Wild Red-crowned Parrots have migrated from Mexico to the Rio Grande Valley between Brownsville and McAllen. We rode to Brownsville with Paul and Roxann do some shopping and stopped at the Joe and Tony Oliveira Park at sunset. Hundreds of very talkative parrots arrive from all directions to roost in the park trees each night. They are incredibly loud and voice their songs to each other non-stop. Amazing!

The South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center http://spibirding.org is always a treat to visit, so we made sure to get there before leaving SPI. This year they had added a large enclosure for an owl that can’t be released and more space for tortoises. The 3300+ feet of boardwalk make this a pleasant way to view the mangrove salt marshes and mud flats that are home to sea critters like small fiddler crabs (who move sideways & have one large claw) and hermit crabs, many species of birds, and the alligators that are given sanctuary here.