An interview with nature lover and Green Jay Park supporter Lois Kim

MCALLEN, Texas - A McAllen resident and nature lover says Green Jay Park is far better for birders than Quinta Mazatlan, a property the City of McAllen has invested in heavily to attract eco-tourists.Lois Kim lives next to Green Jay Park. She says when she moved there it was liked “winning the lotto.”  “The birders use an app called eBird. When you go on the app and then you click explore, it shows all the birding hotspots. So south of the freeway, there are three hotspots. One is Quinta Mazatlan. One is this park (Green Jay) and the third one is my Airbnb. So it (Green Jay Park) isalready a hotspot that nobody knows about at the city hall, but all the birders know,” Kim said.“And considering that it's not being promoted, like Quinta Mazatlan, it's got an incredible species list going on. If more people visited (Green Jay Park), they'd be spotting more birds and it would outpace Quinta Mazatlan like this,” Kim said, gesturing a wide gulf through out-stretched arms.Asked if Green Jay Park has greater potential for attracting eco-tourists than Quinta Mazatlan, Kim said:“Of course. Quinta Mazatlan has water feature, but it's not natural, it's manmade and they're trying to get it going. This one already has the lake that you just have to fill. So then the birds will naturally come here. It’s surrounded by more wild space so more birds will come here. Every day I'm observing the weather, the sun pattern and the bird pattern. So I can confidently say once you fill that (Lake Concepcion) you will you will get the pelicans, you will get more herons, you will get everything.” Here is an audio interview with Kim, taken before McAllen city commissioners voted to change the status of Green Jay Park from “agricultural/open space” to “light industrial.”Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.