The best birding locations usually have close proxity to water, habitat and food. Within Big Bend, the traditional Birding hot spots are Rio Grande Village, the Chisos Mountains, and the Cottonwood campground. The information on the following pages serves as a guide to where to go in these places, and what you might see there.

Other Possible Birding Spots
Hot Springs—Where Tornillo Creek meets the Rio Grande, good for wading, shore, and desert birds.
Dugout Wells—This is a great place for desert resident or migratory birds passing through. The wells often create a year-round wet spot and are surrounded by desert.
Sam Nail Ranch—Similar to Dugout Wells. Here you will find an isolated island where migratory and desert birds will be found.
Blue Creek—This is one of the better bird watching places in the foothills of the Chisos Mountains. Often spring sightings of gray and black-capped vireos along with Lucifer hummingbirds make this one must stop for many.
Santa Elena Canyon—During warmer times of the day the canyon walls create a cool place to poke around looking for more birds along the river.
Terlingua Abajo—A beautiful and large spring along Terlingua Creek has been home to numerous unique birds and stands out as one of the wettest spots in the park, with the exception of the Rio Grande.