Critters
January 19, 2024
Do Not Underestimate the Elf Owl
The world’s smallest owl is a swift, acrobatic hunter whose victims never hear it coming.
Birding
Latest
1-32 of 32 Articles
Critters
January 9, 2024
Kestrels Are Disappearing. Here’s Where to See These “Small but Fierce” Falcons in Texas.
They flock to our state every winter and are a joy to watch.
Critters
December 21, 2023
Short Ears, Big Wings, Can’t Lose
Short-eared owls are disappearing along with the Texas prairie. But for now, they’re putting on a show outside Manor.
Critters
November 20, 2023
Texas Birders Are Cuckoo for the Cattle Tyrant, Never Before Seen in North America
Folks are flocking to Corpus Christi to see the little yellow flier, which may have blown 2,600 miles off-course in a storm.
Parks & Recs
August 2, 2023
We Found Texas’s Best Beachcombing Spot in Matagorda
The seaside town is also a great place to catch redfish, watch dolphins, and stay in a snazzy new bungalow.
Critters
May 23, 2023
In Pursuit of Texas’s Rarest Bird, the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken
Fewer than 200 of the birds remain in the wild. Every spring, they put on a vibrant mating display.
Critters
April 6, 2023
Purple Martins Are on the Wing in Texas
The majestic birds nest only in houses built by human “landlords.”
Critters
April 4, 2023
It’s Hummingbird Season in Texas. Here’s How to Bring Them to Your Yard.
The tiniest of Texas birds are also some of the most marvelous, reaching speeds of up to fifty miles per hour.
Critters
November 11, 2022
Where to Watch Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Storm the Texas Skies
Each winter, a wildlife sanctuary near the Panhandle hosts one of the world’s largest gatherings of these beautiful birds.
Texas Country Reporter
September 29, 2022
Guardian of the Whooping Cranes
One of our most important TCR stories involved a surprise encounter with an early advocate of whooping crane conservation efforts.
Texas Country Reporter
July 22, 2022
Quinta Mazatlan Is a Mansion With a Mission
The 1930s estate in McAllen is home to a fifteen-acre wildlife sanctuary that invites visitors to foster conservation corridors in their own backyards.
Texas Country Reporter
May 31, 2022
He’s an Urban Birder, Photographing Birds of Prey in Downtown Austin
Chris DuCharme is self-taught, armed with a telephoto lens and words of encouragement from his late wife.
Critters
May 18, 2022
After the Big Year: What Came Next for the Texan Who Broke a National Birding Record
After taking her thousands of miles across 48 states, Tiffany Kersten’s adventure led her right back home.
Critters
May 18, 2022
Twelve of Texas’s Most Stunning Birds
The elusive bat falcon, the raucous chachalaca, and the luminous violet-crowned hummingbird belong on your life list.
Critters
May 18, 2022
A South Texan’s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone—and finding her way.
Best Thing in Texas
January 10, 2022
A Rio Grande Valley Woman Just Broke the U.S. Record for Most Birds Spotted in a Year
Tiffany Kersten saw 726 species in 48 states, setting a new record for the mind-boggling achievement birders call a Big Year.
Critters
April 15, 2021
Chasing Down Birds of Prey With Ornithologist and Musician Jonathan Meiburg
His new book traces the evolution of caracaras—a strange and beautiful type of falcon.
Critters
November 20, 2020
Meet the Carrion-Craving Falcon That’s Taking Over Texas
Crested caracaras used to range no farther north than Texas’s southern tip, but now they’re expanding across the state—perhaps because of climate change and habitat loss.
The Texanist
July 20, 2019
The Texanist: Why Do We Share a State Bird With Five Other States?
A pair of Austin birders think it’s time to replace the Northern mockingbird with something more . . . Texas-y.
Critters
August 9, 2017
Beware the Grackle
The fierce black birds have been terrorizing the UT campus. But that’s nothing new.
Critters
April 19, 2017
Why Victor Emanuel Weekends on the Bolivar Peninsula
The Bolivar Peninsula is for the birds. Literally.
Travel & Outdoors
September 30, 2016
For the Birds
Birding excursions and events around the state.
Travel & Outdoors
August 13, 2015
Bird’s-eye View
The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is a world-class site for birding and . . . ocelotting?
Food & Drink
January 21, 2013
Don’t Eat the Birds that Fly into Your Window
A Pflugerville man learns you that if it dies on your property it isn't free to eat.
Feature
January 21, 2013
The Birdman of Texas
Victor Emanuel can find you a hooded warbler, a horned guan, or maybe even an Eskimo curlew. But his real genius is that he can get you to really look at a grackle.
Web Exclusive
January 21, 2013
A Q&A With Katy Vine
The senior editor on embracing enthusiasm, going birding with Victor Emanuel, and wading through tall grass.
The Wanderer
August 27, 2012
Marathon: Get Outta Town
For many travelers, this far West Texas town is a last-chance pit stop before heading south to brave the wilds of Big Bend National Park. But, this past spring, after driving 407 miles (that’s roughly 7 hours and 143 country songs) from Austin to
Feature
May 31, 2011
Bentsen–Rio Grande
Where it is: 2800 S. Bentsen Palm Dr., MissionWhat you’ll do: Look at birds. Eat. Look at birds. Sleep. Look at birdsWhere you’ll sleep: Book a spot at a local RV parkWhat you’ll learn: Chachalacas are named for their call, a rowdy cha-cha-lacWe imagine that a lot of people visit
Web Exclusive
April 30, 2011
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
Victor Emanuel describes what he likes about these beautiful birds that can be found in Texas.
Travel & Outdoors
February 1, 2011
For the Birds
Birds resemble art in more ways than one, especially when they force us to address questions of ineffable provenance.
Critters
June 1, 1984
The Wild Side of Town
You don’t have to go to the country or the zoo to see wild animals; there are lizards in downtown buildings, gators in the creeks, and deer in the parking lots.
Critters
March 31, 1974
Semi-Tuft
Forget your Dallas cowboys and your Houston Astros. Texas’ real champions count birds once a year at freeport. They’re not bird watchers, they’re birders. And therein lies a tail.