Special to the PRESS
More than 500 birders from all over the country and world flocked to the 29th Annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival held last week, Nov. 9 -13 in Harlingen, Texas. Although the festival is based in the mid-valley, it offers birding tours, led by expert birding guides, to all corners of the RGV, including habitats on South Padre Island, a world-renowned hot-spot for birds and birding.
Much of the birding excitement during this year’s festival was actually centered at the SPI Birding Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary (SPIBNC&AS).
Javier Gonzalez, a Naturalist Educator at SPIBNC&AS, states “Early November brings the perfect season for a birding festival in the RGV; the tail end of bird migration is coming through, wintering species are starting to settle in, and with hundreds of expert eyes on the lookout, chances for finding rare species are high. Each year, some great rarities are found during the festival that generates a lot of excitement with attendants. This time, the bird of the festival was found here at our center!”
Festival guides and participants on a tour of the Island found a first record for Texas. The Smooth-billed Ani, never before seen is Texas, was spotted at the SPIBNC&AS on the second day of the festival.
“The bird came as a big surprise, as it was in the company of a Groove-billed Ani, an extremely similar-looking close relative species that breed in the southern part of Texas. The Smooth-billed Ani, on the other hand, is a species found in the Caribbean, South America, and parts of Florida, where they are declining. This bird was found a long way from its normal range!” says, Gonzalez. “The Smooth-billed Ani is slightly larger than the Groove-billed Ani, has a larger, parrot-like, bill that is missing the grooves that the Groove-billed Anis have. It also sounds different than the common-to-the-area, Groove-billed Ani.”
Want the entire story? Pick up a copy of the Port Isabel-South Padre PRESS, or subscribe to our e-Edition by clicking HERE!