1. www.ieffincvpress.bloRspot.com
Jeffrey.d.mohamed (aionestar.edu
Birding Sites around Houston
1. K L E B WOODS
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20303 Draper, Tomball 77377 (281-357-5324)
Free entry / 7:00 a.m. to dusk daily / Restrooms, Picnic Tables
Free birdwaiks Weds 8:30a.m. & first Sat each month 8:00a.m.
Nice wooded park. Good general birding Sept-May.
KATY PRAIRIE DRIVE: Head west on FM 590 from Barker Cypress. Turn right on Porter Road and
left on Longenbaugh. Then right onto Katy Hockley. After a mile turn left to Paul Rushing Park.
Back on Katy Hockley, go north and turn left on Jack Road. Turn right onto Warren Ranch Rd.
Stop at the Warren Ranch Lake viewing platform. Then north on Warren Ranch Rd to 290.
2a. P O R T E R R O A D / L O N G E N B A U G H ROAD
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West on FM 529 from Barker Cypress, turn right onto Porter Road. Then left along Longenbaugh. Watch
trees, fences and utility poles/wires.
Hawks, Kestrels & Sparrows in winter. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers Apr-Get. Shrikes, W Meadowlarks &
Caracaras year round. Often huge flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and/or Brown-headed Cowbirds.
2b. PAUL RUSHING C H A I N - O F - L A K E S PARK
9114 Katy Hockley Road, Katy, 77493 (281-496-2177)
Free entry / 8:00a.m. to 10:00p.m. daily / Restrooms
Best in Sept-May, the sports fields and lakes have many birds year round.
2c. W A R R E N RANCH L A K E - MATT C O O K VIEWING P L A T F O R M
Warren Ranch Road between Jack Road and 290
••
Free entry / Dawn to dusk daily / No facilities
Parking area and observation platform off public road.
From Katy Hockley Road, turn west on Jack Road. Follow Jack Rd and then right 90 degrees onto
Warren Ranch Rd. Go a mile or so till you see parking area on right (next to electricity substation).
Lake has wading birds, pelicans year round. Ducks and sometimes Bald Eagle in winter.
3. B E A R C R E E K P A R K
Free entry / 7:00a.m. to 109:00p.m. daily / Restrooms, Picnic Tables
Drive east on Clay & then right on Bear Creek Park Rd. Left on Golbow and then park where Golbow
turns right. Bird the area around the turn.
Good year round for resident songbirds and woodpeckers.
4. B R A Z O S BEND S T A T E PARK • • • •
21901 FM 762, Needville 77461 (979-553-5102)
$7 / 7:00a.m.-10:00p.m. Fh-Sun & 8:00a.m.-10:00p.m. Mon-Thu / Restrooms, Picnic Tables, Gift Shops
Easy walks around 40 Acre Lake and Creekfield Lake. Longer walk around Elm Lake.
Best park anywhere for close-up
looks at wading birds and alligators year round!

2. www.ieffincvpress.blogspot.com
Jeff rev.ci.mohamed(g)ionestar.edu
5. E L F R A N C O L E E P A R K
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940 Hall Road, Houston 77089
Free entry / 6:00a.m. to 10:00p.m. daily
Restrooms, Picnic Tables
Enter park & turn right to drive to viewing gazebo and a nature trail.
Good for Houston resident birds year round, for wading birds Oct-May, and for ducks, hawks and
sometimes Bald Eagles in winter.
6. BAYTOWN NATURE C E N T E R • • •
6213 Bayway Drive, Baytown 77520 (281-424-9198)
$3 per person over 12 years / Sunrise to sunset daily
Portapotties, Picnic Tables
Views over bays and ponds. Pleasant walking trail. Can picnic in gazebo on hill overlooking pond.
Good site for wading birds, pelicans, Ospreys year round. Many ducks in winter.
Turn east on Garrett from Beltway 8 East to visit Lake Sheldon
via Carpenter's
Bayou.
7a. C A R P E N T E R ' S BAYOU • •
Garrett Road east of Beltway 8 on east side of Houston.
Public road. No facilities.
Heading south on Beltway 8, turn left (east) onto Garrett. Pass Pineland Road and park in blocked
parking lot entrance on right just after bridge. Bird from inside abandoned parking lot and from bridge.
Usually wading birds year round. Also ducks etc. in winter.
You can then go back to Pineland Rd and follow that down to Business 90. Turn left on 90, pass through
traffic signals and turn left over railroad tracks to Sheldon Lake Environmental Center.
7b. S H E L D O N L A K E ENVIRONMENTAL C E N T E R
•••
15315 Beaumont Hwy (Business 90), Houston 77049 (281-456-2800)
Free entry / 8:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. daily
Restrooms, Picnic Tables, Observation Tower (with elevator)
Walks around ponds and through wooded area. Good for resident birds and wading birds year round.
Ducks etc. in winter. Usually a few alligators.
8. R O O K E R Y AT SMITH O A K S • • • •
Winnie Street, High Island
For info: viww.houstonaudubon.org
The rookery at Smith Oaks in High Island is not to be missed (mid-Apr to mid-June)! Wonderful views of
nesting egrets, herons. Roseate Spoonbills etc. Great for kids/non-birders. Mosquitoes are fierce.
9. ANAHUAC NATIONAL WILDLIFE R E F U G E • • •
Combine a trip to High Island with a visit to the section of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on FM
1985. The Shoveler's Pond auto loop usually has many wading birds, N Harriers, ducks (winter) and
alligators. Info at: http://www.fws.qov/refuqe/Anahuac/index.html