Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, Texas, is an excellent place to view birds and other wildlife and to walk or bike. All unpaved trails are off limits for bikes except for Bobcat Road. Today I left my bike at home and came to the Refuge to walk.
The well-maintained walking trails cover about 12 miles throughout the Refuge. All trails are short, none over 1 ½ miles. There is also the paved, one-way, Wildlife Drive, a loop that twists almost 7 miles through the Refuge. The last mile runs along the top of a levee and is not paved. I walked 7.5 miles on this day.
On the trails my footsteps crunched leaves and twigs. The air smelled of mesquite and decomposing vegetation. Leaves rustled in the breeze and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers called and Northern Mockingbirds sang. I felt cool in the shade of Mesquite and Texas Ebony trees and hot on open trail. Spanish Moss hung from limbs, silver in the sunlight.
From the Visitor’s Center I walked southwest on Cattail Lakes Trail through dense brush and trees. When I reached the intersection of Jaguarundi Trail, I walked south. My phone service considered me in Mexico. The Strava app I use to record walks and bike rides stopped, but I didn’t realize it until later.
The trail goes south, crosses the asphalt Wildlife Drive, and ends at the high bank of the Rio Grande where there is a view up and downstream and of the wooded Mexican bank. Here I noticed that Strava had stopped. I restarted it and then walked north to Wildlife Drive.
On previous walks and bike rides, I saw javelina, coyotes, bobcats, Texas Indigo, Coral and Bull Snakes. I saw dozens of species of birds. On this day I only heard an occasional bird and saw a few ducks in the lakes and a Roadrunner darting here and there beside the road.
From Wildlife Drive I took Resaca Loop Trail to Oriole Trail and on to Cattail Lakes. I spooked a Great Blue Heron that flapped its broad wings and flew low over the water to a distant bank.
I followed Cattail Lakes Trail to Willow Lakes and to Wildlife Drive near the Observation Tower and suspended footbridge. I walked the last half mile to the Visitor’s Center.
A visit to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge never disappoints. Even on a day with no wildlife to be seen, being outdoors is worthwhile.
