Matagorda County – The Super Bowl of BirdwatchingBy Susan Scott SchmidtMatagorda County, Texas is the number one birdwatching destination in the United States. “We’ve become the Super Bowl of birdwatching,” said Dave Sitz of the brand new Matagorda County Birding Nature Center. This out-of-the-way, rural county in Texas has placed first in the country for seven straight years in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. At the intersection of four major migration flyways, it’s the place where more species of birds fly through than any other in the United States.
In a spectacular conservation land deal, the 7000-acre preserve was donated to the Conservancy by the Clive Reynolds family in 1988. The goal of Mad Island Marsh is to restore prairie and freshwater wetlands. To keep the grasses down, the Nature Conservancy allows 300 cattle to graze on the land. Farmers grow rice on 100 acres of the property. “We have oodles of nests from wading birds, roseate spoonbills, herons and egrets,” says Porter. Native grasses include cattails, bulrush and common reeds. The landscape also features water lily, pennywort, and alligator reed. You may also stumble across an alligator or a red-eared slider turtle on your hike here. Dragonflies the size of small helicopters buzz about. The bumpy road winds along the intercoastal waterway. Bayleaf grows wild. A brown pelican floats downstream, passing oyster reefs on the way.
Mad Island Marsh also offers kayaking, fishing, canoeing and wildlife viewing opportunities. Tours are free, with two weeks notice to the Conservancy. Fishing, Oyster Tonging, and a Shrimp Boil
As we cruised through locks and dams, we saw feral pigs munching on the grasslands near the side. The name “Matagorda” means lush growth. Although a favorite with birders and fishermen, this part of Texas is still undiscovered. The entire county has only 30,000 people. Real estate prices are cheap. Roads are unclogged. Lodgings are modest. Crowds are slender. People are friendly. Parker pointed out the lightening whelk, the Texas state shell. It still has a live creature inside. A dolphin surfaces next to the boat, arcing out of the water. We are going fishing and oyster tonging. The Colorado River here is home to whiting, speckled trout, sand trout, flounder and croaker. We watched mullet fish leap out of the water. Captain Arnold and his brother, Ozzie have brought some oyster tongs for us to try our hands at oyster catching. We took turns trying his heavy wooden tongs with a steel basket attached to the bottom. You hear a scraping sound and the tongs, about 10 feet long, come up with two lone oysters in the basket. Oystering is hard work. A 115-pound sack of oysters goes for $15. It was a cold day and we were bundled up. We found warmth and good Texas cooking that evening at the Outrigger Restaurant in the town of Palacios (pronounced like “eyelashes.”) While a country western singer serenaded us with old ballads, we sampled the coconut fried shrimp with pineapple salsa. On a second evening, we stopped back in to enjoy a Texas Shrimp Boil on the outdoor porch. Served in a tin bucket, the boil consists of a pound of steamed peel ‘n’ eat shrimp, corn on the cob and potatoes, all cooked together. The dish is served with tongs. It was sublime. We were staying at a vacation house called the Beyond Vacation, in Palacios, also known as the Shrimp Capital of Texas. With a population of 5,000, Palacios is a sleepy town with one coffee bar, a main streets and a beachfront promenade along the sea wall. At dawn, fishermen are already waist deep in the sea water, casting. The town swells annually with the influx of beachcombers, birders and fishermen. Our rental house is a simple unit with two bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. It rents for $80 per night. Another local option in town is the Fishermen’s Motel. The rooms are clean and neat, with a refrigerator and microwave. Don’t expect Starbucks in this part of South Texas. The only coffee bar in town has a handmade sign. The restaurants range from classic Texas Barbecue to Mexican food to seafood. More Dining AdventureThere is a romance to this country. As you drive in from Houston, you see flat fields of rice, low slung houses, beef cattle grazing and cottonwood trees. The county’s roots date back to 1685, when French explorer Robert Davelier, Sieur de La Salle, sailed into Matagorda Bay on his famous expedition and founded nearby Fort St. Louis. Later, Stephen F. Austin used the seaports of Matagorda and Brazonia to build his new colony, one of the state’s original 23 counties. The actual town of Matagorda was settled in 1829, and the Republic of Texas created Matagorda County in 1836. In Bay City, which is the county seat, we visited A & A Barbecue for lunch. Owner Alan Korenek took us out in back to inspect his smoker. He uses pecan wood to fire the huge black smoker, where he is working on brisket, chicken and sausage, He started the business in 1976. A & A has long lines for its classic Texas barbecue and specialties like fried catfish and okra. I’ve always had a weakness for ladies’ tea rooms. I found my elegant ladies’ tea this time at Lagniappe Tea Room, also in Bay City. The atmosphere is a contrast to the A & A’s earthiness. Lagniappe sits right on the square in Bay City. Half of its space is devoted to a shop which sells mostly Christmas ornaments. In the long, olive-colored tearoom, the chair backs are made of teaspoons. The menu features a number of $6.95 entrees, like chicken salad, roast beef and club sandwich. We chose the broccoli and cheese soup of the day. For dessert, we tried the Lagniappe version of pecan pie. The pie was “gooless,” featuring a meringue crust and a whipped cream topping. The dessert menu also included a chocolate sin cake (cake with ice cream and chocolate sauce) and a single-layer chocolate cake.
Our final culinary adventure in Matagorda County was an oyster roast at sunset on the beach. Our hosts sawed open native bay oysters. We ate them raw with cocktail sauce or cooked on the grill until they popped open. We washed it all down with Texas beer. If You’re Going: Where to Stay: The Getaway and Beyond Vacation House houses Fisherman’s Motel Where to Go: Lagniappe Tea Room The Blessing Hotel Mad Island Marsh Preserve Matagorda County Birding Nature Center Images by Susan Scott Schmidt |
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In this bird paradise, the jewel in the crown is the Texas Nature Conservancy’s Mad Island Marsh Nature Preserve. As I approached Mad Island Marsh on my visit, a great, black cloud of birds headed out, making a racket. “They are Brewer’s blackbirds,” explained Cathy Porter, the conservation, education and outreach coordinator for the Texas Nature Conservancy.
Mad Island Marsh is the ideal place to grab your binoculars and go birdwatching. In 2003, the National Audubon Society counted 2.5 million species migrating through its 7000 acres. In a 24-hour period, 243 species were spotted. Snow geese and sandhill cranes have been seen, along with white ibis and black bellied whistling ducks.
After visiting Mad Island Marsh, we found ourselves on the Colorado River with Captain J.P. Parker and his boat, the Pathfinder. A retired postal employee turned sea captain, Parker is the classic “old salt,” who knows the waters like the back of his hand. He has a pair of “Texas fighting horns” from a bull attached to the hood of his pickup truck. We boarded his boat next to a “swing bridge,” one of only two left in the state of Texas.
Our friends tried the nearby Blessing Hotel in the town of Blessing. They reported that it was good, traditional country fare like fried, chicken, biscuits and gravy, and chicken-friend steak.