Northern Jacana – our first American ‘twitch 

Today we reached the Lower Rio Grande Valley, after another longish drive with some excellent birding on route – starting with our first American twitch! A Northern Jacana was found at the Botanical Gardens in Corpus Christi at the weekend, a rare bird for the States, attracting a steady trickle of visitors. We were there before the gates opened but were told by the ground staff that the bird was still present. After a rather twitchy start, when the bird couldn’t initially be found, Jake finally relocated it, close to the track and giving excellent views. We added half a dozen new species for the trip at this excellent site before heading to the bush country, on the edge of The Valley, for more birding – in temperatures in the eighties. Our last stop of the day at Edinburg Wetlands delivered a handful of anticipated ticks before finally arriving at The legendary Alamo Inn, our Valley base for the next few days.

Another trip tick at the Botanical Gardens was Least Grebe

The site at La Sal Vieja produced a number of difficult to see species, including this White-tailed Hawk

Our final stop of the day at Edinburg Wetlands provided some excellent birding in shady cover, including this Buff-bellied Humming Bird – our fourth so far for the trip