Refuges

The namesake of the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge - once among the most common birds on the coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana - now is one of the most endangered birds in the country.

From October through March at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, it's all about the Whooping Crane.

Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge has taken an usual path - a heavily developed property being returned to the wild.

McFaddin is home to tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl, migratory songbirds and the largest collection of alligators in Texas.

A sister refuge of Brazoria with several, short scenic hikes, extensive wetlands and the state's largest Live Oak tree.

The Catwalk Trail reaches into wetlands and coastal prairie with ponds and sloughs running alongside.

The refuge is a collection of largely primitive stretches of forest and wetlands that roughly follow the Trinity River.

The refuge's maze of ponds, sloughs and marsh attracts one of the area's most diverse bird populations.

The terrain varies from flowering prairie at Doeskin Ranch to rocky trails through the juniper at Warbler Vista.

Egrets, herons and marsh birds abound on the slow drive around Shoveler's Pond.