It was an amazing trip where we experienced all manner of natural wonders from a full solar eclipse to seeing 12 million bats pouring out of a cave to hundreds of great birds. Our guides, Whitney and Holly, really worked hard making sure we had the best chances of seeing the birds we were targeting, as well as making sure we ate it interesting and unique, local places. The amount of planning and replanning they did cannot be overstated. They had a plan a, a Plan B, a plan C, D, E and F for just about every site, and sometimes we needed them!

Great experience. Friendly, knowledgeable, extremely helpful tour guides. Tour leaders didn’t just point out birds but provided excellent ornithological information about individual species + cues to identification. Willing + ready to pursue a “Plan B” if “Plan A” wasn’t working out. Nice added “side trips” to make sure group was getting the most out of the tour. Good selection of eateries.

This was an amazing trip! Timed both with a total eclipse and spring migration in Texas. I loved it. The food, the snacks, the sights and of course the birds! We had over 180 species in the week with several rarities mixed in. The food was also great (maybe too good!) We also had a bonus stop at the Rio Frio Bat Cave, which was almost as awe-inspiring as the eclipse, 10-12 million bats leaving their cave at dusk was quite something to witness. The guides were awesome and were super organized. They were up to date on the birds in the region and were able to pivot our plans quickly when conditions changed. This was one of the best birding tours I've been on, I'd do another Hillstar trip in a heartbeat.