Summer Nesting Season

Summer is for breeding. Although many of the migrant landbirds continue on to nest in the forests of the northern U.S. and Canada, there are a number of species that remain here. Many of our non-migrating residents are in full song in what is still winter in the north, and by late April and May the remaining breeders have returned. The Coastal Bend's inland sites (Choke Canyon State Park, Lake Corpus Christi State Park, Fennessey Ranch) will irrupt in a deafening dawn chorus during this period.

Summer is also the season when colonial nesting birds are breeding. These birds (heron, egrets, gulls, terns) nest in large colonies either on the beach (such as Least Tern and Black Skimmer) or out on islands in the bays. Boat tours are available for seeing these birds in their colonies, and there is no better way to see both the numbers and the behavior of some of our most spectacular birds such as the Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, and Brown Pelican.