Highlights:
- Excellent place to see migrants during spring and fall
- Boardwalk through coastal marsh and mangrove habitat
- Observation platform overlooking the bay
Entrance Fee: $8
The Location
This birding and wildlife center is small enough that you could see everything in 15 minutes if you walked fast, but in reality, most birders will spend well over an hour here because there’s so much to see.
A well-kept native plant garden surrounds the main building, and the trees and bushes here make great passerine attractors. Hummingbirds are nearly always present, regardless of the season.
The boardwalk will get you close to a variety of waders, shorebirds, rails, and ducks. The photo opportunities are often good if you have a camera. Flyovers are common and include Osprey, Brown Pelican, various terns and gulls, and Northern Harrier in the winter.
The dense mangrove clusters that grow along portions of the boardwalk are a unique habitat to Texas, with this being the easiest publicly accessible place to see it. Occasionally a Mangrove Warbler (subspecies of Yellow Warbler) can be found here. This southernmost coastal tip of Texas is the only reliable place in the U.S. to see a Mangrove Warbler, which normally occur in Mexico.
Birding Recommendations
The parking lot forms a loop, and at its center is a cluster of plants around a water feature. Before entering the buidling, breifly check this spot for birds. Sometimes it’s empty, but you may find one or two birds here, especially during migration periods.
After paying the entrance fee and stepping out the back doors, follow the ramp to the left. Don’t hit the boardwalk just yet.
Slowly explore the short gravel trail through the native plant garden and see what’s flitting through the trees and skulking along the around. There’s pretty much always birds here. It’s a good spot to find a warbler or two, plus hummingbirds.
The boardwalk forms a giant U shape (more or less) and is pretty simple to navigate. Expect close up looks of ducks in the winter, and shorebirds during migration. Year-round birds include herons, egrets, spoonbills, Osprey, and Clapper Rail.
As you approach the bay, a side path on the boardwalk takes you to the observation platform/birding blind. It overlooks the calm waters on the open bay. It’s a good spot to bring a scope in the winter and scan for Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, and a variety of ducks species.
When you’re walking along the mangroves (the dense woody, shrubby looking plants), remember keep and eye out for Mangrove Warblers.
Mangrove Yellow Warblers can also be occasionally seen in the native plant garden on the side of the main building.
Other Info
Entrance Fee:
Adults: $8
Seniors (55+) & Students (13 – 18): $7
Hours:
7am – 5pm Daily
Visiting other south Texas hotspots? Find more guides like this one on the Texas Hotspot Map.