This unusual variety of bird life results from an extraordinary convergence of geographic and climatic influences. We are where the sea meets the shore and the tropics meet the temperate zone. The Padre Island National Seashore forms the eastern edge of Kleberg County, while the county s western edge is largely semi-arid, characterized by dry chaparral. Within the county are open beaches, a major system of bays, a long stretch of the Laguna Madre, creeks and ponds, oak woodlands, oak and mesquite savannah, extensive grasslands, mesquite chaparral and even some marshlands. In short, it is an area of far more varied habitat than most people would ever imagine.
Birders know variety of habitat means variety of birds.
Not only does each type of habitat attract its own particular set of birds, but wherever two or more types of habitat converge, a zone known as an edge is created, and those edges constitute even more potent attractions to an even greater variety of birds. On top of all that, we lie in the two greatest flyways used by migratory birds of the Western Hemisphere. As if those natural advantages were not enough, additional variety has been introduced into the vegetation patterns of the area by farming and ranching activities and the creation of public park facilities. If you want to know where to go, check out some of these sites.