The Best of Texas in Early Spring

Summary

A relaxed 14-day birdwatching and butterfly tour showcasing the best of Texas, visiting the iconic reserves of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Texas Hill Country.

Texas is one of the most exciting states in the United States for birdwatching and butterflies. From the Hill Country north of San Antonio to South Padre Island on the coast and the Rio Grande Valley in the south, this region is prized among birders and naturalists as a premier place to see birds and butterflies found nowhere else in the United States. Subtropical habitats along the lower Rio Grande showcase bird and butterfly-life characteristic of north-eastern Mexico. An explosion of butterfly gardens throughout the Valley, including the National Butterfly Centre, has resulted in more species of butterfly being recorded here than in any other region of the United States. Most of the world’s population of Whooping Cranes gather along a small stretch of the Texas coast to the north of the lower Rio Grande Valley. Our visit to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a chance to see these birds at close range from a boat, and to enjoy the abundance of birds, butterflies and mammals that use the rich central Texas coastline during the winter months. Our visit to Texas Hill Country, an area that is much drier with vegetation more typical of western deserts such as junipers and cacti, introduces us to a completely different selection of birds and butterflies, including Texas’s only breeding endemic, the gorgeous Golden-cheeked Warbler.