Katy Prairie Conservancy

Birding

The Katy Prairie has long been a birding hotspot because its unique arrangement of farmland, wetlands, riparian forests, and native prairies draws in migratory birds by the thousands and provides critical habitat for year-round residents as well.

Two KPC sites, the Wildlife Viewing Platform at the Nelson Farms Preserve and Warren Lake, are designated stops along the great Texas Coastal Birding Trail.

Bald Eagle

Katy Prairie: Birding Hotspot

There are approximately 300 species on the Katy Prairie bird checklist, many of significant conservation concern. Mottled Ducks, Northern Bobwhite Quails, herons, egrets, Crested Caracaras, and Great Horned Owls are year-round residents. Shorebirds and swallows, as well as Mississippi Kites, Swainson's Hawks, and numerous songbirds pass through to their homes. Black-necked Stilts, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Painted Buntings, and Dickcissels come to the Katy Prairie to nest in summer, and Wood Storks visit in mid- to late summer. Waterfowl, sparrows, Long-billed Curlews, Short-eared Owls, Bald Eagles, and other raptors are winter highlights.

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A visit at any season can reward the observer with 50 species in just a few hours, and 100 species or more are possible. The annual Cypress Creek Christmas Bird Count, which takes place on the Katy Prairie on New Year's Day each year, has averaged over 140 species observed in recent years; and on January 1, 2009, the count recorded a record high of 163 species, exceeding 150 species for the first time.

Explore the Katy Prairie Loop
of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (GTCBT)

Did you know that you can make a day out of birding the Katy Prairie? Just get oriented and go! The Wildlife Viewing Platform is stop number 99 on the GTCBT while sprawling Warren Lake is stop number 100. Follow this link to explore the Katy Prairie Loop on the GTCBT.