Guided Birding Trips

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, TX.  We can arrange pickup from the San Antonio International Airport during the day on Sunday, April 13 and drop off to the airport on Saturday, April 19. 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. 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 Sunday, April 13 to breakfast on Saturday, April 19 are included in the trip price. We will eat in a variety of restaurants depending on group preference.

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.

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.

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.

Itinerary:

Sunday, April 13th

Arrive in San Antonio by early afternoon.

Local Birding in San Antonio & Travel to Rockport, TX

Possible species include: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Inca Dove, Green Heron, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Pyrrhuloxia

Monday, April 14th

Birding at Goose Island and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Travel to Kingsville, TX

Possible species include: Black-billed Whistling Duck, Ruddy Turnstone, Upland Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Baird’s Sandpiper, Royal Tern, Common Loon, Brown Pelican, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill. Common Gallinule, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Clapper Rail, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Northern Parula, Cerulean Warbler, and White-tailed Hawk 

Tuesday, April 15th

Birding Tour at King Ranch

Travel to Harlingen, TX

Possible species include: Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, Tropical Parula, White-tailed Hawk, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Vermilion Flycatcher, Botteri’s Sparrow, Audubon’s Oriole, Bobwhite, Greater Roadrunner, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, American Golden-Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Harris’s Hawk, Upland Sandpiper, Tropical Kingbird, Black-crested Titmouse, Long-billed Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Olive Sparrow

Wednesday, April 16th

Bird the Rio Grande Valley Area including Hugh Ramsey Park, Santa Ana NWR, and the Arroyo Colorado Trail

Possible species include: Plain Chachalaca, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Couch’s Kingbird, Cave Swallow, Clay-colored Thrush, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Least Grebe, Groove-billed Ani, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Gray Hawk, White-winged Dove

Thursday, April 17th

Bird the Rio Grande Valley Area including South Padre Island, Laguna Madre Trail, and Port Isabel Reservoir

Possible species include: Mottled Duck, Black-bellied Plover, Marbled Godwit, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Black Skimmer, Least Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Orchard Oriole, Worm-eating Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Gull-billed Tern, Eastern Meadowlark

Friday, April 18th

Bird the Rio Grande Valley Area including South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

Return to San Antonio in the late afternoon/evening

Possible species include: Mottled Duck, Clapper Rail, Pectoral Sandpiper, Brown Pelican, American Redstart, Kentucky Warbler, Indigo Bunting, White-tipped Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hook-billed Kite, Great Kiskadee, Couch’s Kingbird, Cave Swallow, Altamira Oriole, Bronzed Cowbird.

Saturday, April 19th

Morning birding in the San Antonio area. Drop of participants at the San Antonio Airport