Monday, January 18 – We spent the morning at the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and World Birding Center. The 760-acre Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, together with over 1,700 acres of adjoining U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge tracts, is a treasure trove of "Valley specialties," tropical birds found nowhere else in the United States.
Admission is $5 per person but Paul, being an old fart, has the Texas Parklands Passport for Seniors which provides a 50% discount on the entrance fee for him. Interesting the way they “round off to the nearest dollar,” so his discount is only $2 instead of $2.50. Those Texas State Legislators know how to squeeze every penny out of us since there is no state income tax in Texas.
Great Kiskadee
Northern Mockingbird
We began our hike at the bird feeders near the entrance. The Rio Grande Valley hosts one of the most spectacular convergences of birds on earth. Almost 500 species have been documented in this unique place. There were numerous chachalaca, green-jays, cardinals, and many smaller birds feeding at this station. We enjoyed watching these birds for quite awhile before heading down to Resca Vieja Trail.
Red-Winged Blackbird…we think.
The famous Green Jay.
The entertaining Plain Chachalaca.
We think we may have been interupting something private.
The Resca Vieja Trail is a short 1.5 mile hike through the mesquite trees to a small nature observation area. There wasn't any wildlife in this area, but it was an enjoyable hike regardless.
Our next stop was Kingfisher Overlook along the La Parida Banco (a river). This is an area one might see birds that prefer aquatic areas. Unfortunately, again there were no birds enjoying the water. There were cardinals and green-jays at a nearby feeder.
We continued our hike to the Green-jay bird blind. This was a very enjoyable stop with many birds and even a raccoon robbing the bird feeders. It's nice to relax in the blind and watch the birds through the small windows of the blind.
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Never saw this guy at the Birding Center before.
There is a shuttle available, and we considered hopping aboard for a ride to the hawk tower observation deck but when the trolley passed it was full. We hiked out to the tower on our previous visits to the Birding Center, but Paul has been bothered by a soar knee, so we decided to call it a day and hiked back to the entrance. He has meniscus surgery already scheduled when we return to Houston.
Due to the high winds and the flood of 2010, many of the trees having amazing shapes.
It was an enjoyable morning at the World Birding Center. We hiked a little over 4.5 miles and saw quite a few birds and some other wildlife.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
What a wonderful place to visit! We get the kiskadee down here in Mexico a fair bit and cardinals. I love that Green Jay so colourful.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it was a nice day for a hike too.
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
So sorry to hear about Paul's knee. Sure hope the surgery takes care of the pain. Nice that he can still do some hiking:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice day! The birds are so pretty but I do like the Green Jay. Love those beautiful bright greens and blue:)
Too bad Paul has to have knee surgery.
ReplyDeleteI forgot how colorful those green jays are.
Since I was unable to hike during our visit to the World Birding Center we simply road the shuttle all the way around its loop which still allowed us to see many birds and javelina in the park so don't hesitate to go if hiking is not your thing. We also ate lunch in their cafe which added to the restfulness of our visit.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures of the birds. Those trees really are amazing. At least the rains and floods had already passed by the time you arrived. Walking in flood waters wouldn't have been as much fun.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun day and decent hike in Texas, soon Paul's knee will be good to go.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the bird IDs. The 'Valley' is certainly the place to see them. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful area. Sometimes, I think I should be more interested in birds:)
ReplyDeleteNice photos! That's one of our favorite places when we're in the Valley.
ReplyDeleteYou got some great pictures of the birds! Every visit to the Bentsen-Rio Grande SP and Birding Center is different and interesting. Praying that the meniscus repair provides relief to Paul so you can keep on enjoying your hikes.
ReplyDeleteGreat area for birding. This old fart also likes discounts.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really neat place to see birds ... and I really like those trees.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, those Texas birds kept me amused and excited while there. Thank you for sharing them this year. I missed them but not the place :)
ReplyDeleteWe hiked and biked at the WBC almost daily as it is just a few feet from where we stayed.
Hope Paul's knee is mending.