Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Laguna
Atascosa
National Wildlife
Refuge
The early morning light
begins another day, a fresh
start. In these protected places,
Aplomado Falcons soar once
more, ocelots still prowl, and the
rarest sea turtles on earth nest
on sandy shores, as they have
for generations before.
Welcome to Laguna Atascosa
National Wildlife Refuge.
Terns, shorebirds and waterfowl at Laguna Atascosa NWR
© Fernando Cerra
Welcome
Rare Wildlife
Haven
Deep within a thorny thicket, a
well-camouflaged ocelot curls up for
a daytime nap. Over on the sandy
shores of South Padre Island, the
beach stirs with life as dozens of
Kemp’s ridley sea turtle hatchlings
propel themselves across the sand
into the Gulf of Mexico. A salty, humid
breeze ruffles the feathers of an
aplomado falcon perched on a spiky
yucca. A mother American alligator
keeps a watchful eye over newly
hatched young in a small pond created
by summer rains.
Rare wildlife finds a haven within
Laguna Atascosa NWR, the largest
Kemp’s ridley sea protected habitat remaining in the
turtle hatchlings. Lower Rio Grande Valley of South
FWS Photograph
Texas. A vibrant mix of habitats, from
subtropical forests to deserts and
coastline, support a mix of wildlife
found nowhere else in the world.
Ocelots and Sea
Turtles
The refuge is home to the majority
of the remaining ocelots in the U.S.
and serves as the national center for
ocelot conservation and recovery. The
ocelot is one of nine federally listed
endangered or threatened species on
the refuge, along with another rare
cat, the jaguarundi, and five species of
sea turtles.
American Alligator
© Bill Hubick
Premier
Birdwatching
Destination
Green Jay
FWS Photograph
Globally
Important Bird
Area
Altamira Oriole
© Steve Bentsen
Buff-bellied
Hummingbird
© Allen Dale
An impressive 413 species of birds
have been recorded at this refuge,
more than at any other National
Wildlife Refuge in the United States.
Several tropical species reach their
northernmost range limit here,
joined seasonally by wintering and
migratory birds converging from the
Central and Mississippi Flyways.
Birders travel to see South Texas
specialties like the green jay, groovebilled ani, ringed kingfisher, and
buff-bellied hummingbird, along with wintering waterfowl that can
stretch across the horizon in a line of
whirring wings.
The American Bird Conservancy
designates the refuge as a “globally
important bird area” for its amazing
variety of migratory, winter and
resident birds and habitats. Millions
of migratory shorebirds, raptors,
songbirds and waterfowl touch down
each year on their journeys between
winter homes in Mexico, Central and
South America and nesting habitats
as far north as the tundra above the
Arctic Circle.
This vital stopover for
shorebirds – from the abundant
sanderling to the imperiled red
knot – makes Laguna Madre that
borders Laguna Atascosa NWR an
internationally significant site of
the Western Hemisphere Shorebird
Reserve Network.
Red Knot with Short-billed Dowitchers.
© Bill Hubick
A Growing Refuge Since the 1990s, the refuge has more
than doubled in size to almost 90,000
acres, adding the sizeable Bahia
Grande and South Padre Island
units. The nearby Santa Ana NWR
and the network of tracts composing
the Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR
also protect the remnants of a rich
ecosystem.
Blue metalmark
© Ellie Thompson
The focal point for visitors remains
the Laguna Atascosa unit, featuring
the Bayside Drive auto route along
the Laguna Madre, the wildlife-rich
hypersaline (extra salty) bay that
stretches the length of Padre and
South Padre Islands. The visitor
center features a butterfly garden,
photo blind and nature trails. Miles
of bicycling and hiking trails offer
visitors wonderful opportunities to
connect with nature.
Visitor center butterfly Garden.
FWS Photograph
Protecting
Waterfowl and
More
Redhead Drake
© Bill Hubick
Congress designated the refuge
in 1946 to protect waterfowl,
particularly the common redhead, an
attractive diving duck that breeds in
the freshwater prairie pothole regions
of the upper U.S. and Canada. About
80 percent of the entire
world redhead duck
population spends
the winter on the Laguna
Madre. Today, the
refuge mission has
expanded to conserve
and restore the wildlife
and habitats that have
all but disappeared in South Texas.
At the recently acquired Bahia
Grande unit of the refuge, restoring
tidally influenced wetlands has
become a local and national
partnership success story. The
addition of the South Padre Island
unit to the refuge is key to providing
winter foraging habitat for piping
plovers and summer nesting beaches
for Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.
Piping Plover
© Fernando Cerra
Lending a Hand
for Wildlife
Restoring Rare
Habitats
Growing
tomorrow’s thorn
forest
Only five percent of the original
woodlands and brush habitats of the
Lower Rio Grande Valley in South
Texas remain. That’s changing as
refuge staff and volunteers plant
native trees and shrubs in old farm
fields acquired by the refuge, looking
ahead to the 20 years it will take for
the new thickets to become mature
thorn forests that can shelter ocelots
and other wildlife.
Bringing back
water
Irrigation and drainage outside the
refuge have sharply depleted the
fresh water supply that once fed
lakes, ponds and resacas. The refuge
is restoring wetlands by collecting
rainfall, installing pumps and water
delivery systems, and creating ponds.
Ocelot recorded by motion-activated
camera.
FWS Photograph
Keeping habitats
connected
Fewer than 30 ocelots probably live on
the refuge. Losing even one animal to
vehicle collision as it crosses a road is
a blow to recovery. Piecing together
corridors of protected habitat and
creating road underpasses for ocelots
also benefits other wildlife, including
bobcats, coyotes, and many reptiles
and amphibians. These habitat
connectors help wildlife in search of
food, shelter and water to travel safely
between larger protected areas.
Restoring
Shorelines,
Beaches and
Bays
Taking care of the natural dune
system, tidal flats, and mangrove
lagoons serves the needs of fish,
wildlife and people. These wetlands
form natural buffers from storms,
absorb floodwaters, and filter
pollutants. Undisturbed beaches
help the survival of four species of
endangered sea turtles - Kemp’s
ridley, loggerhead, leatherback and
green - that nest on refuge beaches.
Kemp’s ridley sea The hawksbill sea turtle that swims
just offshore needs protection from
turtle
FWS Photograph
boat traffic and pollution.
Saving Seagrass
Laguna Madre is one of five known
hypersaline bays in the world. Its
unique seagrass beds serve up the
basic nutrients that drive coastal food
webs and support common redhead
ducks. Seagrass forms nurseries for
commercial and recreational fisheries
and even helps stabilize coasts from
erosion. The refuge and partners are
working to reverse the significant
seagrass declines in Laguna Madre.
Reintroducing
Rare Wildlife
Aplomado Falcon
Success Story
Once on the verge of extinction, the
aplomado falcon now hunts and nests
on the coastal prairies of the refuge
and on adjacent private lands, thanks
to a reintroduction partnership
project with the nonprofit Peregrine
Fund and nearby landowners. Since
the first speedy falcon took wing in
1993, more than 900 falcons have
been released in Lower Rio Grande
Valley, with some of the best
habitat found in the
new Bahia Grande
unit. To keep the
grasslands healthy,
the refuge carefully
prescribes fires to
manage habitat for
the falcons and other
native
plant
and
animal
species.
Northern
Aplomado Falcon
© Fernando Cerra
History
As early as the late 1800s,
conservationists identified the Laguna
Madre as important for waterfowl. By
the 1930s, efforts were underway to
designate a National Wildlife Refuge.
But in 1941 priorities shifted to
World War II. The War Department
acquired lands on the mainland and
South Padre Island for aerial gunning
and bombing ranges. Meanwhile, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1941
advocated protection for the “large
rafts of wintering redhead ducks
that frequent this section of Laguna
Madre” and for the dwindling thorn
forests. In1946, Congress established
Laguna Atascosa NWR.
Efforts to conserve nearby Bahia
Grande dated to the late 1800s as
well, when early naturalists made
the case for saving the wetlands.
Almost a century later, Bahia Grande
is now part of the refuge and an
ambitious restoration project, thanks
to the efforts of many local, state and
national partners.
Harris’s Hawk
© Fernando Cerra
Refuge prescribed
fire.
FWS Photograph
Things to Do at
the Refuge
Wildlife
Watching
Overview
I
Visit thorny brushlands to look for
Texas tortoises, green jays, plain
chachalacas, nine-banded armadillos,
white-tailed deer and javelinas. Ocelots
are here too, but your chance of seeing
these rare and secretive cats is very
slim. Ponds and resacas (old oxbows
of the Rio Grande River) support
American alligators, least grebes and
black-bellied whistling ducks.
The scrub areas of the refuge are
home to desert dwellers like greater
roadrunners and cactus wrens. To find
roseate spoonbills, herons, egrets,
black-necked stilts, American avocets
and piping plovers, head to any of the
freshwater impoundments or search
the shores of the Laguna Madre.
Visitor Center
and Trails
CE
A good place to start your visit is at
the visitor center, where staff and
volunteers will answer your questions
about the refuge. Indoor displays
feature endangered cats, aplomado
falcons and other wildlife living in the
area. Watch a short film about the
refuge. Browse the nature store for field
guides, or to purchase insect repellent,
souvenirs, snacks and cold drinks.
Purchase your entry permit here, too.
Outside, wander through butterfly
and bird gardens, water features and
seasonal pools, and stop in the photo
blind for close-up views of birds. Rest
on benches or in the shaded pavilion.
Have lunch in the picnic area.
Kiskadee Trail
1/8-mile loop
E
Mesquite Trail
1 1/2 mile loop
E
This short, shaded trail encircles a pool
in wet years when it may harbor an
alligator. Watch the treetops for great
kiskadee, warblers and green jays.
Spend time at the observation deck.
Trees shade parts of the figure-eight
loop trail that winds through grassy
savannas, across two small ponds (in
wet years) and past a historic family
cemetery. Look for coyote, deer and
other wildlife tracks.
Tour Roads and
Trails
Bayside Drive
15-mile loop
ES
Javelina
FWS Photograph
Bayside Trails
Moranco Blanco
Hike/Bike Trail
3 miles
E
Paisano Trail
1 mile
E
Lakeside Drive
1 1/2 miles
each way
S
This mostly one-way loop takes you
through thorn forest, coastal prairies
and out to the Laguna Madre. Stop
at the numerous pullouts to watch
and photograph wildlife. Aplomado
falcons are regularly reported, along
with white-tailed hawks, crested
caracaras, and Harris’s hawks. Stop
at Plover Point observation deck for
views of the mudflats, Laguna Madre,
and perhaps a piping plover or two
during the winter. Inland, watch for
long-billed curlews feeding on insects
in short prairie grass, coyotes, deer
and even a nilgai (a large, non-native
antelope originally from India that
competes with native species). Along
the bayside in winter, you’ll see rafts
of waterfowl, terns, gulls, pelicans
and both migratory and resident
shorebirds. Survey the expansive
Laguna Madre across to South
Padre Island and the interior refuge
landscape at the elevated Redhead
Ridge Overlook.
Take plenty of water with you on the
out-and-back trail that starts just
past Redhead Ridge. Head across the
prairie, up onto a long ridge and past a
brushy area, where a refuge “guzzler”
provides fresh water for wildlife.
At the trail’s end on a low bluff, you
will look over a secluded bay where
shorebirds probe the water’s edge.
The paved trail (a former road) is
a good choice in wet weather when
other trails can be muddy. The air fills
with bird song from within the tangled
thickets. Investigate wildlife signs—
scat, animal crossings and tracks.
Follow this short road to reach
Laguna Atascosa, the 3,100-acre
lake that gives the refuge its name.
Atascosa is the Spanish word for
muddy, a good description for
the shallow lake on windy days.
More than 20 species of wintering
waterfowl, egrets, herons and
pelicans feed and rest here. For a
closer look, peer through the mounted
telescopes at Osprey Overlook, a
covered observation pavilion. For
songbird and butterfly watching,
scan the hedgerow along the fence on
Lakeside Drive.
Lakeside Trails
Alligator Pond
1/2 mile
E
Lakeside Trail
1 1/2 miles
E
The paved, accessible trail near
Osprey Overlook leads to a viewing
platform overlooking a pond that
in most years may host one or two
alligators, and in wet years, up to two
dozen.
From Osprey Overlook, walk the trail
for lake views and thorn forests that
offer excellent birding. Pause and rest
on the shady benches. Wildflowers are
plentiful in March and April.
Birdwatching and biking along
Lakeside Drive
FWS Photograph
Bicycling the Bay
And Backcountry
C
Hunting
UH
Bicycling the driving tour roads and
specified service roads and trails
offers both exercise and plenty of
fresh air carrying the sounds of birds.
Ask visitor center staff for a map and
description of routes.
A limited number of refuge permits
are available for archery and firearms
hunts of white-tailed deer, feral hog
and nilgai in late fall and winter on
specific refuge units. To apply, contact
the refuge in early summer.
Fishing
L
You can fish along the ocean side of
the South Padre Island unit, but not
on the Laguna Atascosa unit. For
fishing north of the refuge, drive to
Adolph Thomae, Jr. County Park
on the Arroyo Colorado, featuring
fishing piers and a boat launch. Future
plans include possible wade fishing
opportunities on the Bahia Grande
unit. Please contact the refuge for
current fishing information.
Meeting Your
Needs
Visitor Center
hours
The Laguna Atascosa unit is open
to the public daily from sunrise to
sunset; the visitor center is open 8
am to 4 pm daily, except on major
holidays. Call in advance of your visit
to confirm operating hours, which are
subject to change.
Restrooms
The only public restrooms on the refuge
are located outside the Visitor Center.
Entry permit
Obtain at visitor center: $3 per car
or $1/person for large groups. Fee
waived for those with valid federal
interagency passes, Federal Duck
Stamp, or annual refuge pass.
Camping
The Adolph Thomae, Jr. County Park
(north of the refuge) offers RV and
tent camping. There’s camping near
Port Isabel to the south, and on South
Padre Island. No camping is allowed
on the refuge.
k
For your safety
and comfort
The refuge is a
great place to
connect familes
with nature.
FWS Photograph
Avoid chiggers, ticks and rattlesnakes
by staying on the trails. Bring insect
repellent or purchase it in the Visitor
Center to deter mosquitoes.
Prepare for hot days—hike or bike
during cooler hours. Bring plenty of
water, wear sunscreen and a hat.
Alligators and other wild animals
can be dangerous. Stay back, do not
approach them or feed them. Keep a
close eye on small children and pets.
Help Us Protect
the Refuge
You can keep this refuge special for
wildlife and people by following all
refuge rules:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Friends of Laguna
Atascosa NWR
Drive only on tour roads. Observe the 25 mph speed limit.
Stay on trails when hiking and biking.
Keep pets on leash.
Do not disturb or remove wildlife, vegetation or historic objects.
No firearms are permitted (except for legal hunting).
No fireworks, campfires, or alcohol
Join the Friends group to support
conservation and education projects
on the refuge, including the Adopt-an
-Ocelot program. To join the Friends
or adopt an ocelot, contact:
Friends of Laguna Atascosa NWR
22817 Ocelot Road
Los Fresnos, TX 78566
956/748-3607
Roseate Spoonbills
FWS Photograph
Crossing No. 1
Lakeside
Trail
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HEADQUARTERS AREA
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Adolph Thomae, Jr.
County Park
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345
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106
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Harlingen
Refuge
Visitor Center
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= Laguna Atascosa NWR
= Lower Rio Grande
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Volunteers and
Internships
The refuge welcomes college interns
to gain field experience. Contact the
refuge for information on internships
and other volunteer opportunities.
Coastal prairie along Bayside Drive.
FWS Photograph
Laguna Atascosa
NWR Facts
Where is it?
When was it
Established?
To reach the Laguna Atascosa Visitor
Center, drive east from Harlingen on
FM 106 (General Brant Rd.) to Rio
Hondo. Continue east for 14 miles
on FM 106 that ends at Buena Vista
Road and turn left (north). Drive 3
miles to the visitor center.
In March, 1946.
How big is it?
88,388 acres in four units: Laguna
Atascosa Unit, Bahia Grande, South
Padre Island, and Coastal Corridor.
The refuge may add more tracts
and additional acres to restore and
maintain vanishing habitats.
How was it paid
for?
Originally from the sale of Migratory
Bird Hunting and Conservation
Stamps (Duck Stamps). Recent
additions made possible from publicprivate partnerships, including The
Conservation Fund and The Nature
Conservancy.
Why is it here?
To preserve and enhance habitat for
endangered and threatened species.
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
22817 Ocelot Road
Los Fresnos, Texas 78566
956/748-3607
956/748-3609 Fax
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Southwest Region
http://southwest.fws.gov
For information on the
National Wildlife Refuge System
1 800/344- WILD
Texas State Relay System
1 800/735-2989/T
1 800/735-2988/V
Photograph © Larry Ditto
October 2008