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Swarovski + Nikon digiscoping, published in photos, film, and on Getty

The Lower Rio Grande Valley, situated near Brownsville, is characterized by a distinctive landscape formed by the convergence of temperate, subtropical, coastal, and semi-arid ecosystems. Occupying a strategic position at the junction of the Central and Mississippi flyways, the region serves as a critical migratory corridor and stopover for numerous birds and butterflies. It exhibits notable biodiversity, encompassing a wide range of plant species, substantial butterfly populations, and a significant number of bird species occurring in the United States.
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Nature - published bird photos on Getty

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Magazine: Real light from the Rio Grande Valley Look book: Birds, close through glass
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Ecosystem 1: Riparian resacas — river woods and tropical birds

Woodlands and wetlands along the Rio Grande and its old channels (resacas—oxbow lakes and sloughs). Typical trees include Texas ebony, anacua, cedar elm, Mexican ash, sugarberry, and remnant groves of native Sabal palmetto. These moist, subtropical corridors once formed extensive palm forests and bottomland habitat; they now exist as fragmented remnants that support many tropical birds (green jay, chachalaca, great kiskadee) and serve as migration stopovers. Reduced river flow has made these forests harder to sustain.
On Bird Safari August 31 | Riparian Resaca Fish Hatchery Ponds evening photo shoot.

Ecosystem 2: Bahia Grande and Laguna Madre — shorebirds and tidal flats

Salt and brackish marshes, wind-tidal flats, clay dunes (lomas), barrier-island grasslands, and seagrass meadows of the hypersaline Laguna Madre and associated bays (South Bay, Bahia Grande). These habitats mix freshwater inputs from the river delta with Gulf and lagoon influences. They support shorebirds, waterfowl, and unique plant communities adapted to salinity and wind-driven flooding rather than regular tides. Brownsville’s location at the river mouth makes this coastal suite especially prominent.
On Bird Safari August 30, 2026 | Bahia Grande Lagoon and ready to film at sunrise on the shorelines of the the tidal mud flats. Always a bird to photo! Coffee in my Yeti!
Dense, thorny shrubland and low woodland of mesquite, granjeno, acacia, blackbrush, and similar drought-adapted species. It occupies the drier uplands away from the river. This habitat is the northern limit for several Mexican and Central American plants and animals and is essential cover for the ocelot and jaguarundi. Most of it has been cleared; remaining tracts are critical wildlife corridors.

Ecosystem 3: Tamaulipan thornscrub — dry-country birds and wildlife

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