Hello.
We are planning a family nature/birding holidays in Texas next April (19 days on site). We want to camp where possible and rather stay some days in one region than changing our base daily. Our first thoughts concerning the itinerary are:
(Houston ->)
Drive to Lower Coast with some stops along the coast on the way
Lower Rio Grande Valley
Big Bend NP
Hill Country
Upper Coast (High Island, Bolivar Flats)
(-> Houston)
In this context some questions:
- Any suggestions for improvements of the route?
- Which are the top sites we should visit in theses regions?
- Which site guide book would you recommend?
- Are there scenic non-birding places on the route?
- Any recommendations for (scenic) campgrounds (tent only) in these regions (primitive campgrounds are sufficient)?
- Is camping possible and recommended on the Upper Coast this time of year?
- What day/night temperatures should we expect in the North and South?
I did a similar itinerary at a similar time of year in 2015 and managed 326 species, so you should do okay. I was a bit fortunate in that it was a good spring for migrants, with quite a lot of rain. If you have 'good' weather than it might be less successful. You should still see plenty though. I've given a few more detailed answers to your questions below.
[*]Any suggestions for improvements of the route?
The basic route is okay and should cover a wide mix of things. One area you might consider is the Davis Mountains, which is not too far out of your way if you're in Big Bend. It has a few different things (e.g. Montezuma Quail, although I didn't see that). In the east you might also want to consider visiting the pine woods for things like Red-Cockaded WP and Bachman's Sparrow. You can probably do that in a morning from a base east of Houston though. A handy feature of migration on the Gulf Coast is that the best time of day is usually mid- to late-afternoon, so it's quite easy to look for breeding birds in the morning and migrants in the afternoon.
[*]Which are the top sites we should visit in theses regions?
There are obviously lots of good places, so where you go would mostly depend on any targets and the sort of birding you want to do. The High Island/Anahuac/Bolivar area is very good. In High Island, I found Smith Woods to be better than Boy Scout, although you'll probably visit both. Sabine Woods is also very good. Check the schedule for 'rail walks' at Anahuac. Those are worth going on. Also, it might be worth coinciding with the Attwater Prairie Chicken weekend, which tends to be some time in early-mid-April. It will make it much easier to see that species (assuming there are any left after the hurricane).
The Port Aransas (e.g. Paradise Pond, Turnbull Center) and Corpus Christi (e.g. Blucher Park, Rose Hill Cemetery) areas are also very good for migrants when conditions are good. There may be a few Whooping Cranes still around at Aransas NWR in mid-April. I saw a pair. Aransas itself is probably not worth the effort unless there are still cranes.
In the Lower Rio Grande I'd recommend Estero Llano Grande and Santa Ana quite a bit. There are other spots for specific species though. In the Hill Country I visited Lost Maples and South Llano River State Park (near Junction). These are both very good sites and should enable you to see the specialities. In Big Bend make sure you visit the three main types of habitat i.e. riparian areas (Rio Grande Village), desert and scrub (e.g. Blue Creek Canyon) and mountains and forests (e.g. Chisos Basin and surrounds).
[*]Which site guide book would you recommend?
There are two ABA birding guides, one to the Texas coast and one to the Rio Grande Valley. They are both useful and detailed, although they could probably be better. It may also be worth getting the Gosney Guide to south Texas, which has good maps.
The biggest thing I would recommend is to use Ebird though. It's the best resource for finding out sites for species, good general sites (use the hotspot map) and for fairly up-to-date reports of migrants etc.
[*]Are there scenic non-birding places on the route?
The most scenic areas are probably going to be Big Bend and the Hill Country, so those are areas you're likely to visit for birding.
[*]Any recommendations for (scenic) campgrounds (tent only) in these regions (primitive campgrounds are sufficient)?
There are nice campsites at Lost Maples and in Big Bend. I didn't use any others. Big Bend campsites can quite easily fill up and they tend to allocate them on a first come first served basis.
[*]Is camping possible and recommended on the Upper Coast this time of year?
I don't but I don't see why not. Mosquitoes are rather numerous in south Texas, which you might want to keep in mind.
[*]What day/night temperatures should we expect in the North and South?
Probably warm to hot on the whole. It's possible there may be really substantial thunderstorms. Good for grounding migrants but maybe not ideal for camping!
If you're looking for tips on sites or looking for specific birds I can probably help further.