Summer Delehanty's Portfolio

Unfortunately, my first night in Texas was a late one. A thirty minute flight delay, forced gate-checking of my carry-on, slow rental car pickup, road construction, and a missed exit in San Antonio all amassed into an 11:30pm hotel arrival time. I strongly considered waking up as planned anyway and relying on caffeine to get me through the day. The more I thought about it, the more I could see myself being miserable come noon, with another three hours to endure before I could nap in my next hotel. Instead, I had a restless night of sleep until around 6am, when I got up for good and continued my drive south. 

My anticipated arrival at my first stop, Estero Llano Grande State Park, was a full hour and a half after sunrise. While I was bummed to waste an early morning on driving, I ended up appreciating that I could see the scenery in the daylight. Crested Caracaras and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers perched on the side of the highway, their striking silhouettes easily identifiable in the early morning light. It took all of my willpower to not pull over on the treacherous shoulder for pictures. I hit a few bouts of heavy rain, but thankfully no road flooding. 

The sun was bright and high in the sky when I finally pulled in to Estero Llano. As soon as I opened my door, I was hit by a cacophony of unfamiliar bird noises. Plain Chachalacas, Couch’s Kingbirds, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, and White-winged Doves were all audible from the parking lot. The chachalacas especially were deafeningly loud. My amble to the visitor center was no faster than a tortoise’s, disrupted by every new noise or movement in the foliage. At a small feeding station, a Green Jay posed nicely with some Great-tailed Grackles and an Olive Sparrow that rummaged in the leaf litter. 

My very first Texas destination was something I heavily deliberated. I got a “Texas birding hotspots” book in preparation and read countless blogs, which gave me my top three choices: Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and Estero Llano Grande State Park. I would get a chance to visit all of them, but I couldn’t decide in what order. Early morning would yield the most birds, with late afternoon being quietest, so I wanted to choose wisely. 

Estero Llano Grande is the park I knew the least about. Only established in the early 2000s, it wasn’t covered in my birding book, and I hadn’t spent a lot of time figuring out what it actually looked like. However, it was very highly regarded in the blogs I’d read, often called a “hidden gem” and a “must-visit,” and was part of the World Birding Center network, Anecdotally, the presence of several feeding stations made birds easy to see, which would be helpful for a first stop. Intrigued, I decided to try it. 

What a great decision that was! The visitor center sat on a covered deck, overlooking a wetland and a couple feeding stations. Golden-fronted Woodpeckers examined a fresh orange at one of the stations while Blue-winged Teal, Black-bellied and Mottled Ducks, and Common Gallinule swam between Black-necked Stilts and other shorebirds. Grackles screeched from all parts of the landscape, sticking their heads up and puffing up their tails in an amusing display. I grabbed a few mementos and entry wristband at the visitor center… once I could finally pry myself away from all the interesting birds. 

Of the birds featured on the Texas birding shirt I made, the Buff-bellied Hummingbird was my last find. One flew up to a hummingbird feeder and perched for a few seconds. It felt like cheating to find all eight of them in less than an hour! The feeding stations were a huge magnet for most of the major Texas specialities, where I also found a White-tipped Dove, Long-billed Thrasher, and Clay-colored Thrush.

Though I enjoyed the close looks at all of them, I also wanted to explore the rest of the park. I followed a smaller, winding trail through a lush forest of palms and greenery, which I would’ve believed was Puerto Rico if I didn’t know better. I enjoyed some dried mango and beef jerky at a bench by the wetlands, then continued my lap around the ponds to see a Roseate Spoonbill, a couple alligators, and some vocalizing Least Grebes. 

I rested in the shade at the visitor center feeding station on my way back, talking with the other folks sitting there. I always love hearing about other people’s lives and remembering that there are so many ways to spend the same 24 hours. A photographer from Arizona shared all kinds of fascinating stories about his travels. While we chatted, a Curve-billed Thrasher joined the doves and grackles in the shrubbery, along with a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Saying bye to my new friend and leaving Estero Llano Grande, I took a quick break for coffee before arriving at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. As anticipated, it was quiet in the afternoon heat. I got myself a nice Green Jay hat at the visitor center before exploring the trails. The humidity and smell of rain made me nervous, but I managed to avoid getting caught in the storm.

A Brown-crested Flycatcher silently greeted me at the trailhead as I struggled to differentiate it from the similar Ash-throated and Great-crested Flycatchers. Thankfully, I finally found one making their diagnostic calls. Later, I was thrilled to get a brief glimpse of a White-tailed Hawk from the birding blind at the wetlands. One the way out, while chatting with a ranger, I excitedly told him about the hawk.

“Oh yeah, we just saw one of those shred a rabbit the other day,” he remarked. Ah, nature. 

In desperate need of a nap and a shower, I drove straight to from the refuge to my hotel. The mid-afternoon is the quietest bird-wise and the best time for me to download photos, respond to messages, and get some rest before late evening birding. I woke up (mostly) refreshed and ready to see some more birds.

My final stop of the day was at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, which is as big as its name is long. I wouldn’t see the whole park, especially because the main drive was closed to cars, but the birds there are very similar to the ones at the previous two parks. I was there at around sunset for one reason: an Elf Owl, which allegedly roosts in a telephone pole by the entrance. I didn’t have the exact coordinates, but my guidebook gave me approximate directions, and I trusted my ability to figure it out.

The area was crawling with border patrol, which makes sense, given that it’s right next to their horse stables. I felt horribly suspicious pacing around the front gates at dusk. Hopefully, my binoculars, camera, and birdwatching hat tipped everybody off to my intentions. This park was open until 10pm, so at least it was ok for me to be there after dark.

After a brief little meander down the main trail, which yielded a Hooded Oriole, Javelina, and a couple fearless turkeys, I headed back to the owl spot about thirty minutes before sunset. There was already one other person there; he had a giant camera and smiled wordlessly as I approached. 

We waited for the little owl in silence. The hole in the telephone pole remained empty. I peeked over every time the man put up his binoculars, trying to see if he saw something I didn’t, but every time he just put them back down disappointedly. After about 40 minutes, with darkness rapidly setting in, I was getting nervous we had missed him. If it got too dark, I wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. 

Then a little face appeared in the telephone pole. My heart jumped as the man and I both scrambled for our cameras. The Elf Owl’s white eyebrows and round eyes gave it an adorable shocked expression as it peered out from its cavity. I got great looks through my binoculars and a couple identifiable pictures before he ducked down. He popped up once more before I lost him again. I waited a little longer just in case I could see him a third time, but the darker it got, the less likely my chances. 

The man and I started walking back towards the parking lot. Reveling in our sighting of the owl, we started up a conversation. He was also just visiting the area, so we swapped stories about what we’d seen and heard already. He had a couple good recommendations I made mental note of. If I wasn’t so tired, I would’ve stayed longer to hear a Common Paraque, but I know my limit and I was at it. We wished each other well and headed to our respective cars.

I grabbed a quick dinner at a Church’s Chicken and made my way back to my hotel. A very successful day 1 indeed!