Carnivorous Plants, Birding, and Rain, Packaged Together: Walking the Sundew Trail at Big Thicket National Preserve

Pink Sundew, Drosera capillaris

 

Date: May 2 2025

Place: Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas

Coordinates: 30.547828, -94.410177

Length: 1.5 miles

Level: easy

On the morning of May 2, the last full day we had of our trip to southeast Texas last spring, Pappa Quail and I set out to Big Thicket National Preserve for the third time. Ever since his first visit at the Big Thicket National Preserve two years ago (with the elder chika) Pappa Quail had insisted that I should see the place. The baldcedar bogs were one reason. The other was the carnivorous plants. The pitcher plants are large and have a unique shape, and we identified them easily on the first day of our trip when we walked the Carnivorous Plants Loop Trail with our Texan friends. Our original plan was to hike the Sundew Trail on April 29th after we'd hiked the Kirby Nature Loop but a wrong turn had sent us down a much longer hike than planned, at the end of which we had no time nor the energy to go on another walk, as short as it may be. So here we were, three days later, to finally hike the Sundew Trail.  

We were welcomed by a family of Carolina wrens at the doorstep of the trailhead's facilities structure. 

Carolina Wren

At the trailhead we met the resident green anole, like we've seen on many other hike trailheads on this trip. By now these pretty lizards were a familiar and welcomed sight. 

Green Anole

The Sundew Trail is composed of a very short, mostly boardwalk loop, and a longer one that goes deeper into the forest. We started on the short loop, going directly to where the carnivorous plants were. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

Right at the beginning Pappa Quail saw a bird - an eastern wood pewee, which is a type of a flycatcher. The bird was eating a bug but after swallowing it stood erect and posed nicely to the camera.  

Eastern Wood Pewee

A boardwalk part of the trail usually indicates an area flooded or prone to flooding. It was quite muddy below the boardwalk, the remnants of recent rains. The cloud cover suggested that it might get flooded again before too long. 

Sundew Trail, shorter loop

Once again I was seeing the mud tubes all around the wet ground. At the time I didn't know what they were but now I know these are ventilation tubes for crayfish tunnels. 

Crayfish Chimney

We quickly came upon the patch of pitcher plants. There were many of them, very close together. I was admiring the lovely and very functional structure of these vegetable bug traps. 

Pale Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia alata

Right away I started looking for the sundew plants. Pappa Quail remembered the rangers  at the visitor center telling him that they were to be found near the end of the first boardwalk segment. He then saw a flower and pointed it out to me. It was a violet flower, of a species that was new to me. 

Southern Water Violet, Viola vittata

A wasp flew by and landed on the lip of one of the pitchers. I forgot my search for the sundew and focused my attention on the wasp - it was tasting the moisture from the plant. Little by little I saw the insect sliding more and more over the lip towards the deep well of digestion fluid. Each time however, it was able to pull back and not fall over the precipice. A stood there for a good ten minutes, waching the wasp getting more and more intoxicated. I wanted to witness the moment in which the wasp becomes the plant's breakfast. Pappa Quail however, lost his patience. He took a close up photo of the wasp for me, then he continued down the trail. I waited for a couple minutes more and then gave up and followed him. 

Pale Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia alata

When I caught up with Pappa Quail he was watching a white-eyed vireo hopping to and fro in the branches of a nearby tree. 

White-eyed Vireo

Now it was my time to wait patiently while Pappa Quail was taking photos of the bird. I used this time well though - I had found the sundew plants. They were very small but they looked lovely. I called Pappa Quail over and he took some close up photos of this tiny and delicate carnivorous plant. 

Pink Sundew, Drosera capillaris

For a brief moment the sun broke through the cloud cover and the morning brightened. It didn't last very long though, As we were making our way along the board walk the clouds closed in again and a few droplets started coming down. 

Sundew Trail, shorter loop

One wildflower that I've been seeing consistently in the Big Thicket National Preserve was the ladies' tresses orchid. The local species there is very slender and tall and I was glad to see some of them blooming also along the Sundew Trail. 

Grass-leaved Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes praecox

I also paid attention to other wildflowers that were blooming along the trail. The zigzag bladderwort I was seeing many of, but they were very difficult to photograph. 

Zigzag Bladderwort, Utricularia subulata

For some of the other wildflowers I had to call Pappa Quail over to take a photo with his powerful birding lens. 

Wood-candle, Schoenolirion croceum

The boardwalk ended and we continued on a muddy and partially flooded trail. I was glad that I chose to wear my high hiking shoes rather than my sneakers. 

The local plants didn't mind at all having wet 'feet'. Here again I saw the arrowhead flowers that I've seen first at the Cattail Marsh on the first day of our trip. 

Nipplebract Arrowhead, Sagittaria papillosa

There were also wildflowers there that I've been seeing for the first time, however. The pale lobelia was one of them. It reminded me a lot of the downingia flowers that grow in flooded areas in California. When I check I found that the similarity was no mistake - they belong to the same family, and even the same subfamily. 

Pale Lobelia, Lobelia appendiculata

We returned quickly to the parking lot. The weather was nice now and the sun shone once again through the clouds. We decided to go on the larger loop and see what we could find there. We started once again on the boardwalk. 

Sundew Trail

Going on the boardwalk a second time gave me a chance to see wildflowers that I've missed before, when I was focused on finding the sundew plants. 

Fringed Sneezeweed, Helenium drummondii 

We didn't walk very far before the clouds closed in again and the air became wet with thin droplets. Pappa Quail looked at me but I claimed that a few drops are not rain and continued on. 

Those few drops were enough to wet everything. I loved the sheen it gave to the ferns and the green leaves of other plants. Of the ferns I loved seeing the new leaves, still wrapped in a tight ball before unfurling to maturity. 

The light drizzle eased up and w continued past the first boardwalk into the larger loop. There I found more sundew plants, this time with blossom. The sundew is a carnivorous plant. It hunts bugs with its sticky leaves. It also uses bugs for pollination though, and it wouldn't do any good for the pollinators to get caught in the plant's lethal leaves, so the sundew flowers bloom on top of a tall stalk, a good distance away from the sticky hairs o the ground floor. 

Pink Sundew, Drosera capillaris

We were about one third of the larger loop when the clouds burst and a real rain came pouring down. We didn't have our plastic ponchos with us. Concerned about our cameras Pappa Quail and crowded close to the trunk of a large pine tree, and we pulled our shirts over the cameras. 

Fire Lane

Pappa Quail wasn't happy. He wanted to go back to the car as soon as the rain eased up, which was about five minutes later. I was okay with him turning back but when Pappa Quail saw that I was fine completing the loop on my own he decided to stay on the trail. 

Rain ripples

 

We came upon another boardwalk. The boardwalk was very wet and very, very sleek. We had to be really careful to not slip and fall down. 

Little by little the rain eased up and then ceased altogether. Everything was wet and shiny and glistened in the sunshine that came down once more through a hole in the clouds. 

Turkeytail Fungus

As one might expect in a place that gets a lot of rain, there were plenty of mushrooms blooming there as well. 

East North America Destroying Angel mushroom

The clouds separated more and we enjoyed bright sunlight for a while. I was glad when we were off the slippery boardwalk and on an earth trail once more. 

Sundew Trail, longer loop

With the sunlight came out the birds. They weren't giving Pappa Quail and easy time photographing them though. 

Blue Jay

Between the glistening bushes I spotted many other wildflowers and I took the time to look at them and take photos. 

Catclaw Briar, Mimosa nuttallii

We passed another fire lane, and in the sky line that parted the canopies  I could see the mass of clouds moving away. I didn't know if that was the last of the rain for the day (it wasn't) but at least for a while the air was dry. 

Fire Lane

Now that the rain was gone, at least for the time being, we could enjoy the freshness of the air and the greenery around us, spotted by the colorful wildflowers. 

Maryland Milkwort, Senega mariana

There were plenty of birds around us - we could hear them. Seeing them was another matter, though. The birds were high in the canopies and hidden in the trees. 

Sundew Trail, longer loop

We did get to see some birds though, and some of them posed for a photograph as well. A pair of cardinals were not shy about showing themselves. The male was sporting off his colors. 

Northern Cardinal, male

 

The female cardinal was more drab, but she too wasn't shy of showing herself. Cardinals however, are very common east of the mountains and Pappa Quail quickly lost interest and moved on. 

Northern Cardinal, female

I was right at Pappa Quail's heels when I noticed a wildflower that I haven't seen before. I had to take a close look at the inflorescence to even identify the family - it didn't look like a typical member of the aster family, of which it was. 

Old Plainsman, Hymenopappus artemisiifolius

The helmet skullcap I was already familiar with, having seen it on numerous hikes already on this trip. I've seen its relatives in California before as well. 

Helmet Skullcap, Scutellaria integrifolia

One of the things I loved seeing in that forest is the beautiful contrast between the grayish evergreen pines and the bright green of the new spring leaves of the deciduous trees near them. 

As I was admiring the sight of the deciduous trees I noticed two of them that were growing very close to one another like a loving couple. In fact, they even looked like they were kissing mid way along their trunks. 

Pappa Quail spotted a rabbit and motioned me over to see it. The rabbit soon vanished in the vegetation but not before Pappa Quail got a nice photo of him. 

Swamp Rabbit

 Low brambles rubbed at my legs, and I was glad I was wearing long pants. I searched the vines for some time but couldn't see any ripe berries. It wasn't time there yet. 

Pennsylvania Blackberry, Rubus pensilvanicus

 

 A wild onion caught my attention. I haven't seen many onions on this trip. Orchids were more numerous, and certainly the carnivorous plants. 

Canadian Meadow Garlic, Allium canadense 

 

Another thing that I liked about this forest was the clear separation of the forest layers, especially the shoulder-high bushes from the towering canopies of the pines. There was very little in between. 

Sundew Trail, longer loop

The space between the pine canopies  and the bushes below made it easier to spot the forest birds. There were a few woodpeckers about - we could hear their knocks on the tree trunks. Eventually we saw them too. 

Red-bellied Woodpecker

We were nearing the end of the loop when we were finally seeing more and more birds. At the same time the clouds were closing on the sunshine again. 

Red-headed Woodpecker

A quick flash of red in the trees - a male summer tanager was sporting strutting his stuff in the lower branches of a nearby pine tree. 

Summer Tanager, male

The female was across the trail. She didn't seem all that impressed but she remained near. perhaps our presence there had something to do with her shyness. 

Summer Tanager, female

We finished the hike passing a squirrel that watched us from his safe place on the tree. It was a lovely little hike and we got to see many interesting things and also got rained on. As far as Pappa Quail was concerned, we checked off all of the 'must sees' on his Big Thicket list. 

Eastern Gray Squirrel

We decided to go on another short hike in the area. The trailhead was near a town park - the best place to have a lunch picnic. When we arrived at the park the clouds burst again and the rain was so hard that we decided to drop the hike plan. Instead we drove back to the Jocelyn Nungaray NWR for the third time on our trip, a visit that was a successful conclusion of our time in the Beaumont area.  

On the following day we spend some time birding in a small sanctuary in Houston before flying back to California. We had a very nice trip in southeast Texas last spring. Even without a fallout event we've seen many birds including many lifer species, and many other interesting places, plants and animals. I'd love to visit there again.