The 6th Annual Laredo Birding Festival drew 150 participants from 22 states, 36 Texas cities, and San Pedro, Nuevo Leon.
Birders in attendance at the closing dinner at La Posada Hotel last week spoke of the Festival in superlatives — good weather, good birding, great guides and drivers on diverse excursions locally and on Webb and Zapata county ranches, kayaking on the Río Grande, and an exhibit of local bird art that drew 450 participants of all ages.
The success of the Festival reflects a close collaboration between the City of Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), the Monte Mucho Audubon Society (MMAS), and the Río Grande International Study Center (RGISC). At the heart of the effort were Mona Perales of MMAS and Erika Saenz of RGISC, who coordinated the logistics of tours, drivers, guides, vans, destinations, sack lunches, and events at the host hotel, La Posada. Aileen Ramos of the CVB was also part of the heavy lifting team and coordinated the CVB’s daybreak crew that registered participants for their particular excursions.
Volunteers also played key roles in the Festival’s success, notably Danny Gunn, Joey López, Juan Livas, Javier Flores, Jim Fulghum, Santiago Santos, Santa Gutierrez, and Helen Treviño.
Among the highlights of the festival was the sighting of a baby Bald Eagle at the U.S. Hwy. 83 river overlook near San Ygnacio. Webb and Zapata counties are home to hundreds of species of native and migratory birds. Some of the most prized sightings were the White-collared Seedeater, Audubon’s and Altamira orioles, Green Parakeets, Muscovy Duck, and the Red-billed Pigeon. Birders in kayaks had the experience of spotting about 40 Red-billed Pigeons fly overhead from the Mexican bank of the Río Grande to the brushy area adjacent to the Max.
In addition to the Max, other local birding areas included Zacate Creek, the Río Grande, Lake Casa Blanca, North Central Park, España Park, Slaughter Park, Las Palmas Nature Trail, El Paso del Indio Trail at Laredo Community College, Muller Pond, and the St. Peter’s Historic District.
Another highlight of the Festival was the address by keynote speaker Dr. J. Drew Lanahm, an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University. Lanham’s comments hit the high notes of genuine love and respect for wildlife and the wonder of nature.
Lanham is the author of The Home Place, Memoirs of A Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature.
Volunteer Javier Flores said of Lanham, “He’s an excellent orator who colored the conservation conversation and left a great impression on me. He made me think of my upbringing in St. Louis Missouri. More importantly he brought us together as one race, the human race, by sharing in an obsession or hobby of birding. I know most of us in the audience were moved by the clever and interesting words in his speech.”
