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Birding
Harlingen is known worldwide as a tropical birder's paradise because
of its location on the convergence of two major flyways. The city
has several sites on the Great
Texas Coastal Birding Trail co-sponsored by the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas
Department of Transportation, including the Harlingen Thicket
Bird Sanctuary, a 40-acre tract of native brush in the city center.
Two national wildlife refuges and other birding hotspots are easily
accessible from Harlingen. Laguna
Atascosa NWR boasts 45,000 acres along the beautiful Laguna
Madre, (956) 748-3607. Santa
Ana NWR, to the west, offers tram tours during the winter months,
(956) 787-3079. Sabal
Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary bird feeders attract tropical
and migratory species to this Brownsville site. Los
Ebanos Preserve
near Harlingen features 82 acres with gardens, nature trails, birds
and butterflies galore.
Harlingen also hosts the Rio
Grande Valley Birding Festival, the largest and oldest nature
festival in the region.
Pick up a free birding guide and checklist at the Harlingen Area
Chamber of Commerce and see how many species you can identify. Start
with Harlingen's official bird, the Great Kiskadee.
To request a free birding guide click
here.
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