Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR area? (1 Viewer)

[jremmons]

Hello all,

I recently got accepted for a year-long position working at APC NWR after working for three months up here at Big Oaks NWR in IN, and was wondering how the birding is both on the Refuge and within the general Houston, TX area? I'll be there from roughly 20 Sept 2013 to 20 Sept 2014, so I'll get to experience all four seasons of birding which should be fun; I've only ever seriously birded the Midwest so it will be an interesting change of pace.


Regards,
Justin

 

[feldspar23]

Attwater is a great birding spot, especially in the winter (lots of sparrows, waterfowl, raptors, etc.)

And as a base for birding, it doesn't get much better than Houston. Especially in the spring, you are 1-2 hours away from some of the most famous migrant traps in North America!

 

[jremmons]

Feldspar,

Interesting comments, particularly with regards to spring migration; if you happen to know any of these particular hotspots, I'd love to share your knowledge.

Best,
Justin

 

[lulubelle]

There are lots of places to bird in and around the Houston area! Check out eBird for an idea of where to go. You are within good driving distance of Galveston, Rockport, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and even the valley ( more than a couple of hours, but oh so worth your drive!).

 

[JeffMoh]

Good places for spring migration are Lafitte's Cove (on Galveston) and High Island. Both can also be good in fall migration also. Smith Point is good for fall hawk migration.
Jeff

 

[Steve Gross]

The Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast is a great reference, as is the ABA Birder's Guide to the Texas Coast.

From Attwater all the way east and southeast to the coast, the birding is great, depending what you'd like to see. Checking the references above, along with eBird, will help to get you started.

 

[Captain_of_Crunch]

Is it possible to visit the Attwater's PC Reserve? How easy are the birds to see for visiting birders?

 

[JeffMoh]

Is it possible to visit the Attwater's PC Reserve? How easy are the birds to see for visiting birders?

The preserve is open year-round and entry is free. There are usually plenty of good birds to see, particularly in winter, but NOT the Prairie Chickens. The only way to see the latter is to take part in a guided tour on one weekend in April. I did it last year and we had good views of the Chickens.
Jeff
www.jeffincypress.blogspot.com

 

[jremmons]

Please note that during the govt. shutdown that the Refuge will NOT be at all open to the public. And, if you are interested in coming to see the Attwater PCs but unable to come for the weekend tours, occasionally coming to the Refuge office and talking with the staff can net you something of a limited personal tour, though your chances to see the chickens will certainly be decreased.

 

[mbwomer]

Agree with all comments in this thread re birding in the Houston area, especially Jeff's observations. Other favorite destinations are the Bolivar Flats and Brazos Bend State Park.

I was also on the APC special tour last April and had several great views of the Prairie Chickens, including watching them scatter as a hawk swooped on the group in the lek. We have reservations for the November tour so we hope the Federal shutdown ends soon!

Happy Birding!

 

[Captain_of_Crunch]

The preserve is open year-round and entry is free. There are usually plenty of good birds to see, particularly in winter, but NOT the Prairie Chickens. The only way to see the latter is to take part in a guided tour on one weekend in April. I did it last year and we had good views of the Chickens.
Jeff
www.jeffincypress.blogspot.com

Please note that during the govt. shutdown that the Refuge will NOT be at all open to the public. And, if you are interested in coming to see the Attwater PCs but unable to come for the weekend tours, occasionally coming to the Refuge office and talking with the staff can net you something of a limited personal tour, though your chances to see the chickens will certainly be decreased.

Agree with all comments in this thread re birding in the Houston area, especially Jeff's observations. Other favorite destinations are the Bolivar Flats and Brazos Bend State Park.

I was also on the APC special tour last April and had several great views of the Prairie Chickens, including watching them scatter as a hawk swooped on the group in the lek. We have reservations for the November tour so we hope the Federal shutdown ends soon!

Happy Birding!

Thanks for the info on the reserve :t:

 

[HelenB]

Hello all,

I recently got accepted for a year-long position working at APC NWR after working for three months up here at Big Oaks NWR in IN, and was wondering how the birding is both on the Refuge and within the general Houston, TX area? I'll be there from roughly 20 Sept 2013 to 20 Sept 2014, so I'll get to experience all four seasons of birding which should be fun; I've only ever seriously birded the Midwest so it will be an interesting change of pace.
Regards,
Justin

Hi Justin and a late welcome to Birdforum.

I used to live on the west side of Houston, so would visit APC NWR fairly often, but I have to admit the birding was not as good after they cut down all the trees! I know it was to protect the chickens from the hawks that would use the trees to hunt from and it certainly changed the landscape, as did the droughts off and on over the last few years.

I am an Opus Editor and constructed the page for APC NWR. Take a look here:

http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Attwater_Prairie_Chicken_National_Wildlife_Refuge

As you'll see, my photos were all taken several years ago (2008 is the most recent), and the Refuge doesn't look like this now that the trees are gone from the area around Pintail and Teal Marshes. Is there any possibility that you could supply us with some recent photos of the Refuge?

If you look at the Opus page for the whole of Texas: http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Category:Texas
you'll see many of the hotspots in Texas listed there, including Brazos Bend SP, Bolivar Flats and High Island, San Bernard and Brazoria NWRs and Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary (near Freeport).

Good birding,

 

[jremmons]

Hi Justin and a late welcome to Birdforum.

I used to live on the west side of Houston, so would visit APC NWR fairly often, but I have to admit the birding was not as good after they cut down all the trees! I know it was to protect the chickens from the hawks that would use the trees to hunt from and it certainly changed the landscape, as did the droughts off and on over the last few years.

I am an Opus Editor and constructed the page for APC NWR. Take a look here:

http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Attwater_Prairie_Chicken_National_Wildlife_Refuge

As you'll see, my photos were all taken several years ago (2008 is the most recent), and the Refuge doesn't look like this now that the trees are gone from the area around Pintail and Teal Marshes. Is there any possibility that you could supply us with some recent photos of the Refuge?

If you look at the Opus page for the whole of Texas: http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Category:Texas
you'll see many of the hotspots in Texas listed there, including Brazos Bend SP, Bolivar Flats and High Island, San Bernard and Brazoria NWRs and Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary (near Freeport).

Good birding,

Helen,

Thank you for the welcome and the information regarding the other hotspots within the Opus. I'll definitely be looking into High Island and the surrounding areas in the Spring and early next Fall.

I'll likely be getting a better camera this Christmas and will do my best to get some quality photographs of the Refuge, particularly some of our nicer prairie pastures, Horseshoe 'Lake', and the Marshes. Along with your comment regarding the removal of trees, I've been told that the surrounding rice-fields used to be more active and thus created more opportunity to view waterfowl, waders, and shorebirds. The birding on-refuge has certainly not been a disappointment in any way, but I have tempered my expectations of seeing certain species.

Best,
Justin

 

[njlarsen]

Justin, I hope you are an Ebird user. If so, you probably noticed the hotspot explorer (beta) that recently was added to the ebird explore data tools. That should help you figuring out where people go to see birds in your general area. This does not replace opus (as there are no descriptions of access on ebird), but is a nice supplement.

Niels