The riparian corridor found at Rio Grande Village offers some of the best birding in the park year-round.  Start your day on the Rio Grande Village nature trail.  Park at campsite #18 and start listening for the birds, though usually one of the first things heard is the Rio Grande leopard frog.  The trail walks over a beaver pond where you might see wading or shore birds like herons, bitterns, ducks, and kingfishers. Other birds regularly seen here are white-winged, mourning & Inca doves,theyellow-billed cuckoo, both Say’s & black phoebes, verdin, summer tanager, painted buntings, northern cardinal, or an orchard oriole.

Next, check out the perimeter of the campground & the no generator zone for vermillion, ash-throated & the occasional brown-crested flycatchers. Peaking into the mesquite thickets you might find a Bell’s vireo, curve-billed thrashers, or black-tailed gnatcatchers. Looking up every so often might provide you a glimpse of black, red-tailed, sharp-shinned or Cooper’s hawks soaring above along with the turkey and black vultures.

Drive down the road past the store to the west end of Rio Grande Village and you will find the Daniel’s Ranch picnic area. The cottonwood trees across from the Daniels ranch ruins are one of the best areas to find both golden-fronted and  ladder-backed woodpeckers along with northern flickers. From here, wander down towards the Rio Grande to search for ducks. The most common ducks seen are the Mexican mallard, and both green and blue winged teals. Look up and you may see northern rough-winged, barn or cliff swallows flying over head.