South Padre Island Convention Centre
2024-04-22 SPI Convention Centre
Near mid-day the sky began a light rain at Sheepshead Bird Sanctuary. So, having already captured so many birds my head was spinning, I collected my gear and headed back…
2024-04-19 SPI Convention Centre
Despite the slowness of birding on the island, there were still a few treasures to be mined. I had been splitting my time between the Birding and Nature Center and…
2024-04-17 South Padre Island
I took a little over 1000 pics on my Wednesday visit. The morning was underwhelming, but It turned out to be a pretty good afternoon. At the Convention Centre, I…
2024-04-15 South Padre Island
After a brief peek at the bird action at the SPI Convention Centre this morning, I enjoyed breakfast at my new ‘favorite’ cafe (Josephine’s) on South Padre Island this morning.…
2022-09-15 Thursday on the Island
As my time on South Padre draws near its end, I wish I could stay for months, instead of the weeks available in my time-budget. It is especially hard to…
2022-09-12 SPI on Monday
September days on South Padre Island can be hot as hell, with enough humidity to keep me dripping in sweat from dawn to dusk, and through the night. It can…
2022-09-11 Sunday on South Padre Island
After breakfast Sunday, I stopped at Sheepshead, where I met a Northern Parula and a more typical female Blackburnian Warbler than the bird I met on Saturday at the SPI…
2022-09-06 SPI Convention Centre
What can I say about the South Padre Island Convention Centre I’ve not said already? For me, last Tuesday had an added enjoyable dimension to my visit, when my friend…
2022-09-05 SPI Convention Centre
Having skipped one day of birding on Sunday, I was eager to get out and hunt for birds. It was a dreary, drizzly morning on the island, with a lot…
2021-05-08 SPI’s Friday Beaches
I spent much of my last day on South Padre Island on the sandy flat beach north of the Convention Centre. Until this day, I’d neglected this habitat for gulls,…
2021-05-04,5,6 SPI: The Big Fallout That Wasn’t
This is a three day post. With my 2021 visit in South Texas drawing to a close, I’ve been pushing my limits to maximize my opportunities to meet migrating birds.…
2021-05-02 SPI On A Sunday
I spent Sunday at South Padre Island (Texas) and couldn’t resist shooting flycatchers. For most of us interested in learning to identify birds, small flycatchers are among the most difficult…
2021-04-29 Mini-Fallout at SPI
Thursday morning started off slow and stayed that way most of the day, but ended with a flurry of activity when a new batch of warblers fell from the sky.…
2021-04-22 SPI On A Slow Thursday
My stay at the Convention Centre was relatively brief this Thursday. There was a lull in the migration, but even on a slow day, good things can occur here. In…
2021-04-20 SPI Tuesday’s Bright Sun
Addendum: I learned recently, with the help of more experienced birders, that the bird I identified as a Philadelphia Vireo was, in fact, a Warbling Vireo, and the guide I…
2021-04-18 SPI Sunday Bird Fallout, Round Two
Gone were the dense clouds and drizzling rain that plagued me early Saturday. The wind and the birds remained. There seemed to be even more birds on the island than…
2021-04-17 SPI, Great Birds, Lousy Weather
Well friends, I said I would limit my photo shooting time in the field to half days. The strategy would allow me to process my images and tell my stories…
2021-04-15 SPI And Three Bags Full
I had an exceptional day at the SPI Convention Centre. I met three new bird species: Veery, Dickcissel, and Black-Billed Cuckoo. Not that the rest of the birds I met…
2021-04-13 South Padre Fog
I left Brownsville in the darkness of pre-dawn, with plans to meet birds on South Padre Island as they began their morning rounds. It seemed a good idea to be…
2021-04-11 SPI: New Actors and Familiar Faces On Stage
I should have learned my lesson by now. This day reminded me when I’m trying to track a subject bouncing through the canopy, the effort is all-consuming. There’s not always…
2021-04-08 SPI Birding & Nature Center
I’ve made it no secret. My mission is to experience as much of the vernal migration through South Texas as I can. South Padre Island is the best place I…
2021-04-06 SPI Reruns
If the show is good enough, it bears watching repeatedly. A second look may teach us something new. We might see something worthwhile that we missed on the first go-round.…
2021-04-04 Continuing the SPI Saga
The early spring migration season on South Padre Island has been exciting for me. I’m finding one or more new bird species with each visit. The privilege of witnessing so…
2021-04-02 Back to South Padre Island
If you are passionate about birds, I believe there is no better place to hang out than South Padre Island during spring migration. As a kid growing up near the…
2021-03-30 SPI Convention Centre
In the coming weeks, I intend to spend as much of my time on South Padre Island as I can. Spring migrant birds could begin trickling into Texas any time.…
2021-03-16 SPI Convention Centre
On this early Tuesday morning, cloudy gray skies greeted me at the South Padre Island Convention Centre (SPICC). I investigated the center’s bayside and its boardwalks, but the birds were…
2021-02-11 SPI Convention Centre and Bahia Grande
Deciding where to spend my last day in Brownsville wasn’t easy. I plan to stay two more weeks in the Rio Grande Valley, but I want to explore sites further…
2021-02-01 Got To Get Back To South Padre
Visiting South Padre Island has never disappointed me. I began February with a visit to test this trend, and it fulfilled its promise to entertain, though a slow start in…
Memories of South Padre Island
Of all my experiences in South Texas, no other destination produced as many great birding memories as did South Padre Island. There are three must-see locations on the island. Just…