Bentson State Park

Green Jay was the species I most wanted to see.
They are common at Bentson. Sometimes 
five at a time would be on a feeder

 The Rio Grande Valley (RGV for now on) has dozens if not hundreds of birding locations. Arguably, the crown jewel is the Bentson- Rio Grande Valley State Park. This was the number one place for me to visit on the list. Bentson is only a few minutes from downtown McAllen. From our motel in Alamo I think it was a twenty one minute drive. 

   The park officially opens at 8 AM. You can get there before this and bird around the visitor center. Not knowing the opening, we arrived at 7:15 AM. We birded around some hummingbird feeders and also ate a snack before a long day. While we were eating a snack, a javelina crossed the road and we got to watch it. It was our first one so we were very excited to see it. 

  

At 8 AM the visitor center opens up and you can go in and pay your five dollar entrance fee and pick up a map. At 8:30 AM rangers fill the bird feeders with sunflower seeds and suet. The birds know this and they were lined up before the rangers even arrived. Plain Chachalacas were already at the feeders when we arrived. When the ranger placed the food, the place went wild. Green Jays, two species of Oriole, Two species of woodpeckers, and many others came for breakfast. There was a bird walk lead by a volunteer that morning watching the feeders. This worked well for me because he picked out a couple species I would not have been able to identify. The most notable was an Audubon's Oriole.

   Our plan was not to take any bird walks and to do the property ourselves but after spending a few minutes with John, I realized I'd see more birds if we went. No one else went on the walk except Laurie and I and another volunteer named Steve. It was a good decision. We stopped at three other feeders along the walk. The walk lasted until 11 am. The last feeder was a tram stop so we hitched a ride back to the visitor center instead of having to hoof it back.

   We only covered a mile and a half on our walk out of the eight miles of trails. In that time I got eleven life birds. I would have gotten another five had a we not stopped at Estero the night before. I think the "rarest" species we saw was Audubon's Oriole. Since everything was new to us, it didn't matter to me what was rare or what was common. Seeing my first Olive Sparrow was just as exciting. Seeing all of the colors of all of the species was incredible.

My eleven life birds were Audubon's Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Inca Dove, White Tipped Dove, Black Chinned Hummingbird, Gray Hawk (distant look), Clay Colored Thrush, Long Billed Thrasher, Black Crested Titmouse, Altamira Oriole, Olive Sparrow.

  On top of the eleven lifers  the birds I'd only seen once in my life (at Estero the afternoon before) were Plain Chachalaca, Great Kiskadee, Green Jay, Ladder Backed Woodpecker, Golden Fronted Woodpecker.

Bentson #2

   I decided days before we had to come home that I would not chase lifers the last day of the trip. We would go back to a favorite spot and just relax and enjoy birds. We chose to go back to Bentson. There were multiple reasons for this. They were as follows... We only walked about a mile and a half the first time. You can rent bikes for $5 for four hours ar the Visitor Center. So we rented bikes so we could cover more ground quicker. Secondly, we knew the rangers would fill multiple birding stations. On our bikes we could visit multiple stations but also get to them before the walkers did so we could enjoy them in quiet. Third, there is a hawk observation tower above the trees that we didn't see the first time and I still hadn't gotten a photo of a Gray Hawk (I still don't).

  We arrived is a mist and light rain at 7:30 and birded until th VC opened. We paid our admission and birded for half an hour watching the feeders. I got good photos of all the species i mentioned above and also Curve Billed Thrasher. After watching the feeder we rented the bikes. 

 

Altamira Oriole

 We rode them to the next feeder which was fairly quiet so we moved on after ten minutes. At the next feeder we saw a flock of the Rio Grande subspecies of Wild Turkey. The next feeder had tons of  Green Jays and Altamira Orioles. We sat there for half an hour and the place to ourselves. 

 Our next stop was the observation tower. Though it stopped sprinkling at 8 AM it never really cleared up and the sky stayed dark and it was cool. Not ideal conditions for soaring hawks. I saw a Crested Caracara perched in a tree but other than that not even a songbird went by. 

Our last real stop was at a secluded feeder that is in an abandoned campground. This is where we saw two Javelinas feeding. There is a small pool for drinking water and I watched a Javelina bend down and tuck its front legs to get a drink. It was so cute.  We left after a few minutes to let them finish their meal.

  On our way back to return our bikes  I heard a Gray Hawk. Try as I might I never saw it. While looking for it, the little troop of Javelinas came to the feeder in the area looking for more to eat. I got a couple more photos. 

   We returned our bikes a little past noon and said goodbye to Bentson

Logistics The park opens at dawn and stays open until 10 PM. The Visitor Center opens at 8 and I guess closes at 4 or 5 PM. We only went in the mornings. Restrooms right next toVC are open even when the VC isn't. Eight miles of trails, much of it is on pavement. You used to be able to drive into the park but it is closed to all but a few automobiles. Plenty od parking in the lot.

 

Javelina (not related to pigs)

 The feeders start getting filled at 8:30. The one next to the Visitor Center is the first. There is a lot of activity at the feeders until they run out of food. This is one reason we rented bikes. Bike rental was five dollars each for four hours with a twenty dollar extra deposit that you get back after you return your bike.  You can pay the admission in cash or card but bike rentals are only with a card. 

The free bird walk was well worth our time. If you have never been to the RGV and Bentson is your first stop, you could get fifteen or more lifers. I got eleven the first time and we only explored a small portion of the park. There is a tram that comes by every hour and will bring you back to the Visitor Center or drop you off at other stops along the way. It is free I believe, it was for us when it gave us a ride back to headquarters. 

Link below

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley