Slideshow: Armand Bayou Nature Center

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A short drive south of Houston near a major college campus, NASA, and Ellington Field, lays one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the United States. The Armand Bayou Nature Center is a 2500 acre preserve composed of water, marsh, woodland, and prairie habitats.

Visitors can stroll along a boardwalk through a marsh and forest on their way to animal displays, an Education Center, Butterfly Gardens, and an 1800′s farm site.

There are four major trails that lead you through all the habitats that were once common place in southeast Texas before the urban growth and industrial development of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Martyn trail goes through a dense woodland forest with tall canopies, mid-level shrubs, and many flowering plants on it’s way to meeting up with Marsh and Karankawa trails that lead to a boathouse and several lookout points over the bayou and waterways.

The Prairie and Lady Bird trails explore the ecotone separating the forest from the open prairie with a prairie platform and boardwalk.

There are many educational activities and events and the sunrise and sunset pontoon boat rides are the best way to see the bayou and waterways with its wading birds, birds of prey, and even an alligator or two. If you are feeling a little more active, there are also guided canoeing and paddle tours.

I visited the center for the first time this month as a part of the March assignment for Assignment Houston. I look forward to going back many more times, especially during the bird migrations in the spring and fall.

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Gallery: Armand Bayou Nature Center

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