Nature knows no borders: Birds return to their habitats in the Rio Grande Valley despite the ongoing tensions among humans living there.
Photos from Metro Creative
Exploring Nature: Border B irds
It has been a long time since I spotted a blue jay on my property. At one time it was a frequent visitor.
And it has been even longer since I saw a green jay, a vibrant, bold-patterned jay that resides in far south Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.
I last saw green jays at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo, Texas. These beautiful jays are on the larger side for songbirds and have wingspans reaching fifteen inches. They sport bright green bodies and sharply marked black-and-blue heads, with black throats and pale yellow bellies. Their tails are green on top and yellow beneath. They are very striking, handsome birds.
And like most corvids, green jays are exceptional mimics. They repeat the calls of hawks to scare other birds away from food sources and they’ll also call to warn other birds of any potential dangers nearby.
I called the national wildlife refuge and asked if all the anti-immigration activities along the border are hampering the watching of birds and other wildlife. I especially wondered about the floating buoys in the river, designed to hamper human crossings. The lady I talked to said a study is currently underway to determine what effects these activities are having on wildlife. However, she said that nice birds are still showing up at Santa Ana. “We’ve had red-winged blackbirds and orioles,” she noted. “And we’re also seeing kingfishers.”
My guess is that the orioles she refers to are Altamira orioles, beautiful orange and black birds that range from the Rio Grande Valley down to Nicaragua. The kingfishers could be any of three varieties found in the Valley — belted, ringed or green. This is the only place in North America where you can expect to see all three varieties at one time. The belted kingfisher is the most common across the United States.
All in all, the 120 miles along the Rio Grande Valley provide unique habitats and highly diverse landscapes. There are nine major birding sites in the area and it is a terrific place to see birds — including the splendid green jay.
