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USA - Texas: Spring Migration & Hill Country

© Northern Parula by Dusan Brinkhuizen
USA - Texas: Spring Migration & Hill Country

USD4,500 NO SPACES AVAILABLE

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Tour Leader: Local Leader

Wait List

Tour Price (Per person): USD4,500 (GBP3,462 * EUR3,955 * AUD6,910)

Pricing notes : Please see BirdingDirect link for spaces and updated pricing.

For enquiries & bookings, please following this link:  Birding Direct - United States

This tour is operated by High Lonesome BirdTours in partnership with BirdingDirect.
These are large group tours (up to 16 guests with multiple tour leaders), and will have guests from both Highlonesome as well as BirdingDirect.

The upper Texas coast provides an unrivaled birding spectacle in the spring as millions of migrants stream north on their way to their breeding rounds. Southern species are already setting up territories and the inland forests are ringing with songs. The coast can be alive with up to 30 species of warblers and it is not uncommon to record more than 30 species of shorebirds alone. Famous migrant traps like High Island, Sabine Woods, and LaFitte’s Cove concentrate vireos, thrushes, tanagers, grosbeaks, and of course the jewels of Neotropical migrants, warblers. This trip coincides with the peak of spring migration and will take advantage of the best time of year to witness this miracle of nature. Three full days birding migrant hotspots on the coast should net us a wide variety of songbirds and shorebirds, plus one full day exploring the Big Thicket regions will add southern breeders and pine woods specialties.

Of course, no visit to Texas would be complete without seeing the Golden-cheeked Warbler, an endemic nesting bird, and the endangered Black-capped Vireo. The trip will head west for two days to explore the riches of the Hill Country where, in addition to the two star birds, we will see a suite of birds different from the coast. In order to complete the loop through Texas’ richest birding habitats we will pass through Kingsville to locate several Rio Grande valley specialties, most notably Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Tropical Parula and Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, plus Green Jay, Audubon’s Oriole and more. A short visit to the Rockport area will add many migrants and shorebirds.

 

Top Birds

Golden-cheeked Warbler, Black-capped Vireo, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay, Carolina Chickadee, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Wild Turkey, Yellow-throated, White-eyed, Blue-headed & Hutton’s Vireos, Canyon, Cactus and Bewick's Wrens, Northern Parula, Indigo & Painted Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, Greater Roadrunner, Curve-billed & Long-billed Thrashers, Pyrrhuloxia, Olive Sparrow, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Louisiana & Northern Waterthrushes, American Yellow, Worm-eating, Blue-winged, Black-and-white, Prothonotary, Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Nashville, Kentucky, Hooded, Yellow-throated, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Pine, Hooded, Prairie, Canada, Bay-breasted, Wilson’s Warblers, Cerulean, Golden-winged, Mourning, Blackpoll, Cape May, Black-throated Blue & Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Red-cockaded, Golden-fronted & Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Aplomado Falcon, Botteri’s, Cassin’s, Clay-colored, Lark, Vesper, Seaside, Nelson’s, Le Conte’s, Savannah, Bachman’s & Grasshopper Sparrows, Brown-headed Nuthatch.

Top Mammals

Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, Bobcat

Habitats Covered

desert and desert scrub, sub-tropical woodlands and palm groves, riverside vegetation, wetlands

Expected Climate

temperatures will range from mild to warm, but can reach 90F at this time of the year in the Valley.

Max Group Size

14 with 2 Tour Leaders

Tour Pace & Walking

moderate with a few shorter walks (two to three longer drives). A few early morning starts are required especially for the Hill Country portion of the trip.

Accommodation

comfortable hotels & lodges, 2 or 3-star

Ease of Birding

generally easy

Number of Species Expected

275

Photographic Opportunities

outstanding

What our clients say about us

Stephan Lorenz
MS, Texas 2021

Loved Stephan and Claudia! They were a great team and made the experience very pleasant and enjoyable. The sit down lunch on the last day was great! Pre-ordering lunch might help expedite the meal if needed for time. The Bat flight was worth the wait! Thank you! We look forward to birding with Rockjumper again.

Stephan Lorenz
BS, Texas 2021

An excellent tour, and Stephan and Claudia were both very knowledgeable guides. I was also very grateful to them for so conscientiously researching the options for the Covid test I needed to travel back to the UK (following the UK Government’s announcement after I had already left for the tour) and ensuring I got the test. All in all a very enjoyable experience and with lots of good birds!

Stephan Lorenz
MM & EM - Texas 2022

Wish we had the hearing and eyesight with the knowledge and youth of the guides.

Stephan Lorenz
LP, Texas 2021

This being my first Rockjumper tour, it far surpassed my expectations. Stephan was a fantastic guide, attentive to the entire group and making sure everyone had a good look at the bird in front of us (sometimes, several birds!) The depth of his knowledge along with his raport and friendly/kind demeanor made him feel more like a good friend on a bird walk - with tons of knowledge and ability on top of a love for birds. Thanks Stephan/Claudia and Rockjumper for providing an amazing experience!

Stephan Lorenz
CB, Texas 2021

I would rate my experience on the Texas Coast trip with Stephan and Claudia as excellent. They are both superb at what they do.

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