The Surprise of Birding the Rio Grande Valley of Texas

I spend 4 days in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for winter birding. I see the Hook-billed Kite, a Screech Owl, Common Paurague and many other birds and creatures which call this area home. The surprise of the trip is seeing and photographing a Bobcat. Come along as I explore the area looking for birds.

[@jessh9139]

The RGV offers lots of great opportunities to photograph nature. I’m glad to call it home. You did a fantastic job of documenting a little taste of home. Thank you.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

I really enjoyed my visit and definitely will visit again as I feel I only saw a fraction of what is available. I am so happy a local person feels like I captured the experience available from the “RGV”.Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!

[@bikerchick6579]

Wow! Loved all the videos and photos! Amazing Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Green Kingfisher, Bobcat, Hook-billed Kite photos and everything in-between! Another awesome video, Jeff!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Thank you for watching and being such a huge supporter of the channel! I love to hear that you like the video. Since you are a big birder it's even more rewarding when you mention you like certain bird pictures! Thanks again for being such a big supporter and look forward to seeing you on one of your next bird walks.

[@jdhamilton4817]

Great job and what a variety of birds and wildlife…..keep ‘em coming…..

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Get place to visit and so much to see. I missed pictures of a lot birds…. next time. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelhodges4593]

Always learn about a new bird and location watching these vids. Great shots!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Glad you are enjoying and learning something from the videos. Each time I put one of these together I learn a lot also! Can’t wait to come to your part of the world and explore what there is to see!

[@Yardbird_les]

Fabulous photography, as always, Jeff and thanks.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Glad you enjoyed and thanks for watching. I just jumped over to your channel to watch some of the Panama visit. Would love to go there some day. Happy New Year!

[@peterjensen1455]

Each Video is an Improvement from the last. Very Impressive Jeff. Thank you for sharing.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Peter, thank you for being such a big supporter of this channel and my hobby. The good news is I still have a growing list of stories/adventures to tell and I know I still have significant improvement to make the viewer experience even better.

[@TomReplogle]

Wow! Those hummingbird shots were excellent! Great vid!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Tom - In the flurry of taking a lot of pictures a couple turned out. I enjoyed watching the Hummingbird and it is a lot of fun trying to capture them as they are so fast! Thanks for watching the video.

[@tracyreaume6451]

Love your videos - incredible photography and video footage!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Tracy - So glad you enjoy the videos! I am always amazed what I see when I spend time in a natural area. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@mb7226]

Well done!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@josephagius2562]

Loved seeing the bobcat pic. I’ve seen one in my life and it was at Sabal Palm in TX. It walked out of front of us. Your pic brought back memories. Glad you saw the Hook-billed. I was fortunate enough to see them at Benstein. Thanks for sharing the videos and photos!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

I am glad my pictures brought back good memories of seeing a Bobcat! They are amazing animals and this trip was the first time I have seen one. I have not been to Sabal Palm, but it is on my list of places to visit I just ran out of time on this trip. It is great to have so many places to go to see birds and wildlife. Thank you for watching the video and your comment!

[@raleighmeade9104]

Love the video of the Bobcat as well as the still. I enjoyed visiting with you at Bentsen. Take care and we might meet again.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Raleigh it is impressive that you found me on KZbin and watched the video - Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the Bobcat video and stills. It was the highlight of my trip as I have never seen a Bobcat before. Hope to see you out birding again.

[@jeffreythomas7036]

Fantastic video! You got some great shots.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Thank you for watching the video! I am glad you liked some of the photographs. Its always fun to be outside looking for Birds/Wildlife to photograph.

[@adelavasquez398]

You also need to see Santa Ana as well as Edinburg scenic wetlands (Doolittle park) you'll love it!!!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

I have only been to the RGV twice and realize I need to spend a lot more time in the area. I will try to get many of the other locations people have told me about. Thank you for watching the video and providing the feedback!

[@ruthp2379]

I would so love to see a hummingbird. Excellent video Jeff, stunning photographs. Such a variety of birds an animals in the State Park. Just wonderful!

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Ruth - The US has amazing wildlife but we need to give it more space and we need to take better care of the space they have. I have been traveling to the Gulf of Mexico a lot recently to watch the Neotropical bird migration. Its like watching flying Christmas ornaments as the birds are wearing their breeding plumage and have just traveled 600 miles over the Gulf of Mexico in ~18 hours. An amazing miracle for many of the birds that are ~4 inches (10 centimeters) in length. I still don't understand how they are able to accomplish such a feat. New video on this coming soon. Thanks for watching multiple videos it means a lot to me.

[@ruthp2379]

@@Jeffswildlifeadventures Looking forward to the video on migrating birds. I was amazed to find out that Bar Tailed Godwits (a water bird) migrate from Alaska to Australia, over 8,000 miles! Birds are amazing, they look so fragile but have the strength to fly such long distances. We need more space put aside for National Parks for wildlife. Loss of environment affects us all in the end.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

@@ruthp2379 It would be great to win the Lottery and take it all and buy land and put it aside for wildlife! You also might find the rewilding videos I am generating interesting (same KZbin channel) as it is something we can all do to help wildlife. I am converting my Suburban Yard of grass to a pollinator garden with native plants. I have completed Episode 1 and 2. Currently working on Episode 3 and 4. Again, thanks for watching the videos, caring about wildlife and being so engaged!

[@ruthp2379]

@@Jeffswildlifeadventures Thank you! I realise that I need to do the same here, encourage pollinators, which is why I came across your channel. Thanks so much.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

@@ruthp2379 I wish you good luck and success in adding flowers and native plants to your "yard". It is amazing what happens!

[@Birdlab]

Awesome work! Subscribed.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Thank you for watching the video and sending a comment! Glad you liked it!

[@naturewithgabe]

Great video and awesome photos!!! I need to get down to Texas.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Looks like you are from Georgia and well traveled. Texas is a big state and the number of different ecological environments is incredible. East Texas is a "rain forest" while west Texas is a desert and the rest of the state is everything in-between. There are a number of jewels in the state including Big Bend National Park which is amazing. The Texas Gulf Coast represents the Mississippi and Central flyway for the Neotropical bird migration from about Mid April through Mid-may. It is amazing. I also noticed you have an interest in Herpetology and we have our fair share of snakes. You might find my video on the channel "A Snake Safari" interesting as all the footage was shot in one afternoon. Thanks for watching the video and your comment.

[@naturewithgabe]

@@Jeffswildlifeadventures yeah, Georgia has an amazing diversity of habitats but Texas is another level! Yeah, I’ll check out that video.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

@@naturewithgabe Hope it helps convince you to take a trip to Texas in the Spring (Second half of April - First half of May).

[@tristramstout8988]

Wow, wow, wow! I know this video is a year old, but I only just came across it. I’m quite amazed by all the beautiful birds. Makes me think that I need to travel to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and do some birding. Can you suggest a good time of year?

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Tristram - there are two different times to bird the Rio Grande Valley. The video you watched was based on winter birding. Please note I spent many days to put together this short video. I have been in the “valley” both in January and February winter birding, each trip I have taken has been very different. The other option is Spring neotropical migration which takes place in April. Very different experiences. I have always viewed the Spring migration on the east side of the Texas gulf coast (Sabine Woods and Locations on High Island) and if you haven’t experienced you should put on your list - from April 9th though the end of the month are great with the third week typically being the best. Hope this helps if you have other questions just leave another comment with your questions and I will try to answer. Take care and good luck!

[@martinestrada-nm9yl]

have have green jays, kiskadees, trhush, house sparrows, a variety of doves, when I have the feeder out I have hummingbirds, and whatever else strays into my house in Rio Hondo, had an interesting bird, every seems to disagree as to what species it is but I uploaded a pic to Cornell's Merlin app and it identified them as Wmimbrel others say it's Long billed curlew.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Living along he Texas Gulf Coast is amazing with the Neotropical bird migration but also all the birds which just call in home year round. I feel the Green Jay and Kiskadee are two of the most beautiful, striking birds. In addition they have great personalities to go with their beautiful colors. I find the Merlin App is amazing but when you get birds that are a shade of brown/white it can get really tough to identify. I will be headed to the "beach" shortly to take pictures of shore birds and I find it really difficult to tell the differences between many of them.

[@glennalexon1530]

It would be cool to know where the video is shot.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Glenn - 90+% of the video and pictures are from Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Hope you are able to visit.

[@douglaswetzel3221]

Where did you see the Harris Hawk? I plan on going down on Wednesday for a few days.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Bentsen State Park. Look luck on your visit, and hope you see a lot of birds!

[@douglaswetzel3221]

@@Jeffswildlifeadventures Thanks Jeff, have you been to the Salineno bird feeders on the river, or Falcon State Park nearby?

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

No I have not been to either. They are now on my list for the next trip to the RGV. If you go to either let me know what you think.

[@tracybecker2515]

Where did you see the hook-billed kite?

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. Most sightings were in the morning between 7:30 and 9:00 and along Roadrunner trail.

[@robertsmith8023]

You need to ID each species when you show it. Otherwise just wallpaper.

[@Jeffswildlifeadventures]

Robert - Do you feel the ID needs to be at the time of the picture/video or would an ID list at the end of the video with the time code meet your expectation?