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Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife

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Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife

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One of the top birding destinations in the country, Bentsen is full of "valley specialties".
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As one of the top birding destinations in the country, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in deep South Texas well deserves its status as headquarters of the World Birding Center. Birders across the nation know Bentsen as a treasure trove of "Valley specialties," tropical birds found nowhere else in the United States. The 798-acre Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park, together with over 1,700 acres of adjoining U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuge tracts, promises a year-round nature adventure in the richest birding area north of the Mexican border.

10/29/2026

Ranger Talk Tomorrow!

Join us tomorrow Oct. 30th for a special Halloween program. At 6:30 PM in our headquarters meeting room, we will kick off the program with a reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven".

Afterwards, learn about the origins of Halloween and the holidays connection to celebrations around the world. Lastly, we will discuss the myths and stories surrounding some of the creepy critters connected with Halloween.

10/29/2026

Special moments from Wild Wellness 💛

In the past few gatherings, we have had the opportunity to partner with a few lovely women that shared their time and talents with the group. We would like to extend a warm THANK YOU to Mayela Cadena from 'Pure in Simple' for sharing about plant extracts, Jessica Rodriguez from 'Pixie Body Studio' for leading the grounding with dances, and Yessi Camargo from 'Transfomacion Integral' for speaking on mental health

Your contributions made the experience all the more memorable. We are grateful to continue to provide our park as a space for community and connection

Join us for the next Wild Wellness on Thursday, November 19 at 6pm! 🧘‍♀️☕🌱

10/20/2026

Black-crested Titmouse making sure the mohawk is looking fresh!

How would you caption this? 👀

Photo credit: Ranger Aaron

10/15/2026

🚨RARE BIRD ALERT🚨

Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) spotted at Bentsen!

Now, we don't use the rare bird alarm lightly around these parks

Aptly named, the Roadside Hawk is commonly seen perched along roadsides and prefers to hang out near forest edges. This small to medium sized raptor has 12 recognized subspecies with some plumage variation by region with a widespread distribution from northern Mexico to Argentina. The Roadside Hawk is nonmigratory and considered an "accidental" vagrant that seldomly wanders outside their typical range... and the few times it has, is right here in the RGV

To put this EXTREMELY rare occurrence into perspective, there are currently ONLY 17 documented records of the Roadside Hawk in the U.S. and ALL sightings happened in Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. This means that in the past 100 years there are fewer than 12 documented records with over 10 sightings in the LRGV since 1979!

Last seen today 3pm near the Nature Center ✍

Keep your binoculars ready!
Happy Birding!

Photo Credit: Ranger Serenity

10/15/2026

📣 CALL FOR ARTISTS!!! 📣

Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park invites regional artists to submit original works inspired by nature, surrealism, and the world beyond the familiar for our upcoming group exhibition - Rooted in Art 🌱

📆 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Sunday, November 15, 2026
📍EXHIBITION: Saturday, December 5, 2026 | 2800 S. Bentsen Palm Drive, Mission TX
📧 SUBMIT: [email protected], [email protected]

Inspired by the surrealist art movement, this exhibition invites you to enjoy live presentations, art stations, meet & greet with artists, and special tribute to surrealist artists Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo

For more information, please contact us at 956-584-9156

10/15/2026

Funny moments from our wildlife game cameras!

10/14/2026

Join us for a special Wild Wellness observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month 💗🎀

📅 Wednesday, October 21, 2026
⏰ 6:30PM – 8:00 PM
📍 Bentsen - Rio Grande Valley State Park

Enjoy grounding, yoga, sound healing, and a presentation with special guest Yessi Camargo. Dr. Camargo has worked with indigenous tribes in Mexico and will share how indigenous women care for themselves through their connection to the Earth, the defense of their identity, and collective spirituality 🍃🧘‍♀️☕

To RSVP your spot or for more information, please call (956) 584-9156

10/12/2026

Belted Kingfisher caught lunch 🐟 These skilled hunters are designed for fishing. You can usually see them perched above water scanning the area for its next meal. They will dive headfirst and with extreme accruacy catch its prey with its strong pointy bill. But the hunt doesn't end there! Belted Kingfishers will repeatedly strike their prey against a hard surface sometimes called "fish-whacking" to subdue it and position it head first for easy eating! They don't call the KINGfishers for nothing!

10/11/2026

A big thank you to everyone who joined our bird count for World Migratory Bird Day!!! 🐦🦆🦅🦃🦉

Some noteworthy highlights include all 3 kingfishers, variety of raptors in kettles, a juvenile Bald Eagle, and Hook-billed Kite!

We couldn't have had such a successful count without everyone's keen eyes looking out. Thank you for being part of this count and supporting bird conservation!

10/10/2026

HOOT HOOT 🦉Highlight from our recent Night Ride! A Great Horned Owl calling out from a Mesquite Tree! A warm thank you to the Morato Family for sharing this video 💛Video Credit: Morato Family

Address

2800 S Bentsen Palm Drive
Mission, TX
78572

Opening Hours

Monday	7am - 10pm
Tuesday	7am - 10pm
Wednesday	7am - 10pm
Thursday	7am - 10pm
Friday	7am - 10pm
Saturday	7am - 10pm
Sunday	7am - 10pm

Telephone

+19565849156

Website

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/bentsen-rio-grande-valley

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