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May 22, 2000 The World Birding Center“Rather than one high-profile location (ala Disney), the intent of the World Birding Center (WBC) is to unite several sites, each containing a diverse set of habitats, birds, and wildlife watching opportunities, into a coherent, organized, transcendent system.”
For the past two years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, working with the communities of far South Texas, have been striving to cobble a select number of special birding sites into a world-class wildlife watching system. Rather than one high-profile location (ala Disney), the intent of the World Birding Center (WBC) is to unite several sites, each containing a diverse set of habitats, birds, and wildlife watching opportunities, into a coherent, organized, transcendent system.
The coequal purpose for the project is to promote economic development through the prudent, sustainable use of these remaining natural habitats for outdoor recreation and appreciation. South Texas is among the poorest regions in the United States, and the population in this region continues to expand exponentially. Therefore, jobs must be created at a pace in excess of this population growth to have any impact on an already stratospheric unemployment rate (nearing 25% in Starr County). Through the use of what Fermata terms economic conservation, the development of economic strategies that produce both economic as well as conservation profits, we have increasing hope that the exceptional ecological heritage of South Texas may be restored. Sustainable development is insufficient for the task at hand; what is called for is a restorative economic strategy.
We traveled to South Texas last week to complete site resource assessment, to meet with community groups involved in the effort, and to report to the WBC Community Council as to our progress to date. Our Bob Behrstock spent early May in the region completing site assessments, and Ted Eubanks traveled to the LRGV the following week to meet with the communities and to report to the Community Council.
The result? By the time of our last trip (early May), the Valley had been deserted by birders (yet not the birds). With a stiff southeastern wind, the temperatures in the Valley were quite pleasant, and the birds, butterflies, and odonates (which tend to be our personal interests) were prolific. For those readers with some interest in these pursuits, let us offer a sample of our experiences. For specific directions to the mentioned sites, we refer you to the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail's Lower Texas Coast map. This map is now available through TPW.  At
least six pair of Clay-colored Robins were present in the LRGV at the following
locations: Roma, Rio Grande City, Anzalduas County Park, Bentsen-Rio Grande
SP, Weslaco, and Santa Ana NWR. Gray Hawks continued nesting at Anzalduas,
and Northern Beardless-Tyrannulets were found at Santa Ana NWR, Anzalduas,
and Bentsen-Rio Grande SP. Tropical Parulas were seen (more likely heard)
in Anzalduas and Bentsen-Rio Grande SP, and a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
continued to be seen at Santa Ana NWR. Groove-billed Anis and Yellow-billed
Cuckoos had arrived en masse, as well as several of the insectivores
that virtually disappear in the winter birding season such as Brown-crested
and Ash-throated flycatchers. Pairs of Black Phoebes at Roma and Rio Grande
City were apparently nesting. On the return trip to Austin, Ted tallied
six species of orioles: Orchard, Audubon's, Baltimore, Bullock's, Hooded,
and Altamira.
A late afternoon sojourn through Resaca de la Palma transported the group back into Tamaulipan wilderness. Common Yellowthroats were singing in every cattail marsh, and the dialect indicated that the birds were most likely of the insperata (or Brownsville) race. A mother coyote with two pups came to within yards of our vantage point to water. Earlier in the week Bob had seen Long-tailed Weasel in the same area. The mesquite savannah adjacent to the Resaca resounded with the syllabic notes of the "dic-dic-ciss-ciss-el." Shifting focus from birds to bugs, small flocks of Polydamas Swallowtails swarmed a freshwater pool below Roma Bluffs, and were briefly joined by a White-patched Skipper. Earlier Bob and Ted had seen Caribbean Yellowface (a damselfly) along Resaca Blvd. in Brownsville.
Returning to the discussion at hand, the WBC will initially consist of a headquarters, two annexes, and a series of destinations that will serve as gateways and specialized interpretive venues. The central headquarters, housing administrative, operational, and support staff, will be located at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park in Mission. The donation of additional lands adjacent to the park will allow for a major refashioning of the site into a world-class nature center and wildlife-watching destination. In addition to the headquarters, two annex sites have been selected to house major interpretive facilities: Llano Grande in Weslaco, and Resaca de la Palma in Brownsville. The three major interpretive facilities (the headquarters and the two annexes) are being financed by the State of Texas (through TPW), with matching funds being provided by the host communities. Initial state grants of $2 million, coupled with identical amounts from the local communities, provide initial capital of $4 million for each of the three major interpretive facilities. Additional funds are being made available by foundations, federal agencies, organizations, and individuals.
The headquarters, the two annexes, and the four
gateways represent the core of the WBC. However, surrounding this nucleus
are destination sites that contain unique or special resources that are
critical to fleshing out the WBC as a whole. South Padre Island is an
example of one such destination. The wetland center on the Island stretches
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Laguna Madre, and encompasses the only
marine habitats within the WBC system. Additional destinations with similar
unique resources are being evaluated, and it is expected that additional
sites will be added to the WBC as its needs are better understood and
defined. The Arroyo Colorado WMA, near Rio Hondo, offers the opportunity
for low-impact, All of us within Fermata feel honored to be able to participate in this important project. When completed, the WBC complex will represent an unprecedented marriage of social, economic, and ecological interests. No one more than Fermata will admit that the LRGV, in its present form, hardly represents a world-class nature destination. Yet the groundwork has been completed for the development of a wildlife recreation and education system that will transform the very nature of the LRGV, and thus set an example that the world may follow toward the goal of resource conservation and restoration. That example alone will justify the name, and we are proud to have been asked to contribute to the development of THE World Birding Center. Trip du Jour, May 22, 2000
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