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Overview
A national wildlife refuge consisting mainly of swamps, and small groups of trees. During a short visit during late May we saw all but one of the regularly occuring Texas large waders. Also seen were several species of duck, small shorebirds and a Hooded Warbler.
Notable Species
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Rarities
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Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Neotropic Cormorant, {[Double-crested Cormorant]], American Bittern, Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, White-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Mississippi Kite, Northern Harrier, Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, [Red-tailed Hawk]], Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, King Rail, Sora, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Wilson's Phalarope, Laughing Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Common Nighthawk, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Wren, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Dickcissel, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Hooded Oriole
Other Wildlife
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Site Information
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History and Use
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Areas of Interest
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Access and Facilities
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Contact Details
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External Links
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Content and images originally posted by TorchBCT
Reviews
bernerjc's review great for shorebirds and rails. Three main areas within the Refuge: Shoveler Pond, trhe Willows and East Bay
Occasionally good for migrating warblers at The Willows but not consistently good.
95 species seen over the last year Aug 2004-July 2005
here are # of each species for 6 months from that period (all data from www.ebird.org) "X" = means species present but no number counted "--" means species absent
Aug 04, Sep 04, Mar 05, Apr 05, Jun 05, Jul 05
Black-bellied Whistling Duck -- 4 -- -- 12 1
Fulvous Whistling Duck 10 1 20 10 12 --
Mottled Duck -- 7 3 6 -- --
Blue-winged Teal -- -- 5 X -- --
Northern Shoveler -- -- 2 X -- --
Pied-billed Grebe -- -- 8 4 -- --
Brown Pelican -- -- -- -- 10 --
Neotropic Cormorant -- -- 3 X 11 --
Double-crested Cormorant-- -- -- -- X --
American Bittern -- -- 4 1 1 --
Least Bittern 5 -- -- 3 3 1
Great Blue Heron -- 1 2 X 4 --
Great Egret 2 44 2 X 15 6
Snowy Egret 3 1 X -- 30 --
Little Blue Heron 47 7 2 X 4 --
Tricolored Heron 2 -- X -- 6 2
Reddish Egret -- -- 1 -- 2 --
Cattle Egret 20 221 1 X 12 22
Green Heron -- 1 -- X 2 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron -- 1 1 -- 2 --
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1 -- 1 -- 2 --
White Ibis 1 2 30 X 12 2
Glossy Ibis -- 1 -- -- 6 1
White-faced Ibis 3 5 10 X 9 --
Roseate Spoonbill -- 6 -- -- 40 --
Wood Stork -- 4 -- -- 50 --
Black Vulture -- 12 1 -- 3 1
Turkey Vulture 2 -- 3 X 5 --
White-tailed Kite -- -- 1 -- -- --
Mississippi Kite -- -- X -- -- --
Northern Harrier -- -- 3 X -- --
Broad-winged Hawk -- -- -- X -- --
Swainson's Hawk -- -- -- X -- --
Red-tailed Hawk -- -- -- X -- --
Crested Caracara -- -- 2 -- -- --
American Kestrel -- -- 2 -- -- --
King Rail -- -- -- X -- --
Sora -- -- -- X -- --
Purple Gallinule 8 -- -- 5 20 37
Common Moorhen 10 12 50 X 35 57
American Coot -- -- 50 X X 3
Black-bellied Plover -- -- X X -- --
Semipalmated Plover -- -- -- X -- --
Killdeer -- 9 22 X 4 1
Black-necked Stilt -- 4 -- 5 7 3
Greater Yellowlegs -- -- X 5 -- --
Lesser Yellowlegs -- -- -- X -- --
Willet -- -- -- -- 1 --
Pectoral Sandpiper -- -- -- X -- --
Dunlin -- -- -- X -- --
Short-billed Dowitcher -- -- 380 X -- --
Long-billed Dowitcher -- -- X 5 -- --
Wilson's Snipe -- -- 1 -- -- --
Wilson's Phalarope -- -- -- X -- --
Laughing Gull -- -- -- X 7 3
Caspian Tern -- -- 2 -- -- --
Forster's Tern -- -- 1 X -- --
Mourning Dove 1 40 6 X 10 1
Inca Dove -- -- X -- -- --
Common Nighthawk -- -- 1 -- 1 --
Belted Kingfisher -- -- -- X -- --
Downy Woodpecker -- -- -- -- -- 1
Western Kingbird -- -- -- -- X --
Eastern Kingbird 2 -- -- X 20 19
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher -- -- -- -- X 3
Loggerhead Shrike 6 1 4 X 6 3
Blue Jay 1 -- 1 -- -- 1
Purple Martin -- -- -- X 2 --
Tree Swallow -- -- -- X -- --
Cliff Swallow -- -- -- -- X 5
Barn Swallow 12 -- 1 X 20 20
Carolina Wren -- -- -- X -- --
Marsh Wren 5 -- -- X -- 3 19
Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- -- 1 -- -- --
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1 -- -- -- -- --
Northern Mockingbird 2 -- 9 X 5 3
European Starling -- -- X X -- --
Orange-crowned Warbler -- -- 1 -- -- --
Yellow-rumped Warbler -- -- 10 X -- --
Common Yellowthroat -- -- -- X 5 18
Chipping Sparrow -- -- 1 X -- --
Savannah Sparrow -- -- 20 X -- --
Seaside Sparrow -- -- -- -- 4 --
Song Sparrow -- -- 3 -- -- --
Swamp Sparrow -- -- 1 -- -- --
Northern Cardinal -- -- 6 X 2 1
Dickcissel -- -- -- 2 4 9
Red-winged Blackbird 48 315 20 X 75 46
Eastern Meadowlark -- -- -- X 7 8
Common Grackle -- -- -- X -- --
Boat-tailed Grackle 15 -- 22 -- 8 12
Great-tailed Grackle -- 30 5 X -- --
Brown-headed Cowbird -- -- -- -- 1 --
Orchard Oriole 1 -- -- -- 6 3
Hooded Oriole -- -- -- 1 -- --
Pros
- great view of shorebirds from raised 2.5 mile rd around Shoveler Pond
Cons
- not a lot of warbler habitat or woods. The Willows is a warbler trap in Spring but it is not nearly as reliable as High Island
Steve Gross's review Often the most reliable location on the upper Texas coast for Least Bittern, Purple Gallinule, Gull-billed Tern, and Yellow Rail.
King Rail will often stand in plain view on the loop road in spring.
Can be great for ducks and shorebirds in season; East Bayou Tract good for migrant shorebirds and Fulvous Whistling-Duck (the duck can also be found on Shoveler Pond). Glossy Ibis, Hudsonian Godwit, etc. all possibilities at East Bayou Tract in season. I've seen Swallow-tailed Kite there as well. Pros
- Diverse habitats; often large numbers of birds. Good proximity to High Island and/or Smith Point
