Thursday, January 19, 2012

Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary

It took us a little over an hour to drive out to Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary.



We hung around the visitor center for a while and got some great looks at this female Anna’s Hummingbird.



Sabal Palm Sanctuary is over 500 acres with more than 3 miles of nature trails with wildlife viewing areas.





It is at the southernmost tip of Texas with over 210 species of butterflies and over 380 species of birds being recorded. Many native species of plants and animals reach the northernmost limit of their Mexican range, here, and do not occur anywhere else in the U.S.


Lesser Scaup


Ruddy Duck


Least Grebe


Gadwall

The Sabal Palm is the only native species of palm tree that occurs in Texas.
Sabal Palms-Sabal mexicana are nesting sites for bats, owls, and many birds. Sabal blooms attract many species of butterflies, particularly various Hairstreaks.



The Sanctuary sits directly on the banks of the Rio Grande River with Mexico just across the river.


Looking at Mexico

There is also a very nice butterfly garden where we spent quite a bit of time.




Blue Metalmark


Queen


Mexican Yellow

Although the birding was a little slow the day we were there, it’s a beautiful sanctuary and we enjoyed walking the trails. Sabal Palm is open seven days a week. The entry fee is only $5 per person. If you're ever in the area, go by for a visit!

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