Millions more Americans travel to bird-watch. Texas businesses are cashing in.

Thousands of bird-watchers descend on the Texas Gulf Coast each spring, traveling from far-flung places like Bogota, Colombia, and Olympia, Washington, to catch a glimpse of migrating warblers or nesting waterfowl and other birds that concentrate in local sanctuaries.

And where the birds go, the tourism dollars follow, as birding becomes an increasingly popular outdoor hobby in the United States.  

Some 43 million people traveled to bird-watch in 2022, up from 18 million in 2011...