Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

View from the observation tower at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA
Photo taken by HelenB

Texas USA

Overview

This refuge, one of the most popular birding areas in Texas, is famous as the best site in the world for the endangered Whooping Crane. In addition there is a large number of other birds to be seen here. More than 380 species have been recorded in total, one of the longest birdlists from any of the USA's network of wildlife refuges.

Covering nearly 55,000 acres the area's habitats include grassy saltflats, live oak woodlands, lakes, lagoons and the shallow waters of San Antonio Bay.

Birds

Notable Species

The cranes are present from late October to early April and to reduce undue disturbance the interior of the refuge is closed. However, the cranes can be seen with telescopes from an observation tower. Other birds present include Sandhill Crane, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, White Ibis and White-faced Ibis as well as numerous waterfowl, waders, rails, and Wild Turkey.

The rare Masked Duck is more likely here than virtually anywhere else in the USA. Raptors include Red-tailed Hawk, White-tailed Hawk and Crested Caracara.

Smaller birds are rich and varied and Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Black-crested Titmouse, Carolina Wren and White-eyed Vireo are all easily found. At dusk it may be possible to see Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk and Pauraque.

Rarities

Among the very rare birds that have been recorded at Aransas are Clay-colored Robin and Crimson-collared Grosbeak. Even Eskimo Curlew has been reported. Attwater's Prairie Chicken has been extirpated.

Checklist

Birds you can see here include:

Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Neotropic Cormorant, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Green-backed Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Wood Stork, White Ibis, White-faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross's Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Mottled Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Masked Duck, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, American Swallow-tailed Kite, White-tailed Kite, Mississippi Kite, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Northern Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Whooping Crane, Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Clapper Rail, King Rail, Yellow Rail, Black Rail, Sora, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Grey Plover, American Golden Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson's Plover, Piping Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Hudsonian Godwit, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Sanderling, Red Knot, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Stilt Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, American Woodcock, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Wilson's Phalarope, Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Laughing Gull, Franklin's Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Least Tern, Forster's Tern, Sooty Tern, Black Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Common Ground Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Greater Roadrunner, Groove-billed Ani, Barn Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, Pauraque, Chimney Swift, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Horned Lark, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Cave Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple Martin, Buff-bellied Pipit, Sprague's Pipit, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Northern Mockingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-crested Titmouse, Tufted Titmouse, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Summer Tanager, Dickcissel, Painted Bunting, Varied Bunting, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Rufous-sided Towhee, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, European Starling

American alligators are very common at Aransas NWR
Photo taken by HelenB

Other Wildlife

Mammals are also well represented at Aransas and among the most frequently seen are Nine-banded Armadillo, Collared Peccary (locally known as Javelina) and White-tailed Deer with Bobcat and Puma rarely seen.

American Alligator and a variety of turtles can also be seen in the area.

Site Information

History and Use

To do

The observation tower at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA
Photo taken by HelenB

Areas of Interest

Tour Loop Drive from the visitor centre crosses some excellent habitat and passes the observation tower.

There are also birding trails close to the visitor centre and the observation tower and a boardwalk over an area of saltmarsh.

Access and Facilities

Hours of operation
The Refuge Tour Loop drive is open daily, form 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. The Visitor Center is open daily (except Thanksgiving and Christmas Days) from 8:30am-4:30pm. There is an after-hours registration area outside the Visitor Center, where brochures and envelopes can be found.

Fees
$3 - 1 person in a vehicle
$5 - 2 or more persons in a vehicle
$25 - commercial vehicle (van or bus) with up to 20 people
$50 - commercial vehicle (van or bus) with 21 or more people

Entry is free if you have an Aransas Annual Pass ($15), Federal Duck Stamp ($15 - valid July 1 - June 30), Golden Eagle Passport ($65), Golden Age Passport ($10 to citizens of 62 and older), Golden Access Passport (only available to persons with disabilities) or National Parks Pass (with the upgrade hologram sticker which costs $15). Please show to the front desk personnel. (Prices correct as of Sept. 2007 - please see the official ANWR website for more details: [1]

Directions
To reach Aransas from Rockport, head north on Hwy 35 and turn right (east) to Austwell on FM 774. Turn right again on FM 2040, just south of Austwell. It is about 6 miles to the Refuge gate. Continue to the Visitor Centre to register. For directions from other cities, please see the officail ANWR website: [2]

Contact Details

To do

External Links

To do

Reviews

HelenB's review At Aransas we saw a family group of 3 Whooping Cranes from the 40' Observation Tower in late Feb. 05 - even with a scope they were a long way away. Better views are obtained by taking one of the Crane Boat Tours out of Rockport/Fulton or Port Aransas. Aransas has an auto tour loop, with several birding trails along it. Entrance fee of $3 per person or $5 per vehicle. Annual pass is $15. A Golden Eagle Passport, giving access to NWR's, NP's and other federal lands for 1 year, is available for $65. Pros

• Great birding
• specially during migration.

Cons

• Difficult to see the Whooping Cranes even from the Ob. Tower at a distance of 1- 2 miles from their feeding grounds. Mosquitoes can be very bad.

Jaeger01's review Said it all in the pro's & con's. It is great habitat and even tho, starting to show wear at the seams, still a great birding location. Pros

• Still in good shape
• relatively speaking

Cons

• NWR's
• Nat'l. Parks etc. are barely funded if at all now that "the shrub" is our leader and even here
• it is starting to show. But still a great location and the Whooping Cranes can usuallly be seen in the winter.