The city of Brownsville, its Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Gladys Porter Zoo, UTRGV and a host of sponsors on Thursday announced a new Brownsville Birding Festival to be held April 11-12 at the zoo.
The festival aims to take advantage of Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley’s position on the migratory bird flyways map.
Because of the Valley’s geography, thousands of species of birds fly across the area every year of their way north or south, often stopping here to rest and refuel.
These are in addition to the area’s native species. The zoo and the Valley welcome them every year.
The dynamic has long made the Valley an ideal destination for birdwatchers. The festival aims to welcome these birders with events including walking, biking and even kayaking tours to catch a glimpse of birds for which the city and its environs offer a terrific chance to see them live and in their natural habitat.
Brownsville City Commissioner Tino Villarreal said he gets to see all sorts of birds in the day-to-day of coaching at St. Joseph Academy, so he was aware of the potential.
“When you highlight a week or a weekend, it becomes an international draw. … There are people that come in from all over the country and even the world to catch a certain bird. Now it gives us a reason to celebrate as a branded community. Through birding, it gives people the opportunity to experience the history, the culture, the hospitality that Brownsville has to offer,” he said.
Eva Millan said the opportunity to engage in bird watching was one of the things that drew her family to Brownsville. Growing up she would get David Attenborough books about the natural world instead of Barbies.
When she started working for the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau after graduating from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley she noticed Brownsville lacked lacked an event tailored to ecotourism — and birding specifically.
Brownsville had a short-lived birding festival back in the 1990s. The idea to have a modern-day version got tabled for awhile in the face of the pandemic but planning for the festival rolled out on Thursday started about a year ago, she said.
“We started from scratch but we did consult with (Harlingen’s) RGV Birding Festival. We wanted to make sure we weren’t stepping on any toes, made sure that we were respectful of what they were doing and the history that they have, but they advised us on what to do, how to set it up,” she said.
“Most people that grow up here aren’t aware of how many species of birds we have, how many species of warblers, our caracaras, our migratory species, our cardinals,” Millan added.
The festival is the weekend of April 11-12 based at the Gladys Porter Zoo. It includes 23 guided birding tours, sunrise and sunset kayaking, cycling and urban bird walks and a photography contest.
The photography contest carries cash prizes up to $150, lodging on South Padre Island for the top three winners and recognition on social media. Details are at visitbtx.com/birdingfest.
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