LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY WILDLIFE REFUGE
There
are
wonderful birds to be seen in the Rio Grande Valley year round,
but follow the migrating birds and you'll arrive at and depart from the
tip of Texas before the full heat of summer leaves you longing for the
Arctic.
Many of the best places to watch wildlife are included within the Lower Rio
Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Established in
1979, the refuge
consists of more than a hundred
tracts of land. The goal is to provide wildlife with a corridor
through
fragmented habitats.
Unfortunately, the
proposed border fence between the U.S and Mexico may
negate some of the gains that have been made over the last two
decades,
particularly impacting mammals - endangered ocelots, jaguarundis,
cougars and other wild cats - that require larger territories and
access to riparian habitat.
Areas open to the
public include Laguna Atacosa and Santa Ana National
Wildlife Refuges and tracts at Boca Chica, La Sal Vieja, La Sal del
Rey, Monte Cristo, Yturria Brush, La Puerta and Salinero.
BIRDS
Bird
specialties
include the hook-billed
kite, aplomado falcon, crested caracara, black-bellied whistling duck,
great kiskadee, tropical parula warbler and altamira
oriole. Almost half of all North American butterfly species
are also present.
LAGUNA
ATACOSA NWR
Laguna
Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is
situated near
the valley's southern border. Its bird
list tops 406
species - the
largest bird list of any refuge in the United
States. Laguna
is an important resting stop for migrating waterfowl and
shorebirds and, though
rarely seen, the endangered ocelot still
survives here. Other rarities include three species of sea
turtles and
the Texas tortoise.
SANTA
ANA NWR
Santa
Ana National Wildlife Refuge preserves
a
subtropical hardwood
forest along the Rio Grande River. Green jays and chachalacas
gather at forest photo blinds, and ponds and impoundments attract water
birds and waterfowl. Located on both the Mississippi and Central
Flyway, Santa Ana is also a resting place for many neotropical migrants.
OTHER
WILDLIFE VIEWING
SITES
Bentson-Rio
Grande Valley State Park
Frontera
Audubon
Park
Los
Ebanos Preserve
World Birding Center
Sabal
Palm
Audubon Sanctuary
Nature
Conservancy's Lennox Foundation Southmost Preserve
The
Nature Conservancy's Chihuahua Woods Preserve
BIRDING FESTIVALS
Rio Grande Valley
Birding Festival
Field trips are a highlight of this
annual festival held every November in Harlingen. Canoe the Rio Grande,
journey to the King Ranch or visit local birding
hot spots.
Texas
Tropics Nature Festival
Held in McAllen in March/April.
Brownsville
International Birding and Nature Festival
Normally
held in February.
SLIDESHOW:
Birds and
Wildlife of the RGV
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