Corpus Christi sits on the Central Texas Coast (CTC) Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail . The coastal birding trail is a wonderfully marked trail system with conveniences such as boardwalks, parking pullouts, observation platforms, and landscaping to attract native wildlife. These features allow you to get closer to see Texas's breathtaking birds.

Check out some of the TOP birding sites around the Coastal Bend!

Birding Callout


Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge

Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge, located on Ennis Joslin and Nile, offers nature lovers an ideal spot to observe shorebirds, waterfowl, butterflies and wildlife along Oso Bay. Take a walk on the 800-foot nature trail or the 1-mile boardwalk for good views of Oso Bay, grassy marshes, woodlands and mudflats. Picnic tables and viewing platforms are spread throughout the refuge for visitors to enjoy.


JFK Causeway Wetlands

The flats along the causeway may be awash with herons, egrets (look for Reddish), pelicans, and shorebirds. Toward the west end of the causeway you will notice an area of beach that is protected for nesting Black Skimmers. The skimmers and their young may be seen here in summer, and also look for nesting Least Terns and Wilson’s Plovers.


Oso Bay Park

This site is best birded on a falling tide, so be sure to check the tide tables that are published in the local newspaper. Few tidal flats along the central coast can boast of a birdlife spectacle equal to Oso Bay. Thousands of waterbirds pack these shallow waters, and a sunset here in winter should be unforgettable.


Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Nature Trail

As you walk the nature trail that follows the Oso Bay shoreline, inspect the tidal flats here for Piping and Snowy plover, and watch for flocks of Roseate Spoonbills in the shallow waters of Oso Bay itself.


Labonte Park

The riparian woodlands along the river here attract migrant land birds in spring, and kingfishers (Belted) often perch on low-slung branches over the water.


Hilltop Community Center

The nature trail here traverses native brush habitat, so search for migrants as well as for residents (Groove-billed Ani, Pyrrhuloxia, Olive Sparrow). Walk along the creek and look for a variety of sparrows in winter (Swamp, Lincoln’s).