Fall Migration

Fall migration in the Coastal Bend is an extended affair. Certain species (such as the Empidonax flycatchers and some shorebirds) will begin to arrive in early July. Interestingly, many spring migrants (such as White-rumped Sandpiper) will remain well into June, so there are only a couple of weeks in June when there are few or no migrants here! The southern breeding neotropical migrants will peak around Labor Day, to be followed by more northern birds (and the first arriving winter birds) that ride the first cold fronts of late September and October. Hummingbirds (mainly Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, with a scattering of other species to make the season interesting) descend on the Coastal Bend in swarms in late August and early September. Fall is the season for Hawks, experience Hawk Watch during our Celebration of Flight festival the last weekend in September.

Waterfowl abound (most of the Redheads in the world winter in the Laguna Madre), along with other waterbirds such as Common Loon, Eared Grebe, and American White Pelican. A number of neotropical migrant species short-stop their flights here, and the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts here (the Guadalupe Delta and Corpus Christi counts, for example) typically lead the nation. Whooping Cranes begin to arrive in October, and by Christmas they can be found at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and other coastal areas (boat rides are available out of Rockport and Port Aransas). Port Aransas celebrates these charismatic birds with a three-day festival in late February.