After leaving Winnie, TX on Monday, we drove a short way around Houston (with no issues, thankfully) to the southwest side of the city. Brazos Bend State Park is about 45 minutes southwest of the city. It is over 5,000 acres that were donated by a family named Hale in the 1970's. There are several man-made and natural lakes, and many bike and hike trails. The campsites are very nicely spaced apart, and there is a visitor center with knowledgeable staff. One of them took out a couple of snakes and a baby alligator for us to "pet". While there are plenty of gators in the waterways, there are none near the campground, so no worries.
Foggy spiderweb 
Our campsite, with Live oak behind
The birding here is quite good. We have already seen two life birds (a bird you have never seen before, for non birders). They are black bellied whistling duck and crested carcara. You will have to turn the sound up to hear them whistling.
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| Black Bellied Whistling Duck. Pink bill & feet! |
The banks of this lake are all torn up by feral hogs, We have not seen any. They do a lot of damage!
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| I love the shape of these Cypress trees |
Muddy Brazos river 
They have had a LOT of rain here.
We biked the trail that runs along the Brazos River. There has been a lot of rain in the area, there is lots of water. Today we will do some more birding in the park and then take a drive to Galveston, just to see what there is there. Tomorrow we depart here for Mustang Island state park, near Corpus Christie to do some more birding, and try for Whoopping Crane.
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