One Tranquil Bike Ride on Wildlife Drive at Laguna Atascosa

I took a tranquil bike ride on Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge spreads across more than 110,000 acres in Cameron County, Deep South Texas. It borders the Laguna Madre. Yesterday, January 18, 2024, most of the Refuge was closed to all but licensed hunters. Wildlife Drive is always open.

Before I started, I saw smoke from a controlled burn to the south. The Fish and Wildlife Service had announced a burn on approximately 800 acres. The prevailing wind carried the smoke northward, creating a haze over the Refuge.

I pedaled my Surly east on Wildlife Drive to Plover Point, a deck overlooking the Laguna Madre. Low tide left the glistening water 50 yards from the deck. Dozens of herons and egrets and other birds waded in the shallow water.

Farther along Wildlife Drive, along the shore of the Laguna Madre, I watched Snowy and Great Egrets, Great Blue and Tri-colored Herons feeding in a small pond north of the road. To the south, at the water’s edge, an Osprey with a half-eaten fish perched on a mangrove branch.

In the distance, through the gray haze, I spotted four figures on the road. Coyotes, I thought. I stopped and looked through my binoculars. Turkeys? They were too tall for turkeys. I pedaled a bit closer. Four Sandhill Cranes fed by the side of the road. I tried to get closer, but they spread their broad wings and flew north, landing in the coastal prairie 100 yards north of the road.

Farther along, I stopped to watch a Reddish Egret fishing. Scores of Redhead Ducks bobbed in the water not far away.

Halfway around the Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive loop, I took a third of a mile detour to the south on Moranco Blanco Trail. I stopped at a lake to watch a pair of Roseate Spoonbills feeding in shallow water.

Back on Wildlife Drive, I continued pedaling along the second half of the loop through thick brush where Green Jays and Northern Cardinals and Northern Mockingbirds flew across the road as I passed.  The road crossed prairie alive with Long-billed Curlews and Eastern Meadow Larks that took flight at my approach.

Once I completed the loop, I took another detour along Lakeview Drive to Gator Pond Trail. I stopped at the mostly dry Alligator Pond and then rode to Osprey Overlook, which overlooks the very low Laguna Atascosa. From there I returned to my starting point, the Visitor’s Center.

Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive is always a great place for a tranquil bike ride. I never know what I might see. I have never been disappointed.