Black-capped Vireo in Texas 
(photo by Clair de Beauvior)

 
Tour to be led by Armas Hill

Birds during Previous FONT Tours in Texas (with some photos)

A List of Texas Mammals, including Bats  (with some photos)

A List of Texas Butterflies  (with some photos)

Plants of the Desert & some nearby habitats (with some photos)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
(photo by Howard Eskin)

Fri: Apr 30  Arrival in San Antonio, Texas. Our first Texas birding will be at Mitchell Lake, north of San Antonio. From there, we'll go north to Austin, to be, just before dark, at the world's largest urban bat colony. In the spring, about 750,000 Mexican Free-tailed Bats fly out, at the day's end, from under a bridge, causing quite a spectacle. Across the street, a large sculpture entitled "Nightwing" celebrates the bat. Overnight in Austin.

Sat: May 1  Travel, with birding along the way, from Austin south to the Texas Gulf Coast, particularly to the coastal town of Rockport, that will be our base for two days and nights.
We'll visit the the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (a place renowned for Whooping Cranes from fall thru spring). The refuge, of over 50,000 acres, is on the Blackjack Peninsula, and incorporates a number of different habitats wooded sand dunes, brushlands, oak "mottes", grass meadows, cordgrass prairies, tidal marshes, freshwater ponds, and marine bays. About 8,500 acres is open to the public, and there is a 16-mile auto loop-road. Nesting birds on the refuge include: Pauraque, White-tailed Hawk, Northern Crested Caracara, Purple Gallinule, Wilson's Plover, and Cassin's Sparrow.
Other wildlife of the refuge include: American Alligator, White-tailed Deer, Collared Peccary (Javelina), Armadillo, and Coyote.
The first of two overnights in Rockport.

Northern Crested Caracara
(photo by Howard Eskin)

Sun: May 2  After some morning birding in the area of Aransas we'll go inland to visit the refuge of the Welder Wildlife Foundation, west of Rockport. Encompassing nearly 8,000 acres, the refuge contains various habitats where, cumulatively, 372 species of birds have been recorded. Nearly a hundred of those species either nest or have nested. Typical South Texas nesting birds include: Wild Turkey, Common Ground Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Painted Bunting, and Cassin's Sparrow. Birds that nest at the ponds and lakes can include: Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Purple Gallinule, and Least Grebe. Overnight again in Rockport.

 
A male Painted Bunting
There are many in Texas in April
(photo by Clair de Beauvior)

Mon: May 3   Rockport, where we spent the two nights of May 1 &2, is on the Live Oak Peninsula. Large concentrations landbirds occur on the peninsula in migration, and during our time there we will have seen many birds of numerous species, as mid-April to mid-May is the peak time for birding there. 
Franklin's Gull, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Veery, Gray-cheeked Thrush, and Philadelphia Vireo are regular migrants. Herons and egrets, other waterbirds, and shorebirds, will also be common.  
Before we leave Rockport, we'll visit Goose Island State Park, where, in addition to some migrants as those just-mentioned, we could see Reddish Egret, Least Bittern, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Clapper Rail, Gull-billed and Sandwich and other Terns, and Seaside Sparrow.
Mid-day, we'll travel south and west to Kingsville, where we'll do some birding at the King Ranch, said to be the largest privately-owned ranch in the world, with more than 800,000 acres.
Among bird species in the Kingsville area, near the northern limit of their nesting range, are White-tailed Hawk, Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Audubon's Oriole, and Buff-bellied Hummingbird. Other nesting species in the area include: both Black-chinned and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Common Ground-Dove, and Hooded Oriole.
From the King Ranch, we travel south along Highway #77, with some birding stops enroute, to Weslaco, where we'll spend the night.
Along Highway #77, we should, along the way, see some nice raptors along with White-tailed Hawk, there should be the Harris' Hawk and the Northern Crested-Caracara.

 
A female Blackburnian Warbler 
Many warblers can be seen along the Texas Gulf Coast in April
during a fallout of migrants.
A series of other Texas Warbler Photos follows this  itinerary.
(This & those photos by Clair de Beauvior)

Tue: May 4  Our first day of birding in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, one of the foremost areas of the US for birds. We'll see many, some of which only spill over a relatively few miles from Mexico.
In Brownsville, for example, Red-crowned Parrots and Green Parakeets occur. At the infamous Brownsville Dump, we'll look for the Tamaulipas (formerly Mexican) Crow. It may not be easy to find there in May, but Chihuahuan Ravens should be common. Near Brownsville, we'll visit the Sabel Palm Sanctuary, where Buff-bellied Hummingbirds are usually present at the feeders. In the Brownsville area, there's always the chance for Mexican strays, such as Couch's Kingbird, Clay-colored Robin, Golden-crowned Warbler, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. If any such bird is around, we'll go for it.
Our second overnight in Weslaco.

Wed: May 5  Another day with what should be fine birding in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, at 2 places renowned for birding the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.
The Santa Ana Refuge, that we'll visit in the morning, has been called the "Gem of the National Wildlife Refuge System". Some of the "Mexican species" of birds that occur there are easy to see such as the Altamira Oriole, Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca (also easy to hear!), and White-tipped Dove. Other "Mexican birds" that are normally across the border can occur as "accidentals", including Masked Duck, Northern Jacana, Rose-throated Becard, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Rufous-backed Robin, Yellow-green Vireo, and Blue Bunting.
More likely to be seen are Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Harris' Hawk, Purple Gallinule, Pauraque, Great Kiskadee, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Long-billed Thrasher, Tropical Parula, and Bronzed Cowbird. Hook-billed Kite and Gray Hawk can also be seen in the area.
Some of these birds also occur at the Bentsen State Park, which we'll visit in the afternoon. But there are some birds at easier to see at Bensten than at Santa Ana. These include Red-billed Pigeon and Elf Owl. Groove-billed Anis can be quite common. Rarities at Bentsen have included: Roadside Hawk, Masked Tityra, and Ruddy Quail-Dove. As at Santa Ana, Hook-billed Kite and Blue Bunting can also occur.
After a bird-filled day, overnight again in Welaco.

Thu: May 6  After some additional birding at Bentsen, in the morning, we'll go further west in the Rio Grande Valley, to the bird in the area of the Falcon Dam and nearby Falcon State Park. Enroute, we'll stop at the Santa Margarita Ranch to look for the Brown Jay.
The Falcon Dam is the place in the US to see 3 species of Kingfishers, including the Ringed and the Green. Also possible to find there is the Ferruginous Pygmy Owl - in addition to both Altamira and Audubon's Orioles, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, and Olive Sparrow.
At the Falcon State Park, some semi-desert birds can include: Scaled Quail, Inca Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Black-throated Sparrow, Pyrrhuloxia, Verdin, Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren, and Chihuahuan Raven. Of course, a number of these birds would become common as we'd travel further west, but, of course, seeing them for the first time during the tour will be fun.
A bird we'd probably not see further west would be the White-collared Seedeater, which we'll look for in either Zapata or San Ignacio (or both). Our overnight will be just a bit further west in Laredo.

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl  (above), 
Greater Roadrunner  (below)

Fri: May 7  We'll do some morning birding this day (as we like to do morning birding every day) in Laredo at the grounds of the Laredo Junior College and the nearby Lake Casa Blanca Park. 
But then we'll be driving north from Laredo toward the Edwards Plateau,  where our two prime birding objectives with be specialties of that region of junipers and oaks, the Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Black-capped Vireo. 
The overnights of Thu May 6 & Fri May 7 to be in Kerrville, near the Edwards Plateau. 
During those evenings, we'll be, at sunset, where a huge flock of bats will depart from caves where they roost. Such a cave that we'll visit in the area, near Fredericksburg, has as many as 2 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats. 
Also after dark, we'll look for various mammals, nocturnal birds, and other wildlife.

Bats during a late spring evening in Texas

Sat: May 8   During this day, we'll see the 2 Texas bird specialties just mentioned, the Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. Not only is the Edwards Plateau "the place" for them in Texas, it's "the place" for them in the United States. This day we should enjoy seeing an assortment of wildlife, with birds of various kinds, some animals, butterflies, and maybe an amphibian or reptile in addition to a variety of plants. Late in the day, we'll visit the Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve, a place with a huge number of Mexican Free-tailed Bats reside. The following description relates to these many bats that occur there:

"About 4 million female bats inhabit the cave from May through September. Many of them are pregnant when they arrive from Mexico. They give birth to a single offspring in June or July. The young bats grow rapidly and are able to fly at about 5 weeks of age, They remain, however, with their mothers until they return to Mexico in October.

About an hour or two before sunset, hundreds of bats flutter and chirp around the mouth of the cave. Slowly, a stream of bats emerges and flies in a large circle, low to the ground, just outside the cave entrance. These bats gradually spiral upwards and form a dark funnel of flying mammals, reaching several hundred feet into the evening sky. The bats at the top of the spiral break off, forming columns that stream out over the countryside. The incredible torrent of bats forms a densely packed "bat tornado" for about an hour."   

Other nature may well be found after dark. Overnight again in Kerrville. 

Sun: May 9  After some early-morning birding, our last for the tour, we'll head for the airport at San Antonio for our afternoon departure for home.

  
Price: $1,995 per person, based upon double occupancy
Single supplement: $295 

Includes:
• All overnight accommodations.
• Meals, except dinners.
• Ground transportation in Texas.
• Services of the birding guide.

Does not
  include: Dinners. Drinks. Items of a personal nature.
                  Air fare. Airport tax. Gratuities.

A deposit of $400, per person,
is required to assure a place on each or either of the tours.

Some Warblers in Texas in Late April & Early May

Yellow-throated Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Female American Redstart

Blackpoll Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat