Birding Sites:
From the intersection of US 83 and FM 2098, go north on US 83 to Zapata. When
you reach Zapata, you may want to go to the TPWD boat ramp (look for the sign as
you enter town), particularly if the lake level is high.
Zapata City Park - Behind the Olga Figueroa Library:
Go west in Zapata to the Zapata Library and the Zapata City Park (turn left at
the U.S. Post Office). This park has hosted a breeding population of
White-collared Seedeaters for the past several years. Park near the library and
enjoy a relaxing stroll down our birding trail and around our cattail lined pond
to catch a glance of a wide-variety of birds, including the White-Collared
Seedeater.
Texas Lower Coast Birding Trail Site #87 is the San Ygnacio Bird and
Butterfly Sanctuary located off highway US 83 in San Ygnacio, TX. Make
a turn towards the river onto Washington Avenue all the way to the end of the
street. Park on the left parking lot and walk down into the Rio Grande River
Flood Plain. The Sanctuary consist of two river front acres to the left of the
end of Washington Ave.
The main attraction is the White-Collared Seedeater. These birds nests in the
Carrizo (fragment) that is found in mostly by the river in San Ygnacio. A total
of 115 different species of birds have been documented. Another hot location for
the WCSE in Zapata is behind the Olga Figueroa Library around a pond located
there. The Sanctuary, located in historical San Ygancio allows for another
opportunity to view the White-collared Seedeater, along with Zapata County’s
other distinctive birds and butterflies.
Go west on Washington Ave. 0.4 mile to its end on the Rio Grande flood plain.
The 2 acres of flood plain is a research site for the Upper Rio Grande Valley
Biological Station (URGVBS) which also posts a bird list. With about 113 bird
species have been sighted in the San Ygnacio area. The white-collared seedeater
breed in the cane beds along the river.
Highway 83 Birding Sites:
Return to US 83, and continue north 3.3 miles toward Laredo and the TxDOT Zapata
County Rest Stop. This stop is one of the undiscovered treasures of Texas,
offering an impressive panorama of the Rio Grande. It may be one of the least
visited sites (by birders) in the Valley, yet it holds great potential for
attracting new U.S. species from Mexico.
Park in the rest area adjacent to the covered tables, and walk down the steps to
a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande. White-collared Seedeaters nest in the tall
cane along the River, and may be easily viewed. Valley species such as Ringed
Kingfisher, Audubon’s Oriole, Great Kiskadee, Groove-billed Ani, and Olive
Sparrow are common along the River; yet southwestern species such as Varied
Bunting, Pyrrhuloxia, and Lesser Goldfinch are present in the scrub that covers
the bluffs.
In the spring, stand on these bluffs as the rising sun burns the mist off the
Rio Grande, then watch kettles of Mississippi Kites drift northward out of
Mexico on the morning’s first thermals while White-collared Seedeaters twitter
in the cane below. There’s no finer way to pass a spring morning before steering
northward toward the juniper-covered slopes and shady limestone canyons of the
Hill Country.