Who has won the U.S.A. Audubon Christmas Bird Count since 1997?  Of course,  Matagorda County, Texas!  Where?  Fantastic birding is just a short drive south out of Houston on State Highway 59 to 35, and in Bay City in about an hour and a half you'll be in the center of a birding dreamland. 

Over three hundred species of birds have been identified in a fifteen mile radius in this region of Texas, and it is not unusual for well over 200 species to be identified in December.   With a prime location on the on the central flyway for migratory birds, what could one expect? This is prime birding with all the needed ingredients:  coastal prairies, vast amounts of sandy shoreline (over 60 beaches), marshes, and the exodus of the Colorado (Texas) River into the gulf. 

I visited the Matagorda County Birding Nature Center and found this 35 acre site uniquely designed to replicate the various habitats of the county.  Just moments (1.7 miles) out of Bay City on Highway 35 the Center is ideally located – not to mention there is a RV park right across from the Center! 

Located on the Internet at www.mcbnc.org, the Center has an excellent web site showing special gardens to attract butterflies, hummingbirds – herb, rose, cactus, palm and bamboo gardens, an observation deck located right on the Colorado River, and two lovely waterfalls.

“The surface of Matagorda County is a level plain which rises from sea level to a maximum elevation of seventy feet. It is divided by the Colorado River and bounded on the south by the Gulf of Mexico. There are several other streams and Matagorda Bay within the limits of the County. This bay, East and West, covers more than a third of the total area of the county.

(Picture to the right above is one of the guides that makes a trip to the center so educational and enjoyable.  Below is Jared Laing, Preserve Manager, of the outstanding Nature Conservancy

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Matagorda County's location on Texas' middle coast, places it on the central flyway for migratory birds. Along the streams and part of the eastern section of the county there is timber while the western section contains lush prairie grasses. There are many acres of agricultural land and coastal prairies.

Southern Matagorda County contains marshes and vast stretches of sandy shoreline. There are jetties at the mouth of the Colorado River which stretch out into the Gulf.”

Matagorda County is a good birding spot at any season and an excellent one during migration.There is a list that contains 333 species which are seen in Matagorda County and the time when they are most likely to be seen.  It is enough to make any birder to want to start up the RV and head that way now!  I don’t know of a better place for a “want to get into birding person” to start off their hobby!  The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail has been developed to help    birders find the great avian resources along the Texas coast, and to ensure that the Texas coastal birding experience is rich and varied. To visit the GTCBT online, go to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Web Site.

  All photography in the article is that of John C. Jones taken on location.

Head out to Matagorda County, and happy traveling, and a Merry Christmas.