Birding Festivals

It’s hard to beat a good birding festival when it comes to organized tours, equipment displays and interesting speakers. One of the best, Galveston’s FeatherFest, was held earlier this month. And another good one will be held this fall, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, set for November 6-10.

Held in Harlingen, this excellent event is one of the best-organized and most comprehensive birding festivals I have ever attended. I usually stay at the Alamo Inn, a short drive from Harlingen, because it is owned by a dedicated birder and has an excellent gift shop with lots of avian merchandise. And there’s a good Mexican-food place across the street.

Some of the birds I most look forward to in this area are the green jay, Altamira oriole, great kiskadee, ringed and green kingfishers, plain chachalaca, aplamado falcon and longbilled thrasher. The festival features tours to areas including the King Ranch and Laguna-Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.

In addition to birds, the wildlife refuge is home to the ocelot, a rare big cat that is very secretive and seldom seen.

You can call 209 227-4823, or visit www.rgvbf.org for more information. And if you drive down for the festival, don’t forget to visit a few of the roadside stands and pick up some fresh citrus. On my last visit, I came back with a 10-pound sack of oranges and a bottle of freshsqueezed orange juice.