![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_Birdwatching-1.jpg\")
A goldfinch sits atop a pine tree at Memorial Park, Dec. 6, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
Migration has long been embedded in the landscape of the borderland \u2013 and birders say it\u2019s one of the reasons that make El Paso a special place for bird-watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually just started getting into birds earlier this year,\u201d Erica Esparza, a local birder, said. \u201cI started taking lots of walks, like leisurely walks, not to track birds or anything, just for enjoyment. And with that I was able to start noticing. What\u2019s existing around us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Esparza recalled hearing a sound she had never heard before, like a rattling hiss, on a walk through Chamizal National Memorial in April. That\u2019s when she found herself staring into the face of a burrowing owl.<\/p>\n
SEE ALSO: First desert bighorn sheep lambs born in Franklin Mountains<\/a><\/p>\n The ground-dwelling owl is native to the Chihuahuan Desert and active during the day. They imitate the sound of a rattlesnake to scare predators from their burrows.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like that, I started to think if I\u2019m not actually looking, then I\u2019m missing so many things,\u201d Esparza said. \u201cLike those owls have probably been hanging out the entire time that I\u2019ve been walking there. I just wasn\u2019t looking down at my phone. I was taking my headphones out to just kind of listen to the environment around me.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird-watching community blossoms in El Paso<\/p>\n Posada has noticed a growing interest in birding, also known as bird-watching.<\/p>\n eBird, an online project where people can submit bird sightings, clocked 122,000 new users last year. Merlin, an app for identifying bird species by sound recording, counted 7.5 million new users.<\/p>\n \u201cBirding was primarily a male-dominant field, but I feel there\u2019s a lot more females and female bird guides as well in the birding community, not just in the U.S., but I\u2019ve also noticed in my travels to Central and South America,\u201d Posada said.<\/p>\n In November, the Audubon Society partnered for the first time with Programa de Aves Urbanas in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez to organize a bird tour in Parque Central. Posada, who translated the tour, said it was an opportunity for everyone to learn the names of birds in Spanish and English. She hopes more events like this will build the binational relationship between the cities\u2019 birding communities.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of birders who don\u2019t speak English or their English isn\u2019t the greatest sometimes feel like they can\u2019t come to our bird tours, our bird walks,\u201d Posada said. \u201cBut being able to bird together, regardless of whether you speak English or Spanish, just brings a community closer.\u201d<\/p>\n Locally, the El Paso Audubon Group on Facebook has more than 2,600 members. About 40 people joined the group just the week before Christmas. In addition to the El Paso\/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society, new bird-watching groups formed in El Paso this year: Sun City Queer Birders and the El Paso chapter of Feminist Bird Club, where Esparza serves as an officer.<\/p>\n A Feminist Bird Club is an inclusive space for people interested in birds, but also supporting people in less privileged scenarios, said Lillian Smith, local club president. She noted the network\u2019s recent collaboration with Birders of Palestine, a fundraising project led by Lara and Mandy Sirdah, sisters in Gaza who bird-watch and document wildlife. The network raised more than $81,000 to support Palestinian bird-watchers.<\/p>\n While bird lovers don\u2019t need to necessarily talk about politics, policies everywhere affect both birds and birders, Smith said.<\/p>\n In El Paso, the border wall looms in the background of Rio Bosque Wetlands Park and Ascarate Park, both hotspots for local and seasonal birds, while development such a proposed highway expansion<\/a> could threaten migration corridors. Climate change and prolonged drought<\/a> also impact bird habitats, food sources and migration patterns.<\/p>\n \u201cYou peer onto the border wall, you\u2019ll see a lot of reptile hawks perching there looking for prey and you might even hear them call,\u201d said Collin Lyle, a postdoctoral ecology student at the University of Texas at El Paso. \u201cBut right now they\u2019re actually working on putting more barbed wire up there, and that\u2019s going to really hinder them from stopping the rodent populations.\u201d<\/p>\n Getting started: Tips for first-time bird-watchers<\/p>\n So what makes a person a birder? Anyone who has an interest in observing birds, Posada said.<\/p>\n Some of the thrill comes from chasing a bird you\u2019ve never seen before, she said. She remembered one year when someone on Facebook posted a picture of a flammulated owl in a mesquite shrub in Downtown El Paso. Online sleuths were analyzing the photo to identify the location and finally staked out a location by the Main Library, Posada said.<\/p>\n That owl should have been in Mexico at that point, but was a little late in its journey, she said. Birders from all over Texas came to El Paso to catch a glimpse of that owl, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Scientists try to identify Franklin Mountains\u2019 mystery hummingbird<\/a><\/p>\n Posada\u2019s favorite birds are vultures, with turkey vultures the most common in the greater El Paso region and black vultures a rare sighting. Posada, who leads private birding tours<\/a> to Central and South America, hopes to one day see some of the Old World vulture species in Africa and the Middle East.<\/p>\n But for a first-timer, birding can be as easy as a stroll around Ascarate Lake, where visiting water fowls mingle with native and domestic ducks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s open space, so it may be easier for beginners to be able to focus on one bird without the distraction of trees and pine cones,\u201d Posada said.<\/p>\n Other tips include:<\/p>\n Follow bird clubs. Groups such as the El Paso\/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society<\/a> and Friends of the Rio Bosque<\/a> offer free resources and guided bird tours led by experts. Bird walks are for people of all skill levels and the groups welcome beginner birders.<\/p>\n \u201cThey love to yap about birds,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd they will take any question. I\u2019ll even email, \u2018I don\u2019t know what this bird is. Can you help me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Get equipped. Posada recommended several tools people can use to identify birds: a pair of binoculars, recognition apps such as Merlin and a field guide, either a physical book or app such as the Audubon Bird Guide. They don\u2019t have to be the fanciest, most expensive binoculars either, Posada added. She uses a pair that cost less than $250.<\/p>\n \u201cAn early mistake I would consider, I didn\u2019t want to buy binoculars,\u201d Esparza said. \u201cI was, like, that\u2019s gonna be so weird. Like, what if somebody sees me out in the world and is, like, \u2018You don\u2019t even know birds.\u2019 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve actually encountered anyone who\u2019s interested in birding who would have that approach to a new birder.\u201d<\/p>\n Merlin is only a starting point, Smith warned. The app can sometimes misidentify birds and it\u2019s best to check with visuals and other song and call recordings on the app, she said.<\/p>\n Find bird sightings on websites such as eBird<\/a>, which can be narrowed down to city and hotspots, and UTEP\u2019s list of recent birds at Rio Bosque<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watch your step \u2013 and your neck. Lyle recommended going with a buddy because it\u2019s easy to trip and fall when using binoculars, looking for birds but not necessarily where you\u2019re stepping. That\u2019s why guided group tours are also helpful so people can look out for each other, he said. Lyle serves as an officer for Friends of the Rio Bosque, which organizes bird walks.<\/p>\n Birders spend a lot of time looking up at tree tops and can also get \u201cwarbler neck,\u201d a neck pain condition from straining the neck for extended periods.\u00a0<\/p>\n Start in your own backyard. Even urban and residential neighborhoods attract birds, from great-tailed grackles to white-winged doves.<\/p>\n \u201cTry to see nature where you are,\u201d Esparza said. \u201cI think sometimes we can get bogged down with, oh, I have to go to this location to bird-watch. I\u2019ve actually these last two weeks been really trying to just learn the birds that are by my apartment.<\/p>\n Birding Meetups in El Paso<\/p>\n El Paso\/Trans-Pecos Audubon Society: The Far West Texas chapter of the National Audubon Society. Leads birding field trips and habitat restoration workdays at Feather Lake<\/a>, a wetland and bird sanctuary in the Lower Valley that has gone dry. More info: Facebook<\/a>, Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Friends of Rio Bosque: A volunteer support group for the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. Leads guided walks, including birding tours with park volunteer assistant John Sproul. More info: Instagram<\/a>, Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n PAU Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez: The Ju\u00e1rez chapter of the Programa de Aves Urbanas, a project in Latin America to connect people to birds and nature. Leads bird tours in Ju\u00e1rez and other places in Chihuahua. Follow them on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sun City Queer Birders: A birding group for queer birders and allies. Leads monthly bird walks. Follow them on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Feminist Bird Club El Paso: The El Paso chapter of Feminist Bird Club<\/a>, a multinational group that promotes inclusivity in birding while fundraising for social justice causes. More info: Linktree<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n LISTEN: EL PASO MATTERS PODCAST![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_Birdwatching-10.jpg\")
Estrella Posada, a local birding expert and owner of a bird tour company, teaches about the habits and calls of several bird species at Memorial Park, Dec. 6, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_RioBosque-0442.jpg\")
A flock of white-faced ibis rest in a wetland cell at Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, May 3, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_AscarateDucks-4651-e1700258994969-1024x610.jpg\")
A flock of ducks, both wild and domesticated, swims at Ascarate Lake on Nov. 13, 2023. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CB_Birdwatching-6.jpg\")
Birding expert Estrella Posada recommends \u201cThe Sibley Field Guide\u201d as a resource for identifying bird species and morphs, the variations that may occur within male, female and juvenile birds of the same species, Dec. 6, 2025. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
\n\t