256 Species on this Custom List
To upload the attached Custom list and Quiz yourself on birds that may be seen on this VENT Tour, right-click HERE and select "Save Target As.." (You may want to rename the file Spring_Texas.xml)
Apr. 5 - Apr. 16, 2009
Texas Hill Country wildflowers.
Photo: Greg Lasley
Experience the best of the Lone Star State with migrants and Whooping Cranes along the coast, A King Ranch visit, Rio Grande Valley specialties, and Hill Country birds, bats, and wildflower displays!
Nowhere else in the United States can the pulse and excitement of spring migration be felt more keenly than in South Texas! Birds funneling up from the tropics to their summer breeding grounds pass through coastal South Texas in numbers and varieties that stagger the imagination. Boiling kettles of Broad-winged Hawks, on occasion numbering into the tens of thousands, nearly darken the sky as the first thermals rise. Ethereal flocks of hundreds of American White Pelicans swirl effortlessly into the clouds on massive nine-foot wingspans. Several dozen Swainson's Hawks patrol a freshly plowed field in search of prey. Shorebirds, up to 30 species, cover the coastal estuaries and flooded fields. More than 40% of the breeding species of North America pass through this area in April, resulting in trip lists that usually exceed 250 species! In addition, early April also marks the peak of wildflower season in Texas with fields and roadsides blanketed with bluebonnets, phlox, paintbrush, and gaillardia.
Along the coast near Rockport we will target specialties such as Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbills, and majestic Whooping Cranes. Under certain weather conditions, this area can host sizable fallouts of migrant land birds as well, though this is a more common sight further up the coast. From Rockport we will head south through the famous King Ranch in search of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Tropical Parula. In addition, we will likely find White-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers by the dozens! The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, with Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and Bentsen State Park, harbors most of the Valley specialties including Hook-billed Kite, Ringed and Green kingfishers, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, and Altamira Oriole. Many accidentals have appeared over the years here as well. In the vicinity of Falcon Dam, we will seek out Red-billed Pigeon, Brown Jay, and Audubon's Oriole. The tour will conclude with two full days in the Texas Hill Country where the main targets will be the skulking Black-capped Vireo and the stunning Golden-cheeked Warbler. Displaying Vermilion Flycatchers, Cave Swallows by the thousands, and a bat flight that must be seen to be believed round out the itinerary.
For those who would like to spend more time in Texas, this tour can be combined with our Austin, Texas Birding and Nature Festival, April 9-13, 2008.
Good accommodations; easy to moderate terrain; short hikes combined with roadside birding; mild to warm climate.
To Get (upload) a Custom List from this Forum and add it to your computer:
1. Open the Posting of the Custom List you want to upload to your computer.
2. Right-click on the word "Attachment" at the bottom of the post -- it will be a hyperlink and underlined.
3. Select "Save Target As..." and save to your desktop. (You may want to rename the file - but do not change the .xml file extension)
4. Open your Thayer Birding Software birding program version 3.5 or 3.9.
5. Click the Custom List icon
6. In the upper left corner of the Custom List screen, click on the word File.
7. Click Import. Select the file you just uploaded to your desktop. Click Open.
8. The Custom List will now appear on your computer with your other Custom Lists. (You may rename the Custom List if you like.)
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