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USA - Texas: Spring Migration & Hill Country

© Northern Parula by Dusan Brinkhuizen
USA - Texas: Spring Migration & Hill Country

USD4,500 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Local Leader

Pricing notes : Please see BirdingDirect link for spaces and updated pricing.

Tour price (Per person): USD4,500 * GBP3,390 * EUR3,964 * AUD7,064

For enquiries & bookings, please following this link:  Birding Direct - United States

This tour is operated by High Lonesome BirdTours in partnership with BirdingDirect.
These are large group tours (up to 16 guests with multiple tour leaders), and will have guests from both Highlonesome as well as BirdingDirect.

The upper Texas coast provides an unrivaled birding spectacle in the spring as millions of migrants stream north on their way to their breeding rounds. Southern species are already setting up territories and the inland forests are ringing with songs. The coast can be alive with up to 30 species of warblers and it is not uncommon to record more than 30 species of shorebirds alone. Famous migrant traps like High Island, Sabine Woods, and LaFitte’s Cove concentrate vireos, thrushes, tanagers, grosbeaks, and of course the jewels of Neotropical migrants, warblers. This trip coincides with the peak of spring migration and will take advantage of the best time of year to witness this miracle of nature. Three full days birding migrant hotspots on the coast should net us a wide variety of songbirds and shorebirds, plus one full day exploring the Big Thicket regions will add southern breeders and pine woods specialties.

Of course, no visit to Texas would be complete without seeing the Golden-cheeked Warbler, an endemic nesting bird, and the endangered Black-capped Vireo. The trip will head west for two days to explore the riches of the Hill Country where, in addition to the two star birds, we will see a suite of birds different from the coast. In order to complete the loop through Texas’ richest birding habitats we will pass through Kingsville to locate several Rio Grande valley specialties, most notably Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Tropical Parula and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, plus Green Jay, Audubon’s Oriole and more. A short visit to the Rockport area will add many migrants and shorebirds.

 

Top Birds

Golden-cheeked Warbler, Black-capped Vireo, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Wild Turkey, Yellow-throated, White-eyed, Blue-headed & Hutton’s Vireos, Canyon, Cactus and Bewick's Wrens, Northern Parula, Indigo & Painted Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, Greater Roadrunner, Curve-billed & Long-billed Thrashers, Pyrrhuloxia, Olive Sparrow, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Louisiana & Northern Waterthrushes, American Yellow, Worm-eating, Blue-winged, Black-and-white, Prothonotary, Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Nashville, Kentucky, Hooded, Yellow-throated, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Pine, Hooded, Prairie, Canada, Bay-breasted, Wilson’s Warblers, Cerulean, Golden-winged, Mourning, Blackpoll, Cape May, Black-throated Blue & Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Red-cockaded, Golden-fronted & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Aplomado Falcon, Botteri’s, Cassin’s, Clay-colored, Lark, Vesper, Seaside, Nelson’s, Le Conte’s, Savannah, Bachman’s & Grasshopper Sparrows, Brown-headed Nuthatch.

Top Mammals

Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, Bobcat

Habitats Covered

desert and desert scrub, sub-tropical woodlands and palm groves, riverside vegetation, wetlands

Expected Climate

temperatures will range from mild to warm, but can reach 90F at this time of the year in the Valley.

Max Group Size

14 with 2 Tour Leaders

Tour Pace & Walking

moderate with a few shorter walks (two to three longer drives). A few early morning starts are required especially for the Hill Country portion of the trip.

Accommodation

comfortable hotels & lodges, 2 or 3-star

Ease of Birding

generally easy

Number of Species Expected

275

Photographic Opportunities

outstanding

What our clients say about us

Forrest Rowland
JP - Montana 2021

Forrest Rowland is a great guide with thorough knowledge of the area and avifauna. He got all members of the group to see all the species encountered, and we found many great birds. He is very professional, dedicated and with good humour. The area is beautiful and the fauna fantastic.

Adam Walleyn
JW & JW, California 2021

Luke & Adam did a great job. This tour was the perfect US specialty tour (will be interested to see more of these)... We covered tons of environments in a fairly small territory. Luke is a LA-area expert and aimed us exactly where we needed to be.

Stephan Lorenz
JM, Texas 2021

I just wanted you to know that the trip to Texas with Stefan and Claudia went fantastic. The birding was unbelievable and the logistics to pull that all off in such a large state as Texas were near flawless. Stefan is an amazing birder and his persistence and patience made certain everyone got on the birds; the views were amazing. Claudia was a great help for him and was fantastic at quickly getting the scope on the birds as well. It was all wonderful Rockjumper birding until you drop at its finest! On side notes, the food was great.

Forrest Rowland
SR - Montana 2021

This tour exceeded our expectations. Forrest Rowland is an exceptional guide. His intimate knowledge of Yellowstone Park and the general area and the species of animals and birds that inhabit the area are invaluable to the experience, but more than that his unbridled enthusiasm, superior patience, and ability to adjust to circumstances ensured the success of this trip. The area was hit with a very unusual early snowstorm that closed large parts of the park and many roads, but Forrest was able to pivot and ensure that we got to see animals, birds, and geothermal sites despite the difficult conditions. He organized excellent field lunches and great dinners in town and always had several backup plans in mind in case the weather turned either worse or better. The accommodation was located perfectly for easy and quick access to the park, and we found the hotel very comfortable with friendly staff. Forrest also organized a talk for our group with a wolf and bird expert from the Yellowstone Park staff, and this was certainly a highlight of the trip as it provided even more context and background for what we saw every day. I would travel with Forrest again regardless of the destination because he is a guide who will make sure that no matter where we travel the experience will be superior.

Stephan Lorenz
MC, Texas 2021

We enjoyed the tor especially seeing so many warbler the first day. Stephan is a fantastic guide and makes sure that every participant gets a chance to see every bird, as much as possible. We never expected to see so many birds in Texas, and I credit Stephan with that achievement.

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