Friday, February 8 – We went to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday.
This is more than just a birding center. We saw this interesting sign in the Visitor's Center.
The Refuge is located in Alamo,TX. Its 2008 acres of subtropical thorn forest is recognized as a birders paradise. It is home for numerous birds that are South Texas specialties.
The weather was very hot and dry and there were not many animals or birds to be seen.
We did see quite a few water birds around the Pintail Lakes area but most of the other wetlands were pretty dry and deserted.
There are two observation towers; one 40 feet tall. We climbed both towers and walked the 100-foot rope bridge through the treetops.
Marsha hates this type of bridge but wouldn't allow Paul to call her a chicken.
The bird feeders near the Visitors Center were fairly busy. We sat and watched several species of birds feeding on seed and oranges.
We did enjoy our hiking and a relaxing day in the wilderness.
After hiking around the sanctuary for about three hours, we called it a day and headed home. There are several other birding centers in this area, and we intend to check them out in the future.
Thank you to Heyduke50, Jane, and On the Horizon for identifying the tree in our last blog as a Silk Floss Tree. Here is a link to learn more about the tree.
We were also asked a why Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was built in Rio Grande City. The only explanation why is that a German-born priest, The Rev. Gustav Gollbach immigrated to Texas soon after his ordination in 1906. He loved the statue when he saw it in France. Gollbach built much of the mountain himself.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.
