Resaca de la Palma State Park, Brownsville, Texas

Visitor Center

This morning we took off on a bus tour to the Resaca de la Palma State Park in Brownsville, Texas. The park is part of the World Birding Center in the Rio Grande Valley and has 1200 semi-tropical acres to explore. It is situated on the Rio Grande River and is a wilderness that is preserved but only a few miles from the large urban area of Brownsville.

The parks has six miles of trails to explore and four decks that overlook the four miles of resaca. There is also a 3.2 mile tram loop that winds through the park. The new trams come from money provided by the Obama Administration Stimulus money.

Our Group In Briefing Room

Our Guide on the Hike and Tram Ride

Getting Ready for the Hike

Spraying for Mosquitoes

View Behind the Bird Blinds

Man-made Blind Out Of Nature's Materials

Resaca

Of course, there was no way we even got close to exploring the whole park today. We did take a tram ride through part of the part and we took a short hike to two of the decks overlooking the resaca. Unfortunately, this was one of the days that the birds just seemed to evaporate into thin air and the mosquitoes were in full force. Although I sprayed myself before we started on the hike, they just thought I was lunch. I was smeared with blood all over my legs by the time we returned to the Visitor Center after our hike. Before we went on the tram ride, I washed my arms and legs off thoroughly and then put on more DEET. They didn't bother me much on the tram ride or walking around after that so apparently the lotion I was wearing under the DEET was something they loved!

We only saw three birds the whole trip. A Pee Wee, a red-tailed hawk and an Eastern Phoebe. Lee was only able to capture the Eastern Phoebe on camera. 

Eastern Phoebe

Although we didn't see much in the park, one of the guides brought along his red-crowned parrot and two snakes and told us about them. The parrot was almost dead when he got him from some type of stuff that got all over his feathers. He brought him back to life and he's looking pretty good now. He would like to return him to the wild but it is hard to chase down the flock of parrots so that he could reintroduce him. We've tried to find those same parrots so we know what he means.

Red-crested Parrot

The snakes he brought along were the Hog-nosed Snake and the Red Milk Snake. The Hog-nosed Snake can get confused with a rattle snake but he obviously isn't poisonous because Lee and Richard and the Guide held onto him. The Red Milk Snake looks like the venomous Coral Snake. However, there is no yellow on the Red Milk Snake. He is really quite pretty but I'd still rather not run into him out on a hike!

We just got off the tram to hike to a resaca

First stop was a pavilion to see the snakes!

This is a Red Milk Snake

The hog-nosed snake

Richard holding the hog-nosed snake

Lee trying to hold the hog-nosed snake

Lee is happy to get rid of the active little critter!

We are planning on going back to this park one of these days on our own. I'm sure we just hit a bad day for birds. Also, the red-tailed hawk was circling over the area behind the bird blind and he probably chased everything away from there so it was just a bad birding day. We've had them before in places where we've seen tons of birds the time before.

These are beetle homes - the opposite of an ant hill!

Resaca

Theresa Hoffman, Bonnie and Dave Langfield Getting Ready To Leave

After the tour, we got on the bus and went to the Coyote Canyon Buffet. It was a pretty nice place and the food was good. Everything looked fresh. We sat with Richard and Donna to eat lunch. 

Coyote Canyon Buffet

In Line to Get In

Pretty Salad Bar

Then we all headed back to the bus and Winter Ranch.

Our Bus Driver - Joe Roethel from Trophy Gardens