Valley records first tiger heron ever seen in U.S.

Rick Snider and Rick Nirschl were taking a break from birding late Monday afternoon to look for rare dragonflies at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park.

"We were on our way back walking along the levee road," said Snider, a birder for nearly four decades. "All of a sudden a bird flushed from a tree just in front of us and landed on the road about 70 feet away or so and just stood there.

"We recognized it as different from what we normally see and knew it was important," he said. "We both started taking pictures and started contacting others by cell phone to come down, but couldn’t reach anyone.

"We inched our way forward and took more pictures. Eventually, the bird flew over the levee and into the park proper.

"About 10 minutes later, we arrived back at the headquarters and got out our field guides and realized fairly quickly what it was and the significance of seeing it," Snider added. "As far as we know, it’s the first time a bare-throated tiger heron has been seen in the U.S.

"It was thrilling," he added. "This is something birders dream about — getting a U.S. record. It was unbelievable."

The news began to spread like wildfire, Snider said, and before long he was getting congratulatory e-mails from his native Ontario, Canada, where some are making plans to come down to see it.

Snider had seen the tiger heron before in Mexico, but this tiger heron is about 200 miles from its northernmost range.

He expects the park to be flooded with birders from throughout the country, but offers a little warning.

"It will be a hard one to see because of the nature of the bird (wetlands habitat)," he said. "And you may not be able to see it every day, but that won’t mean it’s not still here."

Mary Gustafson, wildlife biologist with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, also saw the tiger heron.

"I got a good look at it and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s a bare-throated tiger heron," she said. "I was ecstatic when I first saw it."

She too had seen the tiger heron in Mexico.

Now comes the hard part. Gustafson is in the process of rounding up documentation to send to the Texas committee which will have the final say whether this indeed is a United State first.

According to BirdLife International, the population estimate for bare-throated tiger heron ranges from 50,000 to 499,999.

Its range is from Mexico to northern South America.