Text and photos by Paula Dittrick, TMNCPC blogmaster. This is the third in a series on TMNCPC members’ favorite national wildlife refuges in Texas.
The coastal tall grass prairie can be seen at its best in low-lying Brazoria County, where controlled burns are permitted occasionally to clear brush and enhance grass growth. Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge offers wide bird diversity seen from an auto tour featuring picnic tables and parking spaces.
Visitors can be confident in finding ibis, egrets, shorebirds, Black Skimmers, and caracara. I also have seen White-tailed Hawks repeatedly in the refuge as well as perched in a tree along the busy road going to the refuge, which is east of Angleton.
Northern Harriers often fly just above the prairie grasses, repeatedly passing back and forth. I spent years going to Brazoria hoping a harrier would fly close enough along the road at the right height to my vehicle. All those practice sessions paid off for me in late November.
Thousands of snow geese can be found at 44,414-acre Brazoria NWR in December-January along with puddle ducks and sometimes sandhill cranes. The biggest geese numbers cannot always be seen from the 7.5-miles auto loop. The refuge borders Christmas Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Several years ago, a Trumpeter Swan showed up on one of the ponds, providing good views through binoculars.
Brazoria is my favorite spot for looking for wintering sparrows. Nelson’s Sharp-trailed Sparrow, Le Conte’s Sparrow, and Vesper Sparrow can be found at Brazoria for those willing to walk through the grass.
Savannah Sparrows commonly can be seen from a vehicle along the main road between the refuge entrance and the restrooms. Shrikes sometimes appear along the auto tour, although shrike sightings seemingly are not as common here as in previous decades.
Eastern Meadowlarks frequent the prairie. Salt cedars around a viewing platform and the Otter Slough boardwalk near the visitors’ center might yield a glance at a rail or sora along with seasonal migrants.
Driving directions
From the intersection of Highway 288 and FM 523 near Angleton, visitors headed to Brazoria NWR take FM 523 to the FM 2004 intersection. Drivers cross 2004, continuing on FM 523 for 5.5 miles to County Road 227. Turn left on CR 227 and proceed 1.7 miles to the refuge entrance. I slow down and open my windows inside the refuge because the entrance road often provides good sightings of hawks, caracara, turkey vultures, and sparrows.