By Brandt Mannchen
October 24, 2026, the Houston Sierra Club (HSC) visited the Upper Texas Coast to enjoy a beautiful cool, sunny, fall, day and enjoy the natural scenes at Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area (CAWMA) at Smith Point and Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge (JNNWR) on East Galveston Bay.
First, a big thank you to all the participants, 13 in all, who enjoyed this day with the HSC. It’s the people, along with vital and gorgeous landscapes, that make HSC outings special. Thanks to Lisa, Michael, Danielle, Wendy, Young, Young-wan, David, Crystal, Carol, Vivian, Luther, Cindy, and yours truly for making this outing so much fun!
CAWMA is managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is 207 acres, and is located at Smith Point. This is the location where East Bay joins Trinity Bay as part of Galveston Bay. There is a 30-foot-tall Smith Point Hawk Watch observation platform at CAWMA where every year, from August to November, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory has expert birders count each day how many raptors and similar birds fly by on their fall migration to Mexico, Central, and South America.
We parked, used the convenient porta-potties, climbed the platform, engaged the experienced birders in conversation, and watched in awe as they picked out raptors and other birds flying in the sky.
Some of the birds seen at CAWMA included Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Northern Mockingbird, Broad-winged Hawk, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. One of the birders, Bob, said that the migration had been slow so far, probably due to warmer weather.
It was also great to see some of the fall wildflowers bloom like Canadian Goldenrod, Agalinis, Woolly Croton, Dayflower, Fire-wheel, White Guara, and Butterfly-weed.
We then drove on Hawkins Camp Road to Trinity Bay and viewed a shell spit that had many birds hunkered down in an attempt not to get splattered by periodic waves. There were many gulls and terns on the spit, including Laughing Gulls and Royal Terns. There also was a Willet walking the shoreline. The best bird of the day, in my view, was the American Oystercatcher, who played hard to see by hiding behind Brown Pelicans.
On our way to JNNWR there were many Caracara (seven in all), swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Loggerhead Shrikes, and a White Pelican soaring overhead. Swamp Sunflowers were radiant in their yellow raiment and Gulf Fritillary Butterflies could be seen flitting from flower to flower.
JNNWR was established in 1963 and is managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the interior. It consists of about 39,000 acres of coastal prairies, fresh, brackish, and salt marshes, and abuts up to East Galveston Bay.
As we left FM 1985 and entered JNNWR we saw Brown-headed Cowbirds, Scissortailed Flycatchers, Cattle Egrets, Black Vultures, Killdeer, and a Belted Kingfisher. A Green Heron displayed for us near the bathrooms and several small American Alligators floated next door in a drying pond.
JNNWR was the driest I had ever seen, with Shoveler Pond about 80% dry. Even so, we saw White Ibis feeding (with juveniles), Blue-winged Teal, Mourning Dove, Greater Yellowlegs, Common Gallinule, Sanderling, Neotropic Cormorant, Avocet, Spotted Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, Tri-colored Heron, Cattle Egret, Northern Harrier, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Great Blue Heron.
After a short trip to East Bay, we drove to the Texas Chenier Plain Wildlife Refuge Complex Office, and walked a short trail to see a Bald Cypress swamp on the edge of Lake Anahuac. Even the Bald Cypress swamp was dry, when normally it had 1-2 feet of water. Life’s tough when water is scarce.
Regardless, we had a great time, everyone was safe, and we headed home in good humor thinking of getting out again during the fall to see what Nature has to offer. You can’t improve on those thoughts!