Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park occupies 797-acres, with over 1,200 acres of adjoining U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge tracts. In 1944, the Bentsen family donated 586.9 acres to the Texas Parks Board, stipulating that the land be used “solely for Public Park Purposes and shall be maintained, operated, known and designated as Bentsen Rio Grande … Read more
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge nestles in 2,088 acres along the Rio Grande. With 14 miles of trails, there are almost limitless opportunities to meet birds and other wildlife. During migrations, they’re situated ideally to intercept birds travelling between their breeding grounds to the north, and their winter homes in Central and South America. Much … Read more
A few short miles south of Brownsville (Texas), is a birding destination of world renown. In the 1890s and early 1900s, it was one of the largest post-Civil War plantations in the area. Today they call it the Sabal Palm Sanctuary. The Audubon Society and the Gorgas Science Foundation operate the property as a research … Read more
In February 2021, Texas experienced some freakishly cold weather. We called it the “Big Freeze”. Electrical power failed for four days, and temperatures fell to 15°F and stayed low for several days before gradually relaxing its grip. It was during this unusual weather event that I first visited the National Butterfly Center, or NBC, in … Read more
South Texas is about as close to heaven for bird lovers as any place I’ve ever visited. The southmost part of the state is fondly called the Lower Rio Grande Valley, or LRGV. The last lazy 100 miles of the Rio Grande cradles more than a dozen birding oases. Choosing a favorite among the many … Read more
Before my recent surgery on Oct-25, I’d completed the revisions for the descriptions on all but one group of birds in my collection. That group was the Pelagic set. For the first few weeks after my eight-day hospital stay, I could not focus clearly on tasks such as research and writing, so the project stagnated. … Read more
With 40 species in the set, it was quite a chore to get them all updated. It is still an educational experience for me to sift through scholarly articles looking for useful information and interesting trivia. Some subjects lend themselves to the investigative process better than others. This is true, largely because we have not … Read more
I finished revising the collection of birds in the “Thrush” clan, and earlier this week I completed revisions to the “Thrasher” clan. Both sets are now ready for prime-time viewing <grin>. I’m learning a great deal about my subjects through the research I’ve been doing. I feel as though I’m traveling down familiar roads, but … Read more
In between my MacGyvering projects with the RV, I’m working on the species galleries. I’ve been revising these accounts and their descriptions most of this year (2021). In July, I finally came up with a standard format that I like. I have always been interested in where birds live throughout the year. Most of the … Read more
I’ve finished revising the species collection I call “Sparrows”. Besides the classic sparrows, it includes buntings, juncos, and towhees. All told, there are 39 species in this set. Included now with the descriptions is information about subspecies and their range, world-wide. Interested viewers should follow this link: <https://shadetreeimaging.com/album/sparrow-group/> I hope you enjoy the visit.
