Richard Moore Outdoor Report: River of Birds

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The first sunrise of November peeks through distant clouds over the Laguna Madre revealing the tranquil waters of the Mother Lagoon.

Inexorable rise slowly burns through towering clouds as dawn colors suffuse glassy waters with rich orange hues.

Just inland from the bay, freshwater lakes placidly await the arrival of birds from the North Country that will soon descend to wintering wetlands in deep South Texas.

Anticipation grows with each sunrise, as clouds grudgingly disperse over welcoming waters waiting to be filled with avian winter Texans.

Wetlands beckon in the land of the yucca, where resident caracaras greet day perched atop towering Spanish daggers peering from amidst sharp spines as they survey their domain.

Beneath scrutiny of caracaras, a solitary ibis begins its aquatic stroll, while nearby a reddish egret stalks excitedly with wings spread spearing minnows in shallow waters.

Another early November morning as the sun begins ascending the distant horizon bathing shimmering waters in dawn’s hues.

From atop its lofty yucca perch, a sentinel vulture serenely awaits daylight framed in an intense orange orb.

Finally, as yet another dawn breaks, the river of birds arrives as a massive flight of redhead ducks soars across the morning sky in a seemingly endless swarm of beating wings creating a waterfall of sound as they soar past.

Migrating from distant breeding grounds in the northern United States and Saskatchewan Canada, these intrepid travelers have flown more than 2,000 miles to their historic wintering site at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in southernmost Texas.

Of approximately one million Redhead ducks in the continental United States, nearly 80 percent winter in the Laguna Madre of Texas and northern Mexico.

Some 700,000 redheads will spend the next few months here feeding on shoal grass in the bay and flocking to fresh water daily

What a breathtaking experience to witness the annual arrival of this river of birds flowing to their historic winter sanctuary in the land of the yucca.