Birding Texas Part 3 Laguna Atascosa, Padre Island, Sabal Palm Bird Photography

Birding and bird photography in South Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley part 3. Highlights include Aplomado Falcon along Old Port Isabel Road, Red-crowned Parrot pair in Sabal Palm Sanctuary, nine species of wading birds along the boardwalk at South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. Sparky also visits Laguna Atacosa National Wildlife Refuge and SpaceX along Boca Chica Road. Sparky gets video of a spastically hunting Reddish Egret, White-tailed Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Clay-colored Thrush, Green Jays and Altamira Oriole.

[@jimcarter4563]

Your enthusiasm and enjoyment for what you're doing is infectious! Thank you.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you so much, Jim! I really do enjoy what I’m doing!

[@jeremyscards]

I really enjoyed this video. A lot of birds I hope to see some day.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Great Jeremy! You definitely need to plan a trip

[@Velotooslow]

Your videos are so relaxing to watch

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for your comment! I appreciate that you enjoy them and are able to relax.

[@tracyreaume6451]

Spectacular video & stills of the Reddish Egret!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks, Tracy! Just a blast watching them hunt :-) so spastic

[@donh4907]

Great South Texas coverage. Great coverage of some our treasured Hot Spots. Too bad about the border wall. Too bad that we have to have it.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Don! I take it that you live down there. Hope to get back down there soon :-)

[@normanfranke4041]

Gorgeous video. Thanks for taking us along!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Glad you enjoyed it, Norman!

[@lukeocasio2784]

good finds mate

[@SparkyStensaas]

Good birds indeed. Thanks Luke!

[@FollowThomas]

Looks like an awesome place to bird. I'm in Florida but travelling Texas and southwest in a couple of weeks from now. Cool place.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Thomas! I watched your birding video from Florida. Happy travels!

[@FollowThomas]

@@SparkyStensaas thanks for checking out. I'm hoping to pick up some lifters in Texas later this week.

[@Wiggywom]

Born and raised here... people don't believe me when I tell them it feels like bird capital of the U.S.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Wiggyworm, Very cool place to be from! Awesome birds and I can’t wait to return!

[@Jar0fMay0]

Especially when all the crows are down here during the fall/winter that’ll turn your car white

[@almeadows8277]

Just great, Sparky; well done, indeed. An Aplomado Falcon would be high on my wish list of birds to photograph.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Al! It was an exciting sighting and it was one of my high priority North American birds that I wanted to photograph.

[@garyrobinette351]

There is some great birding in the Laguna Madre if you hit it at sunrise. I was there last November and had a blast shooting shorebirds.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for the tip, Gary! I love shorebird photography. I will check it out next time I’m down there.

[@Florafauneando]

Interesting video. I like to see typical North American species and others that are seen where I live many kilometers further south. Good amount of abves in that place.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you! Where do you live?

[@Florafauneando]

@@SparkyStensaas I live in Argentina, in the Pampas ecoregion

[@paulkammen9744]

Love the video, and I agree on the Spoonbills. I'll be on the road in 2 weeks just north of there, going near San Antonio to Corpus then to Galveston with Kim, super pumped for it and some great photos. Thanks for sharing your journey.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks Paul! Hope you have a fantastic trip and can’t wait to see your photos!

[@andrescientos]

I always see people bird watching at Oliveira Park in Brownsville. My biology teacher in High School, Ms. Rosas, was the first person to make me aware that birdwatching is a popular activity. There is a movie called "The Big Year" starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin, and they come to Brownsville to check of a bird on their list haha

[@SparkyStensaas]

That’s great! Are you a birder too? It felt a little weird at first walking around the park with binoculars, but then I did see other birders arriving. Sabal Palm is my favorite birding spot around Brownsville. PS I love that movie! We’ve had two of the actual participants in that big year come and talk to our group up here in northern Minnesota.

[@andrescientos]

@@SparkyStensaas @SparkyStensaas no, I'm not a birder, I am a skateboarder. The birders also like to hang out by the skatepark. I thought they were the FBI until I realized what they were doing. And wow, I mentioned that movie to a gentleman man birding there, but to my surprise he hadn't seen it.

[@ronboe6325]

Very cool that you got to see the full stack of the Starship - birds were nice too. :D

[@SparkyStensaas]

Total surprise! It was the same remote crappy road I drove many years ago, and then out of nowhere appears that! I was surprised at the lack of security, and how open they were to people just pulling over and gawking.

[@ronboe6325]

@@SparkyStensaas For certain events (tests, launches, moving equipment) they close the road and tighten things up a lo

[@stefangoldensteinwildlife9929]

You really saw a lot of birds. Seems to be a great area for Birding adventures. Great footage of all the different species. Greets Stefan

[@SparkyStensaas]

Definitely is!

[@Zugunru]

You captured some amazing images! Thanks for sharing.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@jaurijantzi424]

The green on a green heron is iridescent , in the right lighting they look very green , well the juveniles do

[@SparkyStensaas]

I have never seen that! Still a poor name for a fascinating bird.

[@kevinreichenbach5326]

Awesome...I was waiting for this one. ✌

[@bolleolympus]

Hornborgasjøen, min siste video, en plass for deg!

[@SparkyStensaas]

I watched it! Fun video of the cranes and geese Bolle!

[@Chris_Wolfgram]

LOVE that place :) Coincidentally, I was there 8 days before you.... So I missed that cold snap ;) Got a bunch of lifers.... then spent 4 days in SE Arizona on my way home :) Love to drive, so I can stop wherever I want to :) Thank you for the awesome video :) Where can I find part 1 and 2 ???

[@SparkyStensaas]

Awesome, Chris! Sounds like you had a mega-birding trip! If you search KZbin for “Sparky Stensaas” you’ll find my channel and the other Texas videos. I also did a series of birding Arizona videos. Feel free to subscribe. Good luck in your future birding adventures!

[@Chris_Wolfgram]

@@SparkyStensaas subscribing now 🙂 TY 👍

[@Levitiy]

South Texas is amazing. The biome variety is just crazy. It is swamp, tropical, temperate, desert, prairie, jungle, brush, oceanic, and more. Not a stranger to snowfall either. It seems the only thing it isn't is mountainous, pine forest, or tundra. Even then, you can still drive a couple of hours south to find mountains and pine forest, all but tundra. Incredible.

[@SparkyStensaas]

That is so true levity! I’ve explored from Big Bend to the valley to the scrub brush in central Texas to the gulf coast to the Big Thicket. All are amazing places.

[@kevinreichenbach5326]

Should have held out to comment till I watched the video. Your explanation of when jaguarundi were last seen in the US. I saw one at Santa Ana WR around 2010. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to get a quick photo of it. But did report it. I did find that most of the wild life areas didn't really want to know about large cat info as I had found cougar track as well around Atascosa. They stated that the didn't want to alarm ranchers and endanger the cats. Fair enough. Great video. Too bad you didn't see more birds. Just bad luck. 👍

[@SparkyStensaas]

Wow, Kevin! You are definitely one of the lucky few. I totally understand the politics of these cats. I think the border wall might prevent a lot of immigration to certain areas.

[@garyives1218]

10:52 !!!!

[@SparkyStensaas]

I love that shot too! I never realize their bill was that narrow

[@bengazzara1324]

I don’t want to contradict you but instead of a common moorhen, would it be just a common gallinule ?

[@SparkyStensaas]

Argh! Missed that name change. When did they do that? Thanks for pointing that out. Unfortunately I can’t change anything once published (:

[@martinestrada1]

What part of the Sabal palms sancturary did you see the illusive jagarundi? I'm going to start visiting that place

[@SparkyStensaas]

That was along the eastern border…but in 1988!! Good a place as any to search for them though.

[@briansmall3090]

Great stuff Sparky...................if you switched to Sony you wouldn't have those AF problems ;-)

[@SparkyStensaas]

Ha! Probably. It was a long wait until it flew but very happy with the flight shots with blue sky background. Of course, seeing the reddish feathers underneath would’ve been nice. I didn’t see Aplomado Falcon on your website. Maybe you just haven’t updated it?? Got sidetracked with your Gyrfalcons photos!

[@briansmall3090]

@@SparkyStensaas No Aplomados for me.............yet!! I wish I had yours believe me.

[@Absorption77]

Thinking of going there in 2025 Spring, can't decide what dates. Any suggestions for migration?

[@SparkyStensaas]

I think mid to late April is when many people go to the Gulf Coast for migration. The valley isgood yearl round.

[@martinestrada7636]

where is the photo evidence

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Martin, Thanks for watching the video. I didn’t understand your question, but would be happy to answer it.

[@ricki-bobby]

It's a shame that so much of the refuge is still close to driving. They still haven't recovered from Covid staffing

[@SparkyStensaas]

True

[@owenpeller6471]

why do you so often take pictures at the wrong time of day in horrible light?

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi Owen, On trips like this I might only have 5-6 days to work so I need to shoot all day long. No naps for me :) Of course I’d like to only shoot in golden light at sunrise or sunset but I only get a few hours like that during an entire one-week trip. Also, I am a birder as well as photographer so I don’t need to always create fine art. Sometimes I’m just thrilled to get any photo of a species I haven’t seen or photographed before. Hope that helps to explain why I include some images in these videos taken in hot midday light. I never do that when I’m working at home in Minnesota.

[@joshdewitt8796]

Your unidentifiable fish is a mullet!

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Josh! Never heard of it :)

[@johnblack4304]

What a great trip. Many thanks for sharing. BTW...what lens(es) do you use ?

[@SparkyStensaas]

Hi John, Thanks! I use the Canon R5 with the Canon 100-500mm RF lens

[@BuhdFrankDaTank93]

This is gold ! Good narration and great combination of photos/video.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thanks so much for watching BuhdFrank! I really appreciate your comments and hope it helps in your next trip to Texas. :-)

[@steveking6204]

Great video Sparky

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you Steve!

[@RoseGrace100]

Beautiful video. Love the the parks.

[@SparkyStensaas]

Thank you RoseGrace!