~Written by Mark Kramer

There are few places on the Texas coast where nature lovers can expect to see the assembly of wildlife that is concentrated at Armand Bayou Nature Center. ABNC is an island ecosystem, increasingly surrounded by urban and industrial growth. With few other natural areas nearby, ABNC is effectively a “biological greenhouse”, concentrating a richness of species difficult to experience elsewhere. To find this located in the most densely populated county in Texas is truly remarkable. The concentration of wading birds along the bayou’s wetland edges and tidal flats reaches its peak over the next few summer months. Almost every species of heron and egret found in Texas may be regularly encountered on a half mile summer paddling or pontoon excursion. 

Those birds are drawn to the ideal habitats found in the productive waters and quiet surroundings of the 2500-acre urban wilderness. They find ideal feeding habitat in the bayou’s estuarine waters. There is ideal lounging habitat of the quiet waters of Armand Bayou where a protective City Ordinance prohibits the use of gasoline powered boat traffic. The refuge also supports excellent nursery habitat and one of the few sites where hundreds of these birds gather to collectively nest as a group. What we have described is a complete mosaic of heron habitat. All species require feeding, lounging, breeding, and nursery habitat to thrive. Compromise any one of those elements and the wildlife population will decline.

ABNC is a rare ecological success story in environmental news in that its habitats have recovered and improved throughout our lengthy restoration history. These efforts have enhanced wetland habitats and encouraged an abundance of Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Tri-Colored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Yellow Crowned Night Herons, Black Crowned Night Herons, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, and Least Bitterns onto the nature center. I have had many a Bayou Ranger tour where all of these species are seen on a single trip!

Every Spring, many of these fish-eating bird species gather to raise the next generation. This assortment of different bird species which congregate and nest as a group are referred to as colonial nesting waterbirds. In 2008, one of these “Rookeries” of colonial nesting waterbirds spontaneously formed at the nature center. The formation is a testament to the high-quality complete habitat mosaic of the refuge coupled with the presence of nesting alligators on the Rookery island. Nesting alligators are commonly associated with Rookeries. The strong maternal nesting instinct of the female alligator inadvertently protects bird nests located in the trees overhead. Should a scavenging raccoon swim to the Rookery Island, it is quickly filled with deep regret. ABNC Staff and Volunteers have further enhanced nesting opportunities by building an innovative artificial nesting structure at the Rookery. In addition to tree nests, there are now over one hundred and fifty nest boxes available to be occupied by this vertical city of birds.

Many of these elegant colonial nesting species grow a specialized set of feathers used during courtship. These breeding plumes are used as part of a beautiful and sophisticated pair bonding display on the Rookery early in the nesting season. At the turn of the 20th century, these feathers were considered very valuable to the fashion industry. The feathers were collected in huge numbers as birds were shot off of Rookeries throughout their range. Some of America’s first federal wildlife regulations protected birds from plume hunting and near extinction. Slowly, their populations have recovered and today, herons and egrets find the productive summer waters of Armand Bayou to be ideal habitat. The fishing is always good. The neighborhood is quiet. It’s valuable waterbird real estate in an area where it’s increasingly difficult for wildlife to get its complex set of needs met.

For a deeper dive into the Armand Bayou Rookery, check out the following videos.