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I know….I know…We haven’t posted a single picture of this
landscape yet…this place that’s filled with birds, especially raptors; .
First… your mini bio-geography lesson for the day… Four ecological regions overlap here in the
Rio Grande Delta, aka the southern Gulf Coast region of Texas. Tropical
influences from the south, coastal influences from the Gulf of Mexico,
semi-arid desert from the west and plains influences from the north coalesce to
form a unique and biologically diverse environment. Along with two bird migration pathways, this
diversity of plants and animals is rich and astounding…and 95% of the native
thornscrub and savannah along with the coastal wetlands estuary habitat is GONE… done in by the last 200 years of
human occupation and the impacts of farming, wetlands drainage, cattle (over)grazing,
urban development and the introduction of non-native plant and animal species.
We wonder what this landscape must have looked like so long
ago:rich with diversity However….being
here gives us a glimpse into the past..and hope for the future as the final
stages of a decade long restoration of the Bahia Grande unit (Big Bay); a major
coastal wetland system gets underway. This area was acquired by the Refuge..and
we are lucky enough to conduct birding tours in this restricted area. More pictures to come!!
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| Soon to bloom Spanish Dagger Yucca Laguna Atascosa |
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| Great Blue Heron - morning Laguna Atascosa |
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| White-tailed Hawk (threatened) |
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