On the Rio Grande

We have been in Mission, TX for the past few days.  It is in far south Texas on the Mexican border.  It's not an area that seems very attractive, but it IS known for its birdwatching possibilities.  During the season (November through March), the place is busy with birders from all over.  However, now in mid-May, it's very quiet, with all the Snowbirds having gone north. 

We spent the day yesterday in Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.  It's another park that is dealing with damage from extreme weather: the entire park was underwater last year due to Hurricane Alex.  So there was much construction and repair work going on.  We had to park outside and walk in, then take a tram around the roadways.  Some really unusual birds are in the area, ones that can't be seen anywhere else in the US, and we were able to add green jay, chachalaca, grooved bill ani, and olive sparrow to our list.


It was amusing to go grocery shopping here.  We were in search of (among other things) hummus and bagels.  No such things in this local store.  There were, however, multiple types of peppers in the produce section, big bins of many different dried peppers, and huge bins of dried pinto beans!  Definitely a different culture.

Today we're heading north to San Antonio.