Wildlife

From October to March, thousands of geese feeding and resting in the marsh can be heard, if not actually seen. Ducks on the refuge can number up to one hundred thousand with more than two dozen species, including the mottled duck, a year-round resident.

During the spring, large concentrations of migrating songbirds fly through the upper Texas coast, with peak migration occurring in April. During this time, woodlots may be speckled with these colorful neotropical migrants resting after their exhausting 600 mile journey across the Gulf of Mexico. Neotropical migratory birds are those species which nest in temperate North America and winter in Central and South America. Warblers, vireos, grosbeaks, tanagers, orioles and buntings are Water Mocassin
but a few of the nearly 280 species of birds found on both refuges.

Mottled Ducks Once on the brink of extinction, American alligators may be seen sunning on a bank, floating in the bayous or crossing the roads. McFaddin NWR has one of the highest density of alligators found in the state of Texas. Most easily seen during the spring, alligators are often visible throughout the summer and fall.

Some of the mammal species found on the refuges include muskrat, river otter, raccoon, striped skunk, bobcat, gray fox and coyote. Some particularly large, darkly colored coyotes are most likely descendants of hybrid crosses with red wolves. American Bittern Although the red wolf once roamed the coastal marshes, they are no longer found in Southeast Texas. In general, most mammals are nocturnal and are not commonly seen by refuge visitors during the day.