Houston Area Hotspots

West and south of Houston the land flattens into coastal prairie and bottomland forest, and the birding changes character with it. Cypress-lined sloughs and freshwater marsh hold herons, gallinules, and alligators, while out on the remnant prairie the grass runs to the horizon and holds birds that need open country to survive. It is a very different Texas from the Hill Country I usually work, and the drive east is worth it for the wading birds alone.