One of the best birding spots in Texas - Most Days
Written: Apr 25 '07 (Updated Apr 29 '07)
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Pros: Great birding habitat, nice trails
Cons: all those woods are hard to bird in when it's windy
The Bottom Line: Santa Ana is a good hike for anyone, but is a birder's paradise.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge |
When my wife and I were getting ready for our trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I looked to a few resources to find out where we should focus our efforts since we would only have 5 days (WAY too few, it turns out). She bought me a book (Birder's Guide to Texas) for Xmas which didn't seem that great at first but actually turned out to be a pretty valuable resource although it was a bit dated. My friend Joe had given me several suggestions, as did numerous other experts in the field - and nearly all of them included Santa Ana NWR, one of the premier birding spots in the country, let alone Texas.
I was pretty excited to check it out; in fact, in many ways it was THE place I wanted to go most (followed closely by Sabal Palm Audubon Center). Located south of McAllen, TX, the NWR provides a multitude of habitats including wetlands, forest, desert scrub and more. Nearly 400 species of birds have been seen there at some time - an amazing total.
[ • for the BIRDS • ]
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge is one of a string of national and state parks along the Rio Grande river. Established in 1943, Santa Ana NWR consists of over 2,000 acres of mixed habitat devoted to the protection of migrating birds, making Santa Ana one of the crown jewels of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. It's location provides a convergence of woods, gulf coast habitat and desert that offer up a great collection of animals of all types.
In addition to the nearly 400 species of birds that have been seen, the refuge is also home to a lot of other species including lizards, butterflies (almost 300 species), dragonflies and other rarer species like the ocelot.
[ • facilities and TRAILS • ]
With all of that land, there's a lot of ground to cover. The primary path through the park is a 7-mile driving tour loop that runs along the edge of the perimeter. During the peak season (May to November), visitors can drive around the park themselves; a tram tour is offered along that same route when the tour loop isn't open ($3 for adults, $1 for kids under 12).
If you want to hoof it yourself, there are a number of trails that go through a portion of the park. 12 miles of boot trails run along a number of ponds and lakes, to a wooden lookout and through a number of different habitats. Trails are offered for a variety of abilities, with lengths running 0.3 to 2.0 miles each. However, the walking trails don't go through hardly any of the park's breadth - walking the 7-mile loop will provide access to more areas.
The visitor's center is pretty nice, too, with good, clean facilities and a very helpful staff. There is a thorough shop to get your field guides or other supplies, plus a set of information about the park itself - which is what people come for in the first place.
[ • No Such Luck • ]
Unfortunately, despite all of the praise and great references, it turned out to be the most disappointing stop on our trip. I have to admit that we didn't pick the best of days to go - it was extremely windy, making it tough to see any birds that might be in the trees, which is the main habitat we hiked through. Also, my wife had a major sugar low while we were out, cutting short the trip.
The park itself is great, with some beautiful trails and terrain. But for much of our hike, the birds were playing hide-and-seek; in all, we saw far more lizards, butterflies and dragonflies than birds. Still, the day had some highlights. We met a bunch of really nice people, including those at the visitor center and other hikers as we were heading in and out.
The inner trails are mostly wooded, leading out the observation deck over Willow Lake and the photo blind. They lead out to the butterfly garden and eventually out to the pintail lakes, which have varying amounts of water depending on the time of year and what is migrating. Most of them were dry when we were there, although there was a small pond near the butterfly gardens that was attracting a bit of attention.
Unfortunately, the weather - chilly and windy - conspired against us and we saw very few birds there in the end. So, we did what seemed like the only sensible alternative - started looking at butterflies, dragonflies and reptiles. And it was quite a place to find them - we saw a bunch of them as we walked toward, through and past the butterfly gardens, particularly on the grassy paths leading out to the ponds.
While hiking along the paths, we saw a lot of smaller butterflies that we couldn't get a bead on, as well as a few lizards. Then, as we approached the butterfly garden, we got to see some very cool butterflies: a Zebra, a Brown Long-Tailed Skipper and a Giant Swallowtail. In the butterfly garden itself, there were a bunch more butterflies and hummingbirds. The gardens were full of what will become beautiful, flowering plants - when we were there, they were just starting to come out. A couple of small benches allow visitors to sit and enjoy the scenery around them.
If we were disappointed overall with the park, I have to say that one element was incredible - seeing a pair of mating Harris' Hawks just above us when we sat to have a snack. It was something to see and something that not many people will. We also got the chance to see a Clay-colored Robin, which is a pretty cool variation on the common American Robin we have at home.
Near the entrance, there is another small butterfly garden - one that turned out to be bountiful despite its smaller size. A 5-minute quick look ended up being almost 45 minutes of my wife and I shooting both normal and macro to get all of the cool butterflies.
But sadly, that small butterfly garden was more productive than the rest of our day (with the obvious exception of those hawks). But as I said, the conditions we chose would make for a tough time at almost all parks, so I don't know how much our lack of success can be attributed to the park itself. Can dozens of people be wrong - probably not, and I'm willing to try it out again soon.
[ • park DETAILS • ]
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Route 2, Box 202A
Alamo, Texas 78516
Phone: (956) 784-7500
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/santana.html
Cost: $3.00 per vehicle or group of foot entry, $25 for a group (except schools, which are FREE).
[ • a final WALK-THROUGH • ]
I went in with high expectations for this park, and was unfortunately disappointed. The park was really nice - it was the weather and the 'results' we got that were a downer. But I have to think that going on a better day would have gotten a better response. After all, there's a reason why this is known as one of the best birding spots in the area.
If you go, make sure to bring lots of water and bug spray - they grow 'em big down there, so you'll need it - and watch out for people are staring up in the trees.
[ • related REVIEWS • ]
• Laguna Atascosa NWR: So good, we did it 3 times
• National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: Texas
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: March-May
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Wildlife
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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