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Birding Guide

Corpus Christi offers an unforgettable year-round birding experience, and with more than 200 species of birds in the area, it has been named the “Birdiest City in America” multiple years in a row by the Coastal Bend Audubon Society.

The birds love our gulf beaches about as much as we do, including the salt marshes and bays, woodlands, and grasslands. Since these areas are so rich in supply of food options, a variety of species visit throughout the entire year.

For a year-round birding experience, visiting Bird Island at Padre Island National Seashore is a fantastic opportunity for birdwatching, and camping sites are available for an overnight experience that you definitely won’t want to miss.

Spring

Avid birdwatchers, get your binoculars and cameras ready because shorebirds – like the American golden plover and the upland sandpiper – are most prominent during this time. You can also catch migrant songbirds in March, just as they make their way down to Corpus Christi. In April, visit the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center to attend the Birdiest Festival in America, as the biggest flock of songbirds make their way to our sunny city. The songbirds stick around until May, but if you swing by Blucher Park and the Packery Channel Oak Motte Sanctuary, you’ll catch sight of warblers, orioles, grosbeaks, and buntings. King Ranch also offers great birding tours like the Noria’s Birding, Deluxe Noria’s Birding, and King Ranch Adventure tours, which are most popular during the spring season.

Summer

A new set of birds begins to arrive as the warmer days set in. During the summer months, you’ll spot South Texas specialty birds like the groove-billed ani, green jay, and Audubon’s oriole. They flock to our warmer, tropical climates and can be found at Hazel Bazemore Park and Corpus Christi State Park. If you’re more into water-type birds, you have to check out Tule Lake and Wright’s Pond, where the wood stork has been spotted. Don’t forget to swing by the Hans Suter Wildlife Refuge and Sunset Lake for the best chances of spotting herons, egrets, white ibises, roseate spoonbills, and the black skimmer.

Fall

When the cooler winds begin to blow in, the fall shorebird migration picks up in pace. Although the fall migration brings fewer birds than the spring season, you’ll still want to mark bird watching on your itinerary, because the duration of visiting warblers, orioles, and buntings more than makes up for it. Unique sightings during the fall include hawks, ducks, and whooping cranes – more than a million hawks have been spotted from the hawk watch platform at Hazel Bazemore County Park.

Winter

Winter is often overlooked as a good time for bird watching, for concern of bird migration to warmer climates. Luckily, we have the perfect tropical climate, even during the colder months – meaning birds love to stay around and hang out. Catch sight of whooping and sandhill cranes feeding in pastures and agricultural fields, as well as flocks of snow, Ross’s, and white-fronted geese. Songbirds are still hanging around Hazel Bazemore County Park, so make sure to swing by and get that perfect photo. And don’t forget about the year-round tours at King Ranch – the half-day Winter Birding Tours make for a great activity.

Birding Hot Spots

  • 8545 S. Staples St.
  • (361) 852-2100

FLORA, FAUNA and FUN are keywords for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center, one of the Coastal Bend’s major visitor destinations and leading nature tourism facilities! The 182-acre venue showcases uniquely-designed floral exhibits and gardens, including the screened…

  • 209 S Tancahua St

This well-known park is in downtown Corpus Christi, right next to the Central Library. Although only a few acres in size, the park's small stream and wide variety of vegetation are extremely attractive to migratory land birds. Bulcher Park is the site for large migrant fallouts…

  • 6001 Ennis Joslin Rd

Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge, located on Ennis Joslin and Nile, offers nature lovers an ideal spot to observe birds and wildlife along Oso Bay. Take a walk on the 1-mile nature trail and an 800-foot boardwalk for good views of Oso Bay, grassy marshes, woodlands and mudflats…

  • 4343 Co Road 69

*Pavilion is on a first come, first serve basis. Hazel Bazemore Park is one of the most unique locations in the nation for Hawk watching. This 77.6 acre park located on the Nueces River boasts the highest concentration of migrating raptors in the United States. Hawk enthusiasts…