My 12 Favorite Birding Sites In Texas

Be a part of Texas and the nation’s fastest-growing leisure sport, birding. Breaking down the state into its seven areas, you’ll see many zones house to chook species as diversified because the territories wherein they dwell. Within the Lubbock-Amarillo space, within the Texas Panhandle, Palo Duro Canyon State Park is house to blue grosbeaks, golden-fronted woodpeckers, and ash-throated flycatchers, to call just a few.

In West Texas, Trans Pecos Area hosts greater than 300 kinds of birds yearly in San Angelo State Park, the Concho Valley, or alongside the North Concho River. The Texas Hill Nation is thought for excellent wine, incredible barbecue, scenic overlooks, and a plethora of birding sizzling spots, together with Kickapoo Cavern State Park, Jacob’s Properly Pure Space, and Honey Creek State Pure Space that includes black-capped vireo, diversified bunting, and the zone-tailed hawk.

The Decrease and Higher Gulf Coast Birding Trails make up three areas. Port Arthur to Port Isabel is house to the roseate spoonbill, inexperienced jay, plain chachalaca, and red-cockaded woodpecker. Goose Island State Park close to Rockport boasts greater than 20 species of warblers together with tanagers, buntings, and orioles. East Texas boasts the thick Piney Woods and lakes internet hosting yellow-throated songbirds, wooden geese, herons, and egrets.

In Texas, the World Birding Middle is a community of 9 completely different birding websites alongside a 120-mile river street, every sponsored by one of many valley’s 9 accomplice communities, together with Mission, Edinburg, Harlingen, and McAllen. These Rio Grande Valley places coordinate greater than 500 chook species between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, Rio Grande Valley Communities, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Obtain the Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird app, the place you may enter your chook sightings right into a worldwide database.

In celebration of World Migratory Chicken Day on the second Saturday of Could, here’s a take a look at a dozen of my favourite birding websites in Texas, which hosts extra bird-watching festivals than some other state.

1. Hagerman Nationwide Wildlife Refuge

Situated north of Dallas, west of Denison, and south of the Crimson River that divides Texas and Oklahoma, Hagerman Nationwide Wildlife Refuge is likely one of the greatest inland places in Texas with geese, pelicans, and geese by the 1000’s. The refuge is just one of 4 inland hotspots to interrupt 325 species in Texas, together with mallards, northern pintails, and gadwall. A powerful sight within the winter is seeing snow geese by the 1000’s take flight when a bald eagle flies low over the fields. Within the woodlands, see a bald eagle, as much as six woodpecker species, the brown thrasher, and brown creeper.

Professional Tip: Come early within the morning to see probably the most exercise.

2. Misplaced Maples State Pure Space

The place the Uvalde huge toothed maple bushes flip good colours within the fall, Misplaced Maples State Pure Space is 5 miles north of Vanderpool, southwest of Kerrville. You’ll be able to see uncommon species of birds right here, just like the golden-cheeked warbler, inexperienced kingfisher, and black-capped vireo that nest and feed within the spring and summer season. Obtain a Misplaced Maples chook guidelines (PDF).

Professional Tip: Schedule visits in the course of the week since there are solely 250 areas for parking.

3. Guadalupe River State Park

A paradise for chook watchers within the Hill Nation with 240 documented chook species, Guadalupe River State Park is situated 30 miles north of San Antonio on the north finish of Park Highway 31, northwest of Bulverde. You’ll discover the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, the goldfinch of Texas, and the one chook species with a breeding vary restricted to Texas. 13 miles of climbing trails embrace the two.86-mile Painted Bunting Path to identify certainly one of these colourful birds.

Professional Tip: Reserve certainly one of 85 hookup campsites right here. Buy an annual Texas State Park Go free of charge entry to greater than 80 state parks.

4. Hornsby Bend Chicken Observatory

You’ll discover over 352 chook species at Hornsby Bend in Travis County, northeast of Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport, close to the Colorado River. The month-to-month Chicken Survey has been occurring since 1999, the place you may meet up at 7 a.m. (espresso and donuts at 6:30 am) on the second Saturday of every month on the Hornsby Bend Middle for Environmental Analysis for a morning survey. Skilled and novice birders match up, and completely different groups cowl numerous areas to rely the variety of birds noticed. The uncommon cinnamon teal was noticed right here, plus the blue-winged teal, inexperienced wing teal, and the black-bellied whistling duck.

5. Mitchell Lake Audubon Middle

This southside San Antonio wetland habitat, Mitchell Lake Audubon Middle, is the place 98.5 p.c of long-distance migratory birds go by or cease over earlier than flying hours or days over the open ocean. Over 340 chook species frequent the 1,200-acre sanctuary yearly, together with 4 habitats: wetlands, woodlands, brushlands, and grasslands. There are 30 species on Mitchell’s watchlist for Bexar County, highlighting birds with probably the most vital conservation wants.

You’ll see the black-crested titmouse, white-eyed vireo, summer season tanager, belted kingfisher, barn owl, Franklin’s gull, nice blue heron, and so on.

6. Massive Bend Nationwide Park

Most birding hotspots in Massive Bend Nationwide Park are near a water supply. Rio Grande Village hosts 305 species alongside the Nature Path, mesquite thickets, cottonwood bushes, the floodplain behind the shop, and the silt ponds at Daniels Ranch. The Chisos Mountains host 312 species, together with the colima warbler, one of many specialty birds. Cottonwood campground and the close by river hall are house to 248 species, together with shorebirds, sparrows, and the ladder-backed woodpecker. Dugout Wells and Sam Nail Ranch close to the benches boast sightings of the scaled quail, painted bunting, and green-tailed towhee.

7. Quintana Neotropical Chicken Sanctuary

House to salt cedars, brackish marshes, seaside dunes, and gulf frontage, Quintana Neotropical Chicken Sanctuary south of Brazosport hosts an commentary tower and trails by one of many hottest birding spots on the Texas Gulf Coast. This central flyway is house to greater than 300 species of native and migratory birds. See the black and white warbler, noticed towhee, indigo bunting, and the purple finch.

8. Santa Ana Nationwide Wildlife Refuge & Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

The cover bridge at Santa Ana Nationwide Wildlife Refuge leads off a three-story hawk watchtower over 2,088-acres of subtropical woodland, open fields with small lakes, and a sheltered wetland. Its headquarters in Alamo’s Decrease Rio Grande Valley includes a chook blind viewable from inside. The refuge is likely one of the greatest hotspots in South Texas, with a number of chook blinds and feeding stations. You’ll see inexperienced jays, chachalacas, and the hooked-bill kite.

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is south of the town of Mission and is the headquarters of the World Birding Middle. Stroll the boardwalks and see as much as 360 species of birds, butterflies, and wildlife galore. No vehicles are allowed within the park. Park on the headquarters and discover through tram, bike, or foot. Obtain the chook guidelines right here (PDF). See the Altamira oriole and the inexperienced jay.

9. Aransas Nationwide Wildlife Refuge

Referred to as the winter house of the final wild flock of endangered whooping cranes, the Aransas Nationwide Wildlife Refuge is a 115,324-acre protected space northeast of Rockport on the Gulf Coast and the southwest aspect of San Antonio Bay. Established in 1937 for migratory waterfowl and native wildlife, you’ll discover a wide range of nearly 400 species of birds right here as you stroll the boardwalks and trails.

Professional Tip: The refuge is distant with no obtainable meals or consuming water. Carry your individual

snacks and water.

10. Excessive Island

Excessive Island has a salt dome and mineral spring on the fringe of the Gulf of Mexico and rises 32 ft above the encircling marshes. Excessive Island is a spectacular birding location within the spring when migrating birds pour in from throughout the gulf. Look ahead to a fast-moving chilly entrance within the fall to see massive numbers of birds invade the world. 4 chook sanctuaries managed by the Houston Audubon Society are nice for birding: Boy Scout Woods Chicken Sanctuary, Smith Oaks Chicken Sanctuary, plus Eubanks and SE Gast Crimson Bay Sanctuary.

Professional Tip: Massive cities in Texas are internet hosting “Lights Out!” turning off non-essential lights in the course of the chook migration interval within the spring and fall.

11. Bolivar Flats

The Houston Audubon Society’s Bolivar Flats is a shorebird sanctuary, a world website within the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve community. Take the ferry over from Galveston Island, comply with Freeway 87 for 3.7 miles to Rettilon Highway, flip proper, and drive to the seaside. (Park on the barricade.) Right here, you’ll see plovers, laughing gulls, and the ruddy turnstone. Over 10,000 American avocets and 1000’s of western sandpipers winter right here.

Professional Tip: Parking permits ($10) bought domestically are required to park on the seaside.

12. Guadalupe Mountains Nationwide Park

The highland forests of the Guadalupe Mountains Nationwide Park in far west Texas assist nesting birds solely present in Texas: the noticed and northern saw-whet owls, Steller’s jay, and the pygmy nuthatch. You would possibly see the migrating mourning warbler with a stable gray hood and vivid yellow chest. You’ll additionally see the American robin, white-winged doves, lark sparrows, and scaled quail.

Make every of those locations a enjoyable weekend getaway and luxuriate in all that every place affords.

Professional Tip: Listed below are seven easy actions to assist birds: make home windows safer, make your yard a chook sanctuary, keep away from pesticides, shield our planet from plastic, drink shade-grown espresso, maintain cats inside, place native crops in your yard, and at last, watch the birds and share what you see.