Birding on the border: South Texas festival delivers special birds, experiences

My trip to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival was a self-bestowed retirement gift, fulfilling a desire to experience one of birding’s premier annual gatherings. More directly, it was my chance to finally do some serious birding in Texas. Special birds were calling, some available nowhere else in the United States.

Last November’s RGVBF was the 31st annual, an amazing run. Few festivals surpass it for longevity. Few, if any, can match it for hospitality, organization and scope. It’s an extraordinary production driven by more than 100 volunteers and supported by the city of Harlingen, Texas, which clearly values ecotourism. I was among 526 paid attendees.

The city’s convention center is festival headquarters, a short drive from Valley International Airport. A large mural in baggage claim features a man with binoculars watching a Green Jay. I’d come to the right place.

In fact, shortly after landing I was checking Green Jay and Plain Chachalaca off my life list at Hugh Ramsey Nature Center in Harlingen. The brief solo visit was my festival appetizer.

RGVBF’s format is typical of most such events: half- and full-day field trips led by professional guides (76 were in Harlingen); a large travel and merchandise expo; heavyweight guest speakers; silent auction fundraiser; and daily social events.

Festival days are long, and yet end too soon. You’re on a birding bender with like-minded friends, most of them new.

Registration begins in August, with birders locking in their preferred field trips. The options are numerous — more than 150 trips — and as a first-timer I felt a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully, Tracy Zervos came to my rescue. The festival registrar (a Wheaton native) helped me select five outings that, in combination, would maximize bird variety. Her guidance was invaluable.

The birds, fellow birders, and birding venues set the field trips apart. Every day was exciting and memorable. A few highlights:

Birding on the Rio Grande

From our oversize pontoon boat, occasional glimpses of the border wall on the Mexico side of the river and passing Border Patrol vessels made for an interesting birding environment. But nothing could distract us from the birds, and this was a wonderful way to view them. Among the notables were Altamira Oriole, Gray Hawk, Groove-billed Ani and Tropical Kingbird, plus three varieties of kingfisher: Belted, Green and Ringed. Green Jay and Great Kiskadee were abundant.

After the boat tour, we stopped at Quinta Mazatlan, a 20-acre urban sanctuary in McAllen. Highlights included Clay-colored Thrush, Olive Sparrow and Buff-bellied Hummingbird. Butterflies were a big attraction here, too, including Mexican Bluewing, my new favorite. The National Butterfly Center is just down the road in Mission and is home to the Texas Butterfly Festival, also in November.

Birding with Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman

My second day afforded the rare opportunity to shadow the hobby’s best-known couple, Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman. Kenn was on hand as RGVBF’s keynote speaker, but signed on to lead a few trips as well. Good planning (Tracy) placed me in a van heading to South Padre Island with Kenn in the front passenger seat and Kimberly at the wheel. The eight of us behind them felt lucky to be along, and we’d soon feel a bit more confident about shorebird and gull ID thanks to Kenn’s beachfront commentary. He doesn’t lecture, he guides, with a relaxed style that makes learning fun. Birding is a hobby, after all.

Big Day competition

The record shows I was on the winning seven-person team, with a head-spinning 158 species seen or heard between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. across Hidalgo and Cameron counties. To be fair, the record should also note that I was surely the least valuable team member. But what an experience — Alex and Chris, pro guides from Wildside Nature Tours, were outstanding. Their advance scouting, local knowledge, and brilliant ID skills keyed our victory. I’m still wondering how they found that cryptic Common Pauraque resting on leaf litter at Estero Llano Grande State Park. The bird, similar to a whip-poor-will, was difficult to spot from just 10 feet away, even when pointed out!

Searching for Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

We boarded an early bus, destined for a famous place with a famous bird. The stakeout was only partly successful, but at least we heard the little guy. America’s largest ranch (825,000 acres) also yielded three other coveted species: Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Sprague’s Pipit and Zone-tailed Hawk. The Texas Indigo Snake was cool, too.

Parrot Palooza

Yes, this was the actual name of a popular late-afternoon outing in Harlingen. Turns out the city is home to colorful flocks of roving Green Parakeets and Red-crowned Parrots. Our group found the parakeets (about 30) on the wires outside a Whataburger and got funny looks from customers in the drive-through. The good smells tempted us to place orders of our own. But we needed to move on to the next stop, a church parking lot across town. There, like magic, 80 parrots arrived at their roost within two minutes of when our leader predicted they would. Watching (and hearing) them come in was a fun ending to the day.

The grand total bird count for the festival was 298 species, a record. I witnessed about half of them, tallying 16 lifers along the way.

Before closing, I must mention the Great-tailed Grackles. Loud, massive flocks of the big blackbirds gathered outside my hotel and up-and-down the street every evening. The impressive roosting behavior dictates caution when walking under the overloaded trees and utility wires. Luckily, I avoided a goopy disaster.

Don’t let the grackles keep you away. If you haven’t birded Texas, or haven’t birded “on the border,” think about adding the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival to your travel plans. The 2025 event is set for Nov. 5-9. Get details at rgvbf.org.

Reiter’s column appears regularly in Neighbor. You can reach him via his blog, Words on Birds.