November 14, 2018 - Wild by Nature
- Details
- Published: Wednesday, 14 November 2018 07:43
- Written by Carina Brunson
Of the 400-plus species of birds that have been reported to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird across the Rio Grande Valley, most are year-round residents. Others are either winter or summer residents, some are migratory visitors and a few are vagrant, or accidental, species. While the birds that fall into the first three categories make up the vast majority of bird species you’ll see here in the Valley, it is the birds that fall into the vagrant species category that create the most excitement among birders.
These are birds that have strayed far outside their expected breeding, wintering or migrating range. These are individual birds that show up in an area that is hundreds or even thousands of miles away from where they are usually seen.
In January of this year, a Snowy Owl, a species that is native to Arctic regions in North America and Eurasia., was being seen in Odessa, Texas. How this bird ended up so far away from its normal range is a mystery, but once word of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a Snowy Owl in Texas got out, birders from all over the state made their way to Odessa in hopes of seeing it for themselves.
While that sighting was nearly a year ago and hundreds of miles away, there has been a much more recent vagrant bird sighting right here in the Valley. A female Varied Thrush (photographed here) was seen by several visitors to the National Butterfly Center (NBC) in Mission, Tuesday of last week. The news of this rare bird sighting spread like wildfire and soon had birders from as far away as New York state, Ohio and even Ontario, Canada making their way to Mission in hopes of seeing and photographing this Robin-like bird, rarely seen east of the Rockies.
The Rio Grande Birding Festival had just kicked off the day this bird was first reported, which meant there were already many birders from across the United States in the Valley. While some of them were able to make the quick trip from Harlingen to Mission the same day, others were lined up in their cars outside the NBC’s front gate the following morning waiting for the center to open. And as the bird continued to be seen, birders from far-and-wide continued to make their way to Mission, in hopes of adding a West Coast species to their birding life lists right here in South Texas.
How long this bird will remain in the Valley is not known, but birders are expected to continue coming to Mission for as long as it makes the NBC its home away from home.
Upcoming Nature Events and Activities
• Resaca de la Palma State Park (1000 New Carmen Ave., Brownsville) Butterfly Walk, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2:30 pm, and Intro to Birding, Thursday, Nov. 15, 10 am. 956-350-2920.
• McAllen Nature Center (4101 W. Business 83, McAllen) Native Plant Tour, Mondays, 6 pm, Sunset Yoga in the Park, Mondays, Wednesdays. and Fridays, 6 pm, Morning Yoga, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 9:30 am, Bird and Nature Walk, Wednesdays, 8:30 am, Volunteer Gardening Mornings, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 am, Sunset Geocaching, Wednesdays, 6 pm. 956-681-3333.
• Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and World Birding Center (714 Raul Longoria Rd., Edinburg) Bird Walks, Tuesdays, 8:30–10 am, Nutty About Knots, Saturday, November 17, 2-3:30 pm, Where in the Wetlands Scavenger Hunt, Saturday, November 17, 10-11:30 am, Spectacular Saturdays, Saturday, Nov. 24, 8 am. 956-381-9922.
• Frontera Audubon (1101 S. Texas Blvd., Weslaco) Yoga on the Lawn, Tuesdays, 6:30 & 7:30 pm, Guided Bird Walks, Thursdays, 6:30 & 7:30 pm. 956-968-3275.
• Valley Nature Center (301 S. Border Ave., Weslaco) Native Plant Project Meeting, every fourth Thursday, 7:30 pm, Orchid Society Meeting, every first Sunday, 2 pm, and Brew in the Woods, Saturday, November 10, 7-10 pm. 956-969-2475.
• Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center (600 Sunset Dr., McAllen) Bird and Nature Walks, Saturdays, 8:30 am. 956-681-3370.
For more information on these and other upcoming events and activities, contact the nature center hosting them.
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