SPI Birding, Nature Center Prepares for Spring Birding Migration

Story by Eryn Reddell Wingert | Photos by Eryn Reddell Wingert and courtesy of Robert Prichard

There are nights during the spring when millions of birds are flying over the Rio Grande Valley. Thirty to forty million, according to Javier Gonzalez, naturalist educator at the South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary.  

Gonzalez says migrating birds–including warblers, tanagers, orioles, buntings, hawks, and hummingbirds–travel up to South Texas from Central and South America. Vying for the best nesting spots up north, they will attempt a risky shortcut: pausing at the Yucatan Peninsula to wait for a strong wind to launch them across the Gulf.

After a 600-mile journey, South Padre Island is their first sign of land. “It’s like a Buc-ee’s,” Gonzalez says, where they can rest, feed, and reenergize before continuing north.

Birding Center volunteer Robert Prichard knows a little something about long-distance travel. He’s been driving down to South Padre Island from Ontario, Canada, for over 20 years and recalls seeing the Center’s “Coming Soon!” sign on his very first visit.

When it opened in 2009, Prichard immediately signed up as a volunteer, and for the better part of the last two decades, he has spent his winters giving guided tours. “I’m so proud,” he beams. “I not only love what I do–it’s also so rewarding.”

The most rewarding element of Prichard’s volunteerism is when he has inspired a visitor to take up birding. And the South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary is a great place to start. 

More than 200 species of birds visit the Center during the migration. “It’s awesome,” Gonzalez says. “In their brightest plumage, in their breeding colors, you can see the colors of the rainbow here in springtime.”

If the Island is like Texas’ famously clean and well-stocked gas station, the Center’s freshwater wetlands are like an array of fountain drinks after a long drive across a dry desert. This winter, the Center undertook a wetlands restoration project. 

After dredging accumulated silt, restoring the wetlands to its original depths for better water quality and flow, Phase 1 is almost complete. Rain and fresh water, supplied from the neighboring water treatment plant, will fill the wetlands, making it more suitable for wildlife. 

It looks a little rough now, says Gonzalez, as he excitedly looks forward to seeing what drops in during spring.

The time frame for spring migration? March through May, with mid-to-late April as the peak. To see migratory birds in your own yard, Gonzalez says it’s simple: provide some running water. A little dribble from a faucet will do; nothing fancy is needed, as long as there is some movement in the water and it doesn’t become stagnant. 

Another helpful tip, Gonzalez says, is to keep an eye on the wind. “They do not like to fly through headwinds,” he says. The birds are in a hurry, and they favor wind that is going to help them on their journey. 

For more information on birding and the South Padre Island Birding, Nature & Alligator Center visit spibirding.org.  

Originally published in the March 18, 2026 issue of Welcome Home Winter Texan. Read the full issue.