Exploring Nature: Rio Grande V
alley
You might want to mark your calendar for November 6-10 of this year. Those are the dates for the 31st annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.
The festival is set for the Harlingen Convention Center and registration is now open. There will be several field trips and some interesting speakers, including Jeff Bouton, who will tell about his quest to photograph over one thousand bird species through a spotting scope.
But truth to tell, a trip to the Valley is a nice thing to do anytime of the year. I always looked forward to picking up a carload of citrus products, especially Texas red grapefruit, which was named the official state fruit in 1993, and also oranges and tangerines.
It’s been a few years since I visited the Valley, but I fondly recall staying at the Alamo Inn in Alamo, a low-cost, no-frills establishment that was hospitable to birders and had a nice little library of birding books for sale.
Of course, the many avian species were the top attraction of any visit. I always hoped to see chachalacas, great kiskadees, vermilion flycatchers and red-crowned parrots. Green and brown jays were also treats.
The Rio Grande Valley is really a delta area of the Rio Grande River and consists of four counties — Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron. Some of the more interesting cities in this area are Roma, McAllen, Mission, Alamo, Pharr, Port Isabel and South Padre Island.
So whether it’s for birds and beaches or palms and parks, it’s hard to go wrong with a visit to the Magic Valley, a very special place!
