The Binocular Site
Falcon Dam / Falcon State Park, Texas
Falcon State Park and the Falcon Dam area are located at the north end of the Rio Grande Valley.
The dam was first opened in 1953 and was created for irrigation, flood control, hydroelectricity generation, and conservation. The dam forms the International Falcon Reservoir, and you will find Falcon State Park at its southern end.
Falcon State Park covers over 570 acres and was opened in 1965. It features over three miles of hiking and biking trails as well as a one-mile self-guided nature trail. The area is a mix of mesquite scrub, Texas olive, huisache, and other typical desert foliage including areas of grassland punctuated with prickly pear cactus.
Falcon Dam has become very popular with bird watchers thanks to the variety of valley specialties that are seen here. The dam is also one of the most northwestern places to draw many tropical species of birds.
Look for Red-billed pigeon, Greater Roadrunner, Scaled Quail, and Pyrrhuloxia. Also look for Green Kingfishers as well as scarce species like Black-tailed Gnatchatcher and the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, along with the Vermillion Flycatcher in winter.
The official Texas state bird is the Northern Mockingbird and you can find a checklist for bird sightings in Texas here.
Photo credit to The Trouser Rollers, used with permission. You can learn more about the history and activities at the Falcon State Park and Falcon Dam as well as see a video tour here.If you've visited the Falcon State Park or Falcon Dam, please take the time to share your experience and any tips or insight you have about this Texas bird watching location below.
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Average User Rating
If you're there for the birds, it's awesome. Everywhere you look there's more birds than you can count, all sorts of colors and all sorts of calls. If you're there to camp... Don't do it. All the plants on the walk to the bathroom are thorny and very sharp. There's absolutely no privacy on the "camp" grounds and worst of all, those birds everywhere... They poop everywhere too. Everything was covered in poop, the picnic table at every site was so covered that I couldn't find a place to put my food. Fire ants were everywhere as well. There was broken glass and beer cans littered all over by the bathrooms. Honestly, I would recommend that no one go here, unless it's just a day trip to look at birds.
the bathrooms are horrific! good birds though. the thorny path to the facilities holds lesser nighthawks, bobwhite, ash-throated flycatcher, etc! go during the week if possible. close to salineno.
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