KING RANCH
Situated at the confluence of several migratory pathways, the Ranch is a virtual highway for migrating birds in both Fall and Spring. With 825,000 acres of varied habitat, the King Ranch is a haven for birds and birdwatchers alike. Named as a site on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and as a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy, the ranch boasts a bird list of more than 370 species.
Vast tracts of habitat are home to a variety of South Texas specialty birds, including Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Tropical Parula, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Audubon’s Oriole, Botteri’s Sparrow, Green Jay, White-tailed Hawk, Olive Sparrow, and much more. Over the years, the ranch has also hosted a large number of rare birds including Double-striped Thick-knee, Jabiru, Eurasion Wigeon, Masked Duck, Apolomado Falcon, and Garganey.
FULL DAY
NEW! WHITECAP NATURE PRESERVE, PACKERY CHANNEL AND
HELD MORAN NATURE SANCTUARY
Join us for an exciting morning of birding as we explore some of Corpus Christi’s premier migratory hotspots: the 30 acres Whitecap Nature Preserve; The Oak Motte Sanctuary and shoreline at Packery Channel Park and Held-Moran Nature Sanctuary. These sites are renowned for their dense vegetation and freshwater sources making them vital stopovers for a wide range of migrating songbirds.
Our trip will begin at the new Whitecap Nature Preserve with prime fresh and salt water bird habitat. We will then check the Packery Channel Oak Motte, a compact but productive patch of coastal live oak woodland nestled between dunes and development. This "migrant trap" often surprises birders with high concentrations of neotropical migrants, including warblers, vireos, tanagers, and orioles during spring and fall migration. Keep your binoculars ready—anything from a Blackburnian Warbler to a Painted Bunting might make an appearance!
Next, we’ll head to the Held-Moran Nature Sanctuary, a more expansive and less trafficked site managed by the Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi. This sanctuary offers a mix of oak mottes, brushland, and open areas that support both resident and migratory species. In addition to more songbirds, we may encounter raptors, hummingbirds, and even a few surprise species hiding in the dense thickets.
AM FIELDTRIPS
Friday – April 24, 6:30am-11:30am
Sunday – April 26, 6:30am-11:30am
$75 per person
PM FIELDTRIPS
Friday – April 24, 1:30pm-5:00pm
$60 per person
HALF DAY
NEW! THE RAPTOR BUFFET
Exclusive access to the El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch!
The Raptor Buffet provides the opportunity to get flight, portrait, and behavioral images of our local raptors and scavengers. Species we expect to see include Black and Turkey Vultures, Crested Caracaras, and Harris' Hawks. We have occasionally had Red-shouldered and Red-tailed hawks come in also, although rarely. Coyotes are a possibility, although also rarely. It is not uncommon to have twenty or more Caracaras and about the same number of Black Vultures, with not quite as many Turkey Vultures. I have had as few as no Harris' Hawks (rarely) or as many as four (also rarely). Our normal Harris' Hawk visitation is one to three individuals. This mixed species flock provides an opportunity to observe and photograph typical wild behavior that occurs around any large carcass anywhere where these species ranges overlap. It is fascinating to see the pecking order and can be quite entertaining to see how the birds interact, both inter and intra species. There are several strategically positioned perches for the birds, making portrait images at approximately eye level for the cameras. This site is specifically designed to get photographers up close to these environmentally crucial and often shy birds.
For those who might be concerned that we are "baiting for photos", nothing we do depicts anything other than natural, wild behavior. A few times a month, we put out Nilgai (invasive exotic antelope) scraps which I procure from one or another of the local game processors. No animals are killed specifically for this process. I simply intercept meat which many of these same birds would be feeding on at the local dump. On occasion we also may have meat from other exotic species, including feral hogs, again, mostly acquired from the game processors. We don't put the meat out often enough to encourage dependance, and I see no difference between this and feeding birds in my backyard or taking photos of these birds at the local landfill or on a carcass on the roads
(THESE TRIPS DO NOT LEAVE FROM BOTANICAL GARDENS)
Wednesday– April 22, 6:30am-12:00pm
$165 per person
