Sold out! This trip is full.

Email conservation@tracyaviary.org if you are interested in learning about future trips.

This all-inclusive week-long birding trip is limited to 8 participants. Experience the staggering bird diversity of sub-tropical South Texas, catch Mexican rarities attracted to the region, and enjoy northbound migrant shorebirds, raptors, and passerines passing through the area. We’ll start with a day at Goose Island and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, targeting Whooping Cranes, Black-billed Whistling Ducks, and many shorebirds, waders, and migrating warblers. After that, we’ll take an all-day birding tour at King Ranch, home to Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Tropical Kingbirds, and Harris’s and White-tailed Hawks. The last part of the trip is an exploration of the Rio Grande Valley region, with target birds such as Altamira Oriole, Plain Chachalaca, Ringed Kingfisher, Clay-colored Thrush, Elf Owl, and Pauraque. Participants can also choose to stay an additional day to experience the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th.

The group will travel together in a large passenger van. All meals and hotel rooms are included, but participants must make their own way to San Antonio. More detailed information about travel, meals, and lodging can be found in the Additional Trip Details section below.

$3,000* per individual (private rooms)

$2,800* each for pairs who can room share

*Flight in and out of San Antonio not included

Purchase Tickets

Tickets must be purchased by November 1, 2023. Spots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and the trip is limited to 8 participants. The trip is subject to cancellation in the case of low participation (see below for complete trip policy information). We recommend that you not purchase plane tickets until we confirm the trip will take place (after Nov 1). Email conservation@tracyaviary.org with any questions.

Additional Trip Details

Meet your Lead Guide: Bryant Olsen

Bryant Olsen is Tracy Aviary’s Conservation Ecologist. Bryant’s passion for birds and over twenty years of birding experience have made him one of the most well-respected bird authorities in the state of Utah, and he was the recipient of the 2017 Utah Birder of the Year Award. Bryant spends his time leading field trips, teaching bird identification classes, and training volunteers for local conservation projects. On top of his extensive bird expertise, Bryant has in-depth knowledge about many subjects, from general natural history to geology, astronomy, and more.

Transportation:

Participants must make their own way to San Antonio. We can arrange pickup from the San Antonio International Airport during the day on Monday, April 1 and drop off to the airport on Sunday, April 7. Because the trip is subject to cancellation due to low registration, we recommend that you not purchase plane tickets until we confirm the trip will take place (after Nov 1). We also recommend purchasing trip insurance with your flight, in case there is hazardous weather/ natural disasters or other unforeseen events.

We will rent one large passenger van or two medium-sized vans (depending on availability) to transport participants during the trip.

Lodging:

We will stay in shared vacation houses or economy-midscale hotels/motels throughout the trip. Unless participants have purchased tickets at the pair/ couple price, they will have their own room.

We can work with participants wishing to room share to find a roommate. However, if we cannot find another trip participant to share a room with you, you will need to pay the singles price.

Food and Drinks:

All meals from dinner on Monday, April 1 to breakfast on Sunday, April 8 are included in the trip price. We will eat in a variety of restaurants depending on group preference, with ample opportunity to enjoy local Tex-Mex and seafood options.

Breakfasts will often be “continental” or “continental-plus” style meals eaten in the hotel, or will be similar when staying in a shared vacation house.

Lunches will be from local or chain counter restaurants, with some packed sandwich lunches.

We’ll sample local restaurants for dinner or have a family-style meal. One beer, wine, or mixed drink per dinner is included in the trip price. Additional drinks must be purchased separately by the participant.

We will try to accommodate food allergies and preferences as best we can, but participants with significant food allergies or dietary requirements may need to bring additional food for instances where their needs cannot be met with local restaurant options.

Itinerary:

This schedule represents a general overview of the trip, but is subject to change depending on local conditions.

April 1: Participants arrive in San Antonio. Drive to Rockport or Fulton, bird Goose Island and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Whooping Cranes, Black-billed Whistling Duck, various shorebirds (e.g., Ruddy Turnstone, Upland Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling, Baird’s Sandpiper), Royal Tern, Common Loon, Brown Pelican, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill (example eBird checklist), Common Gallinule, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Clapper Rail, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, various warblers (Black and White, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white, Tennessee, Nashville, Hooded Warbler, Northern Parula, Cerulean) (example eBird checklist), White-tailed Hawk

April 2: Bird Goose Island and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, then drive south to stay at Kingville hotel

Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Couch’s Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Green Jay, Cave Swallow (Dick Kleberg Park, example eBird checklist)

April 3: All day birding tour at King Ranch

Bobwhite, Greater Roadrunner, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, American Golden-Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Harris’s Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Vermillion Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Black-crested Titmouse, Long-billed Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Botteri’s Sparrow, Olive Sparrow, Tropical Parula, Summer Tanager (example eBird checklist)

April 4: Drive to Harlingen, bird the area

Altamira Oriole, Plain Chachalaca, Ringed Kingfisher, Clay-colored Thrush, Elf Owl, Pauraque

April 5: Bird the area

April 6: Bird the area, then drive to San Antonio tonight or tomorrow depending on flight needs

April 7: Drive back to San Antonio or bird if the group drove yesterday. Depart.

Physical Requirements:

Moderate amounts of walking (up to 2-3 miles per day) on paved or gravel/dirt roads or trails will be required. We will be standing for long periods of time to observe birds, and may have fairly long (1-3 hours) uninterrupted periods of time in the vans, especially during travel days. This trip will include early mornings, and will have morning and afternoon birding sessions.

Smoking:

The shared trip spaces will be a smoke-free environment. If you smoke, please be sensitive to others and refrain from smoking at meals, in vehicles, inside trip lodging, and in close proximity to the group while out birding.

Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024:

You are welcome to extend your trip to experience the total solar eclipse, which will happen in the area on Monday, April 8th. The trip includes lodging for Saturday night, so you’ll need to book your own rooms/house Sunday night.

Trip Cancellations and Refund Policy

Participant Cancellation: In the event a participant cancels a reservation, we will provide a full refund up to one month before the trip departure date.
Trip Cancellation due to Insufficient Registrations: Tracy Aviary may cancel the trip due to insufficient registrations. A full refund will be issued in this instance.
Trip Cancellation or Alterations due to Unforeseen Events: In the event of cancellation before the trip due to unforeseen events such as but not limited to natural disaster, military activities, social uprising, or other dangerous conditions, Tracy Aviary will issue a full refund. If any of these issues take place during the trip, causing it to be cut short, no refund will be issued.