A Birder's Guide to the Rio Grande Valley

Book excerpt: A Birder's Guide to the Rio Grande Valley is designed to help you locate not only the specialty birds of the Rio Grande Valley not occurring elsewhere in North America but also to find the more common birds of the region. Birding begins in the wonderland of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, detailing routes designed to help you make the most of your visit at any time of year. The guide deviates from the Valley to cover the Edwards Plateau, the Davis Mountains, the Pecos Valley, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Special attention is given to the world-renowned regional hotspots: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Big Bend National Park, and the Davis Mountains, as well as the El Paso and Las Cruces, NM areas. In addition to descriptions of over 230 birding sites, the authors have completely updated the Annotated Checklist, covering more than 500 species.