personal expenses
PARTICIPANTS: Limited to seven.
Easy hikes; a few longer drives.
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“So many highlights...so little space. We had wonderful looks at, and great photographic opportunities for many of the target birds on our list. One of the highlights had to be seeing the lovely Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR and then having them suddenly upstaged by an Alpomado Falcon! Add to that Green Jays, Altamira, Audubon's, and Hooded Oriole great looks at Crested Caracaras, Black Skimmers, Roseate Spoonbills and who could forget Greater Roadrunner copulation...it just does not get much better. |
South Texas is a birder's paradise at anytime of the year, but especially during late winter when the spectacular array of resident birds in South Texas is joined by an abundance of wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. This eight night tour begins and ends in Corpus Christi with a leisurely swing through the birding hot spots of the lower Rio Grande Valley.
Photo opportunities will abound on this tour. Comfort is, as always a prime concern on our tours. We will stay in the best motels available and eat in the best restaurants in each area.
Our days will begin anywhere from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM, depending upon the destination. On early days, we will have a continental breakfast. The following schedule may be modified to take advantage of rare bird sightings or other conditions that could affect the birding.
DAY ONE: Arrive at Corpus Christi airport by 4:00 PM where we will pick you up for the drive to Rockport. Dinner and lodging in Rockport.
DAY TWO: We leave early to take the Wharf Cat from Rockport Pier to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. A prime target is the endangered Whooping Crane, but we should also see Roseate Spoonbill; Little Blue and Tricolored Herons; Reddish Egret; White Ibis; American Oyster-catcher; and many others. Drive to Kingsville for the night.
DAY THREE: We have an early morning rendevous at the massive King Ranch where we will search for Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl; Tropical Parula; White-tailed Hawk and Crested Caracara. Late in the day, we drive South to McAllen, our base of operations for the next four days.
DAYS FOUR - SEVEN: McAllen is located in the heart of the lower Rio Grande Valley, just a skip and a jump to Mexico. The Valley's subtropical climate makes it an ideal home to numerous Mexican specialties that occur nowhere else in the US. Winters here are mild and comfortable. We will use the Rose Garden Inn as our base as we travel around the Valley looking for the different species that make this a birder's paradise.
In addition, we should be able to find small flocks of Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets in the area. We may find some wintering vagrants, e.g., Clay-colored Robin or Golden-crowned Warbler.
The Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary owned by the National Audubon Society contains the last intact stand of Texas Sabal Palm and is home to numerous tropical plants, animals and birds. Buff-bellied Hummingbird; Plain Chacalaca; Common Pauraque; Groove-billed Ani; Great Kiskadee; Green Jay; and Olive Sparrow are all possible in this lush location.
Over 300 species of birds have been recorded in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande. We will be looking for Ringed Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Least Grebe and Neotropic Cormorant as well as Golden-fronted Woodpecker; White-tipped Dove; Long-billed Thrasher; and Altimira Oriole. The very rare Masked Duck is also sometimes seen in the Refuge.
Perhaps the premier birding spot in the lower Rio Grande Valley is Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Hook-billed Kite and Red-billed Pigeon are two specialties we hope to find here. Many of the other birds we have looked for in other areas are also seen here. Bentsen is well-known for hosting many tropical vagrants during recent years, and we might hope to see some of these, e.g., Northern Jacana; Ruddy Ground-Dove; White-throated Robin, Blue Bunting; Crimson-collared Grosbeak. Finally, we should be able to spend some time at Laguna-Atascosa NWR looking for shorebirds, waders, waterfowl, gulls, & terns. Aplomado Falcon has been reintroduced here as well.
DAYS EIGHT AND NINE: We leave McAllen in the morning and drive North to Zapata, above Falcon Dam. We will spend the next two nights in Zapata. White-collared Seedeaters, not found anywhere else in the US, are a main attraction in Zapata. We will spend our last two days covering the areas around Falcon State Park and Falcon Dam. We should be able to see Brown Jays as well as Audubon's, Al-timira and Hooded Orioles in the area. Countable (non-domestic) Muscovy Duck can also be seen. Many of the desert species are found in the desert scrub sur-rounding Zapata and Falcon Dam, e.g., Pyrrhuloxia; Harris' Hawk; Verdin; Scaled Quail; Golden-fronted & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers; Cactus Wren; Black-throated Sparrow; Long-billed & Curve-billed Thrashers; and Chihuahuan Raven.
DAY TEN: Return to Corpus Christi by Noon where the tour ends.
Casual, informal attire is acceptable everywhere we’ll be dining. Temperatures can reach 90 at this time of the year in the Valley. It can be cool, however, on the boat ride to Aransas.
All books can be obtained from Madison Audubon Shoppe (888) 505-9056 at a 10% discount for High Lonesome BirdTours trip participants.