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| Chestnut-sided Warbler |
Date: April 30, May 1, and May 2, 2025
Place: Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas
Coordinates: 29.613424, -94.534047
Level: easy
The first thing I'll say about Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge is that we nearly didn't go there, the reason being not finding it on the navigator app map. Pappa Quail was baffled - he visited this refuge only two years ago, he knew where it was, so how come it wasn't showing on the map? Well, the reason turned out to be simple enough - the refuge's name has been changed. It is now called Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. After finding it, we actually ended up visiting there three times on our trip. In this post I am integrating our experiences and photos from all three visits to this place.
Our first visit at the refuge was on April 30, right after exploring the Sabine Woods Sanctuary. It was cloudy still when we reached the refuge. Near te parking lot was a wooden gazebo which was empty of people. In front of the parking area was a quiet little pond that looked peaceful, which looked empty of wildlife.
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| April 30 |
There were some birds around and Pappa Quail soon got busy watching them and taking photos. I was seeing color by the pond so I went over to take a look.
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| April 30, Couch's Kingbird |
The colors I saw by the pond's shore belonged to blooming pickerelweed, a plant I first saw at the Cattail Marsh three days beforehand.
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| April 30, Pickerelweed, Pontederia cordata |
At a closer look I did see some wildlife in the pond. There was a bullfrog there that turned its back to me. There were also a couple of slider turtles and Pappa Quail pointed out to me an alligator near the far away shore, with only its eyes and nostrils showing above the water. A bit later we saw these aquatic reptiles in great numbers.
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| April 30, American Bullfrog |
Apter gazing at the pond for a little bit we went up to the visitor center, which was on a raised building near the parking area. There we were received by a very nice and helpful docent who gave us information about where to go and see wildlife. She also explained to us the circumstances of changing the refuge's name. I was quick to purchase a sticker with the old refuge's name now that they're out of print.
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| April 30, |
There was a paved trail behind the pond and we started walking slowly on the trail, looking at the trees for more birds.
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| April 30, trail |
Many if the trees in the area behind the pond were mulberry trees. the trees had plenty of fruit on them, but none within my reach. On April 30th there were very few birds on those trees but a day later we found a few birders below those trees. They were looking at birds that were feasting on the mulberries.
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| May 1, Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
There was a couple of orchard orioles there as well that day. What was especially nice was that the other birders directed us to where bird drippers were set up where many other kinds of birds were observed that day.
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| May 1, Orchard Oriole, male |
Not to jump ahead, back on April 30 was started walking down the trail towards the Shoveler Pond - a large shallow flooded area where we were told were lots of birds as well as alligators. There were some wildflowers on the side of the trail and I paused to look at them. We saw that species at the Boy Scout Bird Sanctuary two days before but now they were close enough to the trail so I could have a closer look and better photos.
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| April 30, Meadow Pink, |
Soon enough the trail rose on a boardwalk and I assumed that the entire are was subject to periodical flooding.
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| April 30 |
We reached a small, muddy pond near the trail. This wasn't the Shoveler Pond but we did stop to take a look.
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| April 30 |
A solitary young white ibis was patrolling the far shore line. We saw that same bird again on the following day.
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| April 30, White Ibis |
After some good staring we saw also a spotted sandpiper not far from where the ibis was. The spots that gave this bird its name are not there year-round. It was nice to see it in its breeding plumage.
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| April 30, Spotted Sandpiper |
There was a turtle there too, sunning itself in the weak rays that penetrated through the cloud cover. There was also an alligator partially submerged in the brown water there and I marked it as alligator number 2 on this visit.
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| April 30, Red-ear Slider Turtle |
At the visitor center I saw a stack of 'alligator challenge' pamphlets. They were meant for children, I assume. One meant to count all the alligators seen and if a hundred of them were observed, there was some prize to be won, a doll or something. I don't remember what. Well, I didn't care s much for getting a doll, but I am a child in spirt so I picked up one of those pamphlets and a sharpened half of a pencil. After moving on from that little muddy pond I had two little lines marked on top of the paper.
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| April 30, Southern Seaside Goldenrod, Solidago mexicana |
The vegetation flanking the boardwalk grew taller and taller as we moved along the trail. Some of the plants looked very familiar to me. The goldenrod was a relative of the species I knew in California but what looked to me like a gumplant turned out to be of a different genus altogether.
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| April 30, Sea Ox-eye, Borrichia frutescens |
We reached a bird dripper that was located near where the foot trail connected with the refuge's road leading to the Shoveler Pond. The trail itself turned around to go back between tall walls of cut vegetation. There was another small and murky pond near that end of the trail and the dripper was off to the side.
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| April 30 |
On a broad leaf of what looked suspiciously similar to a fig tree but wasn't actually a fig, was a butterfly that looked like a monarch butterfly but turned out to be a different kind of butterfly.
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| April 30, Watson's Gulf Coast Viceroy butterfly |
There was a wooden bench opposite of the dripper and a solitary birder was sitting on the bench, gazing at the water basin. A solitary orchard oriole was hopping in and out of view between the branches above the dripper. While Pappa Quail tried to get a good look at the oriole I spotted a cardinal on the far side of the pond. After Pappa Quail got tired of the elusive oriole he came over and took some photos of the cardinal.
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| April 30, Northern Cardinal, male |
After spending enough time at the dripper we decided to continue to the Shoveler Pond on foot, following the asphalt road. Along the road was a wide canal flanked wit low-cut grass on the rad side and tall reeds on the opposite side.
Pappa Quail spotted a heron-looking bird hanging in the reeds and raised his camera. It was a least bittern! We've only seen them once in California at the Las Gallinas Ponds in San Rafael. We've seen one earlier on this trip at a place where we didn't hike, but it was really nice to see another one here. We don't see these birds often.
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| April 30, Least Bittern |
Occasionally the sun would break through a small gap in the clouds, brightening our walk. A small gray bird was hopping along the contact line between the pavement and the grass. It was a brown-headed cowbird.
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| April 30, Brown-headed Cowbird |
Once again I was seeing the mimosa plants blooming in the grass along the road. I was coming to thionk that this plant might be a common weed in this area.
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| April 30, Sunshine Mimosa, Mimosa strigillosa |
There were flowers blooming in the water canal as well - the invasive water hyacinth. Pappa Quail took a close up photo of them for me.
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| April 30, Common Water Hyacinth, Pontederia crassipes |
By the time we reached Shoveler Pond the clouds closed in again, obscuring the sun. The pond was revealed to be a large, shallow-flooded area.
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| April 30, Shoveler Pond |
One of the first things we noticed were the numerous alligators that were lying on the narrow mud islands or floating lazily in the water. As promised though, there were many birds wading around in the shallow water or standing on the little mud islands. In some cases, they were nesting.
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| April 30, Black-necked Stilt |
Right away Pappa Quail started to take photos. There were many birds to see, but most of them were a bit far, even for Pappa Quail's large zoom lens.
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| April 30, Short-billed Dowitcher |
It was easier to see the birds that flew right over our heads, although it didn't make photographing ay easier.
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| April 30, Gull-billed Tern |
Originally we had planned to walk around Shoveler Pond but our estimation didn't take into account the time it took us to get there and the fact hat we had only a single bottle of water with us. Pappa Quail resigned to going back but I convinced him that I should go back by myself and to bring the car so we could surround the pond on an auto tour. I quickly made it back along the asphalt road until the bird dripper where the trail was. I didn't return on the same trail we came on though, but on the straight shortcut through the vegetation.
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| April 30, Trail |
There were some flowers blooming along that part of the trail as well. Not many tough - it looked like the refuge personnel were routinely cutting the vegetation on that side.
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| April 30, Pinkladies, Oenothera speciosa |
There were plenty of insects about as well. A few of them were actually nice to see and pause for, such as this cute butterfly.
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| April 30, Tropical Checkered-skipper butterfly |
Alas, most of the insects I encountered on this part of the trail were vicious mosquitoes. An entire cloud of them quickly surrounded me and they attacked me so ferociously that I burst into a run, waving my arms as if they were a swarm of hornets. I did pause quickly just before reaching the parking area because there was a rabbit on the trail. That rabbit cost me a dozen bites, I think.
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| April 30, Swamp Rabbit |
When I reached the parking area I went straight to the car and took out the bug repellant that I had in the bag left behind. After applying ot, I noticed that the gazebo was now populated with birders, their cameras and binoculars trained on a spot inside. I went to check it out and saw a couple of barn owlets in an open nest under the gazebo's ceiling.
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| April 30, Barn Owl |
Not too far from the barn owls' nest was another nest - that of barn swallows. My camera didn't have a strong zoom lens though. These nests would wait for Pappa Quail for better photos. I went back to the car and drove of to Shoveler Pond, where Pappa Quail was waiting for me.
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| April 30, Barn Swallow |
Pappa Quail didn't waste his time while waiting for me to bring the car. He had already taken numerous potos of the inhabitants of that corner of Shoveler Pond.
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| April 30, Pond Slider Turtle |
Of the birds he photographed were some very familiar ones such as the common gallinules, but they were breeding now, and chicks are always cute to see.
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| April 30, Common Gallinule |
Great blue herons are pery common as well, but they are very graceful birds and we love seeing them wherever we go.
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| April 30, Great Blue Heron |
There were also those birds that were common locally but that we do not get to see them often because they aren't west coast birds, such as the neotropic cormorants.
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| April 30, Neotropic Cormorant |
Two days later in that very spot we saw a Wilson's phalarope. We've seen the Wilson's phalaropes before in Oregon. It was nice however to see them here too, wearing their breeding plumage. Phalaropes are a bit unusual in the bird kingdom - in this species, it is the female who is more colorful than the male.
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| May 2, Wilson's Phalarope, female |
And of course - there were the alligators. May, many alligators. Pappa Quail hopped into the passenger's seat and we started our drive around Shoveler Pond. I drove very, very slowly and stopped whenever Pappa Quail saw a bird he wanted to get a better look at, and there were many of them. I also paused whenever I wanted to mark anther alligator on the alligator challenge pamphlet I took from the visitor center. I would count a few at a time, then stop briefly to mark them on the paper. Pappa Quail helped me keep track of these awesome reptiles.
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| April 30, American Alligator |
The road around the pond was one-way and we had to drive counter clockwise, so the flooded area was on my side. Pappa Quail didn't mind - he was content leaning over me and pushing the lens out of the driver's window. Occasionally however, there were birds on his side of the car as well, such as this eastern kingbird on the barbwire fence.
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| April 30, Eastern Kingbird |
The farther, western side of the Shoveler Pond had a lot more vegetation. These were mostly thick stands of bulrush and low thickets of other aquatic plants. In between the clamps of vegetation were open water areas, where we saw many pairs of alligator nostrils and eyes poking out of the water. The alligator numbers were rising steadily.
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| April 30 |
On the western side of the pond was also a small parking area and a short boardwalk that extended into the marsh vegetation.
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| April 30, Boardwalk |
Naturally we parked and got out of the car and started walking on that boardwalk, looking for brds below.
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| April 30, Lesser Yellowlegs |
There were plenty of birds in that part of the pond, most of them shorebirds. Many of these shorebirds we were already familiar with but it was nice to see them up close.
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| April 30, Long-billed Dowitcher |
The birds didn't seem to mind our presence much. They were probably quite used to people coming tp their habitat and gawking at them.
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| April 30, Least Sandpiper |
There were also lifer species. One of them was a lifer for Pappa Quail also - stilt sandpipers were poking in the shallow water next to the other shorebirds. I was amazed at how similar all these shorebirds were to one another, but Pappa Quail had no trouble telling the differences.
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| April 30, Stilt Sandpiper |
We saw another lifer species in that spot on our third visit to the refuge, two days later. This one was a solitary sandpiper.
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| May 2, Solitary Sandpiper |
On our third visit to the refuge when for the second time we went on the boardwalk on the west side of the Shoveler Pond we got to see a slightly different assortment of bird species. I was surprised that on our first visit there we saw very few ducks. On our next time we saw more ducks, but still not very many of them.
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| May 2, Fulvous Whistling Ducks |
The common gallinules were, as their name indicates, very common. We've seen many of them on each visit to the refuge.
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| May 2, Common Gallinule |
On out third visit however, we got to see the gallinule chicks at a much closer distance, right from the boardwalk. The chicks were coming in and out of the reeds, trying to keep as much out of sight as they could.
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| May 2, Common Gallinule |
On our third visit to the refuge we also got to see there the beautiful purple gallinule. That magnificent bird I saw for the first time at the Cattail Marsh on the first day of our trip, and also on the following day at the Smith Oaks Audubon Society Sanctuary.
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| May 2, Purple Gallinule |
While Pappa Quail was busy photographing the birds I paid some attention also to the local vegetation. The hardstem bulrush that covered large areas of the marsh looked very much like the tule that grows in California. I wondered if the local Native Americans had used it in a similar way to how coastal native Californians have used tule.
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| April 30, Hardstem Bulrush, Scheoenoplectus acutus |
I noticed some marsh flowers blooming far below the boardwalk and I called Pappa Quail to take some close up photos for me.
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| April 30, Delta Arrowhead, Sagittaria platyphylla |
The Shoveler Pond (as are other water bodies in the area) is connected by canals to the East Bay estuary on the south, which in turn is connected to the Gulf. I don't know if there is any human control of the water flow but it did look to me that the water levels might be affected by the tide cycle. The pond water was definitely not sea-saline tough. The exposed mud areas and the shallow water was rich with little shorebirds that were foraging for little crustaceans and other morsels.
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| April 30 |
t was lovely to see a full array of shorebirds with varying lengths of legs and bills and combinations of those, each species wading at exactly the right depth of water or mud.
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| May 2, Semipalmated Plover |
There were also plenty of egrets and herons enjoying the richness of aquatic food that the marsh provided. Some of these herons were of kinds we were not used to seeing in California.
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| May 2, Tricolored Heron |
On bth times we were at that side of the pond I spotted sora birds. Like other rails, they are very shy and usually remain hidden in the vegetation so we were very pleased to see them out in the open.
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| April 30, Sora |
Of course, non-wading birds were also present, many of them grackles. Some of them were flying down and up to and from te mud, but one f the grackles waited for us patiently on the railing of the boardwalk, as if expecting that we'd feed it or something.
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| May 2, Boat-tailed Grackle |
Back in the car we resumed our drive around the Shoveler Pond and kept on the lookout for interesting birds. We saw a beautiful solitary ibis in full colors - it was the white-faced ibis we were familiar with from California, but now I could see way it was named white-faced - it had a visible white line surrounding its facial features.
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| May 2, White-faced Ibis |
Of course we saw many more alligators and I kept counting them. One of the alligators was resting right by the road side, too close for comfort. I was glad we chose to not hike around the pond on foot. That alligator fled int the pond when we approached with the car.
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| April 30, American Alligator |
I didn't meet the challenge - I counted less than 100 alligators. Still, 79 is a whopping number for someone like me who isn't used to seeing alligators as part of her immediate nature. We returned to the main parking area too late to report our findings - the visitor center was already closed. I did show Pappa Quail the barn owl's nest though, and he got some nice photos of the adult owl.
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| April 30, Barn Owl |
When we returned to the refuge on the following day Pappa Quail got some good photos of the owlets as well, since the adult was away from the nest.
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| May 1, Barn Owlets |
He also had a chance to get god photos of the other nest in the gazebo - that of the barn swallows. The parent bird was standing on its mud nest, shielding the hatchlings from our view.
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| May 1, Barn Swallow |
After we concluded our first visit to the Jocelyn Nungaray (formerly Anahuac) NWR we stopped twice on our way out along the refuge's access road - on one power line pole stood two crested caracara raptors. These colorful raptors we don't get to see in California.
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| April 30, Crested Caracara |
On anther pole further away perched scissor-tailed flycatchers. Papa Quail saw them around Beaumont but now he had the chance to take some photos f the birds when not in motion. When they fly their tails open up in two, like open scissors blades, which is what they're named for.
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| April 30, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher |
The following day we started with a second, and somewhat disappointing visit at the Smith Oaks and the Boy Scouts Audubon Society Bird Sanctuaries where we haven't seen as many birds as we had hoped to. To increase ur bird count of that day we visited once again the Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge. We hanged for some time with other birders in the little mulberry orchard behind the pond by the main parking lot where we got to see some rose-breasted grosbeaks and orchard orioles, photos of which are higher on this blogpost. After that we drove directly to the Jackson Woodlot on the southeast part of the refuge, where we were told was an active bird dripper and a bird blind, and where people have been seeing many song birds that morning already.
Well, we missed the woodlot by a mile or so on the dirt road but before realizing that and turning back we got to see a singe caracara eating something on the gravel road.
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| Crested Caracara |
Eventually we found the Jackson Woodlot. There was only one other car parked at the gravel pullout. We parked next to the other car and took the small trail leading to the Marchetti Bird Blind where we were told the bird dripper was.
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| May 1 |
It was a nice, partially sunny day and there were flowers blooming in the open areas near the trail. Pappa Quail rushed ahead but I lingered a bit behind to enjoy the flora.
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| May 1 |
It wasn't a big wildflowers display. In fact I wasn't even sure that these flowers were wild, or native to the area, but I enjoyed seeing them nonetheless.
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| May 1, Lemon Beebalm, Monarda citroidora |
Meanwhile, Pappa Quail reached the bird blind. There were two elderly birders there already, and together with Pappa Quail, the sitting space at the blind was full, so I stood on a rock and peered over the lower part of the blind wall.
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| May 1, Eastern Wood Pewee |
There was a small pond behind the wood wall. The pond was surrounded by vegetation that was kept trip on the blind's side but remained tall and unmanaged on the far side. There were a number of birds perched on branches of the tall bushes or small trees there. Some of them were indigo buntings but only one of the group was an adult male with his indigo plumage.
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| May 1, Indigo Buntings |
Perhaps the most exciting sighting we had at that place on on that side f the pond was a yellow-billed cuckoo. It was a lifer for both Pappa Quail and me.
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| May 1, Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
The cuckoo didn't make any calls so we couldn't know if its sounds actually matched its name. The only other bird in the cuckoo family that we've seen before was of course, the greater roadrunner, which ranges from California to Texas.
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| May 1, Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
Left of the pond and right in front of the bird blind was the bird dripper. It wasn't really a dripper like those we saw at the Smith Oaks Audubon Bird Sanctuary, but a pretty little garden water feature made to look like a small water cascade. Like all features of its kind it was running by an electric pump that recycled the water. The birds loved it - the came over to drink and to bathe, and there were many of them.
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| May 1, Tennessee Warbler |
Some of these birds we have seen already on this trip, also in the other part of the refuge, near the parking area.
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| May 1, American Redstart, female |
But then the lifer species started coming over, each one more magnificent and beautiful from the others.
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| May 1, Magnolia Warbler |
Even the birds that weren't lifer species for us seemed more colorful, more vibrant tan what we were used to. It helped that we were hidden behind the blind's wall and the birds were feeling secure at their bath tub.
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| May 1,Yellow Warbler |
One of the first things we noticed was that the birds didn't like to share the space. The maximum number of birds at the water feature was two, occasionally, and even that was when one was while keeping respectable distance from each other.
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| May 1, Tennessee Warbler (right) and Orchard Oriole (in the water) |
Usually when one bird was at the water, the others were waiting above to their turn, assessing the queue and sometimes flying away only to return a few minutes later.
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| May 1, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female |
I stood there for a while, watching the little colorful birds hopping from twig to twig, until their turn came to go down to the water. After some time of shifting from one foot to another and struggling t get a good enough view I decided to take a walk around. I found a small bench further away under the oak trees where I sat down to eat my snack.
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I didn't sit fr too long before Pappa Quail appeared behind me and called me back - they have seen a male painted bunting at the water feature. When we returned to the bird blind the bunting was gone but instead, a gorgeous looking chestnut-sided warbler was posing above the basin. It was another lifer for us.
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| May 1, Chestnut-sided Warbler |
There was another bird species that Pappa Quail really wanted me to see. It wasn't a lifer for him but it was for me - the brown thrasher. When the thrasher came down to the water feature I understood what Pappa Quail meant about it being a really beautiful bird. It sure was.
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| May 1, Brown Thrasher |
At some point the other two birders went away and I had a place to sit behind the blind. Then all of a sudden the painted bunting returned. I've seen photos of tht bird but really, no phot can make it justice. It is simply gorgeous!
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| May 1, Painted Bunting, male |
The colorful bird was the male. After him came Mrs. Painted Bunting, in drab yellowish-gray. A pretty bird, but very ordinary-looking next to her male.
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| May 1, Painted Bunting, female |
In many bird species it is like that, that the males are more colorful than the females. In fact, it is so in nearly every case where there is a difference in appearance between males and females. The only example I know where the case is opposite is with the phalarope, which I posted higher on this blogpost, where the female is the more colorful one. The American redstart follows the convention - the male is more colorful and conspicuous than the female.
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| May 1, American Redstart, male |
Then Mr. Painted Bunting took a bath and all of his colors blended.
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| May 1, Painted Bunting, male |
Our third visit at the Jocelyn Nungaray NWR came after a wet hike of the Sundew Trail at Big Thicket National Preserve. The second hike that we had planned in the Big Thicket area we had to forego because of a storm that rolled in at the time, and settle for a very wet picnic under a canopy in a local town's community park. Not wanting to hike in the rain we decided to go to the National Wildlife Refuge one more time and take the auto tour. By the time we got there however, the rain had stopped and only the wind remained.
At first we went to the Shoveler Pond's boardwalk where we saw more shorebirds (their photos posted above). After that we drove to the Jackson Woodlot but to our utter disappointment the water feature was turned off. We saw none of the colorful warblers and other songbirds that we saw there just the day before. There were a few other birds there, however. Perced on a branch over the small pond was a green heron.
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| May 2, Green Heron |
A local birder happened to come by and told us that the refuge personnel turned the water off because of the rains earlier. He too was disappointed. We had to console ourselves with the very common red-winged blackbird that sang its heart out on a nearby bush.
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| May 2, Red-winged Blackbird |
We decided to continue driving on the dirt road were we had seen the caracara a day before. That dirt road goes past the developed part of the refuge and through formerly cultivated fields all the way to the bay east of Houston. At first we didn't see much along the road, but then we encountered a flock of black-bellied whistling ducks that came to rest right on the road. Grudgingly they got up and took to the air as we drove closer.
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| May 2, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks |
A bit further down the road we saw a meadowlark. This was an eastern meadowlark - a different species but looks exactly the same as the western meadowlark that we have in California. The meadowlark was singing and is song was really beautiful.
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| May 2, Eastern Meadolark |
There were barbed wire fences along parts of the road, and occasionally we saw some birds perched on them. Thus we got to see yet another orchard oriole.
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| May 2, Orchard Oriole, male |
We reached a shallow and muddy pond near the road. A fence blocked our way to the pond so we couldn't get close. We had to settle for binoculars and Pappa Quail's long lens to check out the fowl that was in that area.
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| May 2, Ruddy Turnstone |
On the fence near the pond sat a flock of great-tailed grackles. Grackles are so numerous in that part of the country that I had to coax Pappa Quail to take yet another photo of a grackle.
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| May 2, Great-tailed Grackle |
The bay was on the other side of the road. It was so wide that at first glance it looked like the gulf itself. Pappa Quail reminded me to not get too close to the water - alligators don't go in sea water but the do go in brackish, mixed water, and the bay water wasn't very saline, as was evident from the plants that throve right on the shore.
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| May 2, Forster's Tern |
It was pretty windy that day and the water was rough. We didn't see much fowl activity in the water, but a few terns flying above, and a single gull perched on a wood pole near the beach.
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| May 2, Laughing Gull |
We continued driving to Frozen Point after which the road was gated and there was no entry. In the field near the gate was a couple of black-bellied whistling ducks. They looked at us with alertness, but didn't fly away.
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| May 2, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks |
At the very end of the dirt road walked a solitary shorebird - a willet. The same species of willet that we see in California.
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| May 2, Willet |
Tired after a long day but glad for seeing this beautiful and wildlife-rich refuge we turned our car around ant started the hour-long drive to our lodge in Beaumont. This was concluded the last full day of our trip to southeast Texas. I have yet to write the blogpost about the Sundew Trail in Big Thicket though, before concluding my accounts of this lovely trip.
