Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
Of the three national wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast from Galveston to Louisiana,
Anahuac
( 409-267-3337;
www.fws.gov/refuge/Anahuac
; 4017 FM 563, Anahuac; visitor center 10am-5pm
Thu-Sun)
has the best access - 50 miles northwest of Galveston and 80 miles southeast of
Houston - and is therefore the most popular. Due to repeated hurricane damage, the visit-
ors center and bookshop are inland at the park's headquarters, off I-10. Stop there first to
get a map to the refuge's main section, which is off FM 1985, 10 miles west of FM 1985's
juncture with TX 124. From the high bridge on the latter, the refuge unfolds like one vast
green carpet.
The outhouse and main park entrance is 3 miles south of FM 1985. There gravel and
dirt roads traverse deep marsh, ponds, prairie and bayous. During the winter, up to 80,000
Canadian snow geese can gather at one time - a truly spectacular sight. Year-round you
will see a variety of water fowl and some shore birds. Other wildlife includes alligators
and what just may be the largest mosquitoes you ever encounter. In spring,
Friends of
Anahuac
(
www.friendsofanahuacnwr.org
)
organize walks in search of the elusive yellow rail ground
bird.
A second, smaller section of the park, the Skillern Track, lies 7 miles east of the main
on FM 1985. The pond boardwalk is nice and you can follow a 2-mile round-trip trail
through the grasses. As intimated above,
always
bring mosquito spray to either.
BIRDING THE UPPER TEXAS COAST
The uper Texas coast from Galveston to Port Arthur is prime bird-watching territory. It's a stopover for numerous
migratory birds (March and September), and a wintering ground for many, many others (December through
February). For more information on the region,
Texas Parks & Wildlife
( 800-792-1112, 512-389-8900;
www.tpwd.state.tx.us
) is a great help. They produce a full-color
Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail - Upper Texas
Coast
map and have birdlists and area info online. The Houston Audobon Society (
Click here
)
runs sanctuaries,
holds events and is another keen source of information in the region. Local visitor bureaus often have extensive
resources as well; the Port Arthur Convention & Visitor Bureau (
Click here
), for example, produces an excellent
detailed booklet on all the birding sites around Sabine Pass.
