Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Sounds of South Texas

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Nothing says southernmost Texas quite like the soothing coos of White-winged doves, and the exuberant calls of chachalacas vociferously proclaiming their territory from towering tepeguajes.

Stirring sounds of nature from the morning avian chorus to the haunting howl of coyotes on the prowl greets dawn’s first light.

The unmistakable clarion call of Bobwhite quail sails through the morning air, while the loud squawk of Scaled quail boisterously announces their presence.

Hearty gobbling of wild Rio Grande turkeys echoes through oak mottes and mesquite thickets as tropical Altamira orioles sing from swaying nests.

Radiant cardinals cheerfully chime in as the cardinal’s colorful cousin of the chaparral, the pyrrhuloxia, lends his sharp whistle to the burgeoning feathered choir.

The perky Cactus wren shakes his tail feathers while chortling excitedly, and a magnificent White-tailed hawk screeches fiercely from its nest.

No brush country ensemble is complete without the melodious repertoire of mockingbirds and the exquisite song of a curve-billed thrasher.

Suddenly a chilling rattle strikes an ominous chord, and the birdsong diminishes, as the warning buzz of an agitated Diamondback rattlesnake emphatically threatens, “don’t tread on me.”

Not even a rattler’s alarming buzz quells the raucous cry of the area's avian extrovert, as a great kiskadee boldly calls from its jaunty perch above a secluded pond.

However, the primordial roar of an amorous alligator dominates, and stretching out his impressive 12 feet, raises his head and tail emitting a series of resounding bellows.

You can’t help but smile at the joyful chatter of wild red-crowned parrots that make their home in the Rio Grande Valley.

The distant boom of thunder and crack of lighting is the sound South Texas needs most as the pattering of raindrops is the magic elixir that makes life possible throughout the wildlands.