Brazos Bend State Park
Texas · Southeast
Easy
March-May
$7 per person (ages 13+)
8:00 AM – 10:00 PM daily
About This Location
Brazos Bend State Park is a 5,000-acre preserve of bottomland hardwood forest, coastal prairie, and freshwater lakes southwest of Houston. With over 300 bird species recorded and one of the densest populations of American Alligators in Texas sharing the trails, it offers a truly wild birding experience within easy reach of the Houston metro area.
The park's multiple lakes and marshy edges attract spectacular numbers of wading birds including Roseate Spoonbills, Great and Snowy Egrets, and Anhingas, while the mature bottomland forest supports breeding Prothonotary Warblers, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Barred Owls. Painted Buntings sing from the forest edges in summer, and the open prairie areas host wintering sparrows and occasional raptors including White-tailed Hawks.
Location
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Notable Species
Live Bird Data
Powered by eBird / Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Notable Sightings
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
Lesser Goldfinch
Spinus psaltria
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Cattle Tyrant
Machetornis rixosa
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Black-necked Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus
Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
Red-throated Loon
Gavia stellata
Pyrrhuloxia
Cardinalis sinuatus
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Birding Tips
- 1
Walk the Elm Lake Trail for the best concentration of wading birds and alligators
- 2
Listen for Painted Buntings singing from exposed perches along forest edges in late spring
- 3
The 40-Acre Lake observation tower provides panoramic views of the wetland
Amenities
Nearby Attractions
- George Observatory
- Stephen F. Austin State Park
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