By Vidhya Sundar
I have always wanted to explore birding in the Texas Gulf Coast, so our winter vacation to South Padre Island was a perfect opportunity to do so. I was expecting to see just a few lifers there as this is not the peak migration season for birds. But the number of lifers I saw, fourteen in all, was totally unexpected. It gives me immense pleasure to see a lifer, a sight of a bird for the first time ever. Not only South Padre but other birding spots near it were all wonderful too.
Great Kiskadee, Vidhya Sundar.
My first lifer was the Great Kiskadee, a colorful bird that literally came toward me when I entered the South Padre Island birding center. Many shore birds like the Dowitchers, Marbled Godwit, and Piping Plover were also my lifers. I keep checking the eBird lists for birds seen there, and found American Oystercatcher spotted by many birders, but I could not spot it there. However, just the day before we left, I saw the Oystercatcher while driving on TX 48.
American Oystercatcher, Vidhya Sundar.
Tropical Kingbird is a local resident in South Padre Island, however, I was not confident in identifying it. I later learned that the best way is to listen to their call to differentiate them from the Couch’s Kingbird, which I precisely did, and added it to my lifer list.
A visit to Laguna Atascosa is also a must-see for any birder. Altamira Oriole, Tropical Parula, and Olive Sparrow were my lifers there which were enjoying a nice splash in the water. Green Jays were plentiful too. It was so convenient to watch them all just by sitting in the bird blind.
Altamira Oriole, Vidhya Sundar.
We also visited Oliveira Park, Brownsville to see the Amazon Parrots. Even though they are not native but introduced species in Texas, they are a feast to our eyes with their colorful appearance. During sunset, we saw flocks of these parrots visiting the residential area near the park and gobbling the citrus fruits in the yards. I even forgot to view them through binoculars as I was busy trying to photograph them.
My next visit was to the Estero Llano Grande State Park. Here, thanks to a local birder, I spotted my next lifer, Common Pauraque, It was beautiful and perfectly camouflaged in the same spot that I had been searching for more than 15 minutes. White-tipped Dove was another great addition to my lifer list.
Common Pauraque, Vidhya Sundar.
Once I returned back home, spotting these birds inspired me to create Rangoli art designs about them, to capture their colorful beauty. Within a week, I created Rangoli designs of seven lifer birds, one per day. I feel happy to share a few of them here for my fellow birders to enjoy. Birds are a great inspiration for any artist.
