Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Spectacular Spring Migration Slowing

1 year ago 14

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The spectacular flow of colorful migrating songbirds along the lower Texas coast is ebbing.

A trickle of bright orange Baltimore orioles and vibrant Rose-breasted grosbeaks continue flickering thru, but the vast throngs of a week or two ago have sailed far ashore on their northward sojourn.

Southernmost coastal Texas is the most important migratory corridor in North America with literally hundreds of millions of birds funneling thru the area in spring and fall.

The spring migration is more direct, and many birds will fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of some 500 miles, in a rush to establish prime breeding territories ahead of their feathered competition.

The spring passage thru the Rio Grande Valley is often of short duration, as birds are pausing only to rest and refuel before winging it northward.