Friday, March 5, 2010

I'm Really Not a Birder, But...

This is an unbelievable area for birding! The other day we went to the Bentsen State Park, part of the World Birding Center, a series of 9 nature sites along the Rio Grande River in south Texas. There are more than 500 species of birds here that are found nowhere else in the US!

This beauty is a Green Jay. Bentsen Park has blinds set up so you can get fairly close to the birds. Volunteers stock feeders several times a day.


Altamire Orioles are bright and colorful.


He turned around so you can see his beautiful back.


Another bird I never heard of is the Great Kiskadee.


Other unique birds are the Golden-fronted Woodpecker,


And the Chachalaca.


There were also some birds there that I recognized, like the Red-Winged Blackbird,


And the Northern Cardinal. (Look out for that squirrel behind you!)


Speaking of which, the squirrels got plenty of food too.


We also saw a few javelinas. This mother was patiently nursing her babies.


This guy was fishing with a net, I think for bait fish.


The land for the park was donated to the State many years ago by Lloyd Bentsen, Sr., father of the US Senator.

11 comments:

  1. WOW you got some great bird shots!! 500 species I really would love to go birding there!! Texas is a great spot to be during migration too!! Im so glad some of the wealthy people realize they are in the position to save more than money for the future!

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  2. Wonderful photos! You sure are making good use of that new camera!

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  3. I have lived in Texas for over 20 years and not seen half of those birds especially the one fishing with the net.
    Great Pictures
    Thanks
    Dan

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  4. We loved to go birding at Santa Ana (near McAllen/Alamo). Saw many of the same birds! You're at the northern-most range for both the Chachalaca and the Great Kiskadee -- won't see those anywhere in the US other than the RGV. Nice photos!

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  5. Why do they have all the colorful birds? I only get sparrows and finches at my feeder. (And the doves stand underneath just waiting for seeds to drop.)

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  6. One day I'll have to post my photos I took bike watching. Fat Boys, Soft Tails, Nightsters, V-Rods......

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  7. Great shots and somewhere that would interest me.

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  8. Anxiously waiting for an update! I check daily

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  9. May all your miles be pleasant ones. I see you beat me to Judge Roy Beans place but at least now I know what it looks like so I wont pass it up. Be sure and eat some oranges on the border. :)

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  10. Laguna Atascosa by Harlingen for birds.

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  11. I would love to go there, beautiful birds and that squirrel sure looked chunky that was close to the cardinal lol

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