national butterfly center

Has potential. I am not used to the dry conditions so am probably biased, as I was expecting much more plant life in a butterfly garden. There is so much bare land so I assume they are planning much more planting and growth. they said there were plants for sale, but buildings and such were locked up so there was nothing available. I think they need a good gardener and caretaker. Being from the north I loved the birds in the feeding area. I will definitely go back if in the area.

We visited the butterfly center on a very windy day. Check the weather before going here. Give the center a call and they will advise you as to whether you will see any butterflies. Time of the year as well as weather conditions are important. They also have an area for bird watching along with a feeding schedule were you will have a better chance of seeing some birds.

Don't forget your camera. The Butterfly Center has a nice variety of birds and butterflies. The hiking trails lead to fascinating nature finds. I visit often, but I have found the best time to visit is October and November. I was there for the Monarch migration. A breathtaking experience indeed.

Still in the process of being built. However, even with windy conditions, saw a bunch of different butterflies. The layout of the place is going to be very good too.The guy at the front desk was knowledgable about both plants and butterflies. The quilts on display were amazing.

Still under development. Already pretty good for rare butterflies. Likely to get better. Right now Santa Ana and Llano grande still better. $10 fee much higher than alternatives. Don't miss south end.

This is one of my favorite places in the world, and I visit almost every day to see the different species come and go as the seasons change. In addition to world-class butterflies, the birding station provides a great opportunity to see several bird species up close. Take along insect repellent as the mosquitoes can be numerous.

The plans are ambitious. But they are just starting to develop the habitat. Give it a few years and it will be great. The area is being developed for housing so it's important to save the butterfly habitat.

Staff was very helpful not many butterflies due to the wind but we still enjoyed walking the trails back to the tortoise. Great litlle out of the way place.

While the building for the National Butterfly Center is only three years young, the commitment to showing off God's Creation and the leadership provided for the annual Texas Butterfly Festival are in a word, outstanding!Having just returned from the Festival last week, www.texasbutterflyfestival.com, I was impressed by Marianna's organizational skills as the Center's staff provided a great selection of field trips that traversed the Rio Grande Valley. Each trip was led by one or more of the country's most widely recognized naturalists who not only were there to identify and explain the different species of butterflies but to also help us spot the elusive ones. This year the Butterfly Festival was followed by the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. While I did not stay for the Birding Festival, I would like to do so in the future. This part of our country is overflowing with beautiful butterflies and birds. Lodging is very affordable and the experience is not to be missed. I highly recommend a visit to the National Butterfly Center...and come in November for the experience of a lifetime: the Texas Butterfly Festival.

The butterfly center is not a butterfly farm. This is a piece of land with native plants to which butterflies are attracted. When you go there you never know how many butterflies you are going to see. The center is also still in a development process with large portions being just waste land. They have a new, bright visitor center though with an interpretive exhibition and a nice gift shop. A part of the area is woodland and in one section several bird feeders were surrounded by green jays, kiskadees, grackles and red shouldered blackbirds. There were also a woodpecker and a squirrel. They have also feeders for the butterflies but on this particular day we saw only a few varieties. Even though the center is far from finished it has a peaceful atmosphere. It is very relaxing to sit and watch the birds or stroll around the plants looking out for butterflies. It is certainly worth a visit. This place supports itself mainly by donations and it is important to back their effort to keep some natural habitat for native animals. The entrance fee is $ 5.

I don't know anything about butterflies so decided to visit the National Butterfly Center. My first problem was no accessible parking where you must go to pay your fee. Once a spot opened up, even with assistance I was barely able to make it into the Visitor Center with a wheelchair. The staff happily took my money and assured me the trails were accessible for a wheelchair. I had to get back down the unpaved, rocky entrance to the buiding again with assistance and reload my wheelchair before driving to a second location where the butterflies were. Had I known the condition of the "road" I never would have taken my new car down such a rocky unpaved bit of real estate they called a road. Once at the second parking lot there was accessible parking but the trails were totally unpaved, rocky, had tree roots and soft sand and no way I could get along by myself. They had a staff member go with me and we saw a total of five butterflies. The staff member was excellent and knew what they were, but on my own I would not have been able to identify the butterflies. There was an area where birds were feed that had nine varieties of birds while I was there, but nothing out ouf the ordinary and nothing I had not seen elsewhere in the area. I consider this attraction in the development stage (it has potential) and as such felt the fee which was as much as I paid at any attraction in the area was overpriced. I felt I was risking rock chips to my car and possible undercarriage damage with the amount of rocks on the road-a bicycle would have been more appropriate. Birders can see more birds at the nine World Birding sites in the area. My lack of butterfly knowledge no doubt was an impediment as an experienced person would have known what varieties of butterflies they saw. I felt I expended a lot of energy for nothing. If you cannnot walk a long distance without assistance this is not the place for you.

I took my group to this spot for the first time last week, and the birding was superb. We searched at all the other typical Rio Grande Valley hotspots for Clay-colored Thrush and got our best looks at two birds here. Also great looks at Green Jay, Altamira Oriole, White-tipped Dove, etc. Nice facility with excellent trails.

Well kept grounds, knowledgeable staff, clean all around: gift shop, restrooms, exhibit hall, pathways, etc. Rare butterflies and many varieties to spot. A bird watcher's MUST stop, especially when the birds migrate south and make a stop at this spot.

You cannot find this little gem on a lot of the well known web mapping services, but it is a great place to learn about butterflies of the Rio Grande Valley. There is also a bird feeding station that is loaded with incredibly colorful birds and wildlife. It is a tiny center, but if you like butterflies and birds, you can spend several hours there.

The National Butterfly Center is a sight not to be missed by butterfly enthusiasts. The new education building is nice with room to grow and places to add more info on these amazing creatures. The friendly volunteers in the garden areas help with identification and pass along which butterflies have been seen and where in NBC as well as nearby parks like Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. The Isabella Heliconian, Guatamalan Cracker, Blue-eyed Sailor butterflies were a treat for my husband and me, novice butterfly watchers travelling with the experts in the NABA Hairstreak Chapter from Tallahassee, FL.