The Rio Grande Valley, situated in the southern tip of Texas, is among the best birding destinations in the US, hosting myriad regional specialties, rarities, and species found nowhere else in the country. A trip to the RGV yields a tantalizing assortment of birds, including Green Jay, Altamira and Audubon’s Orioles, Green and Ringed Kingfishers, Plain Chachalaca, Great Kiskadee, Clay-colored Thrush, Olive Sparrow, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and more. A wide variety of parrots, thrashers, flycatchers, doves, warblers, waders, shorebirds, and nocturnal birds live among varied habitats of subtropical woodlands, thorny desert scrublands, meandering resacas (river oxbows), and urban spaces. There is so much for birders to see and explore around the famed RGV!
Stephanie Lopez is a Rio Grande Valley native who fell into the whirlwind of birding during a bird walk at the National Butterfly Center in 2015. Since then, she has immersed herself in the conservation of the native plants that support local wildlife. Through her presentations and education, she seeks to spark curiosity and appreciation for the natural world among everyone she meets. Birding has taken her to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Canada chasing birds; she is also a guide for Nature Ninja Birding Tours. She credits birding for having opened up her world. Stephanie Lopez is the Executive Director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX, a project of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).
All are welcome – members and non-members – to our program meetings.
This program is presented virtually via Zoom – click here for the Zoom weblink.
Photo of Green Jays, by Margaret Bue.