Then & Now Classic Birding Route

1622 12th St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide approaches from the north on Texas 35, calling out the Big Tree and surrounding habitat as the first landmark — exactly as visitors from Houston still arrive today. Then as now, the live oaks along Lamar Beach Road held migrant warblers in spring and wintering sparrows. Driving south, St. Charles Bay opens to your left. Across the water: Black Jack Peninsula. Now: The 1,000-year-old tree still stands. State Champion Live Oak since 1969.

202 Lamar Beach Rd, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide describes this stretch of Lamar Beach Road along St. Charles Bay as prime habitat — open salt marsh with shorebirds and wading birds. With a scope, Whooping Cranes could sometimes be spotted across Black Jack Peninsula. The flounder fishing along the shoreline was exceptional. Now: The alligator pond is a reliable stop year-round. The flounder shoreline access is mostly gone — development has taken the bank. The cranes still winter across the bay.

202 S Palmetto St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide lists Goose Island State Recreational Area as the primary recommended site in the region — 307 acres at the junction of Aransas, Copano, and St. Charles Bays. Address then: Star Route 1, Box 105, Rockport TX. Phone: (512) 729-2858. Now: Entry fee required. The park road has several marsh overlooks — drive slowly. The infrastructure has improved significantly since 1989 but the birds are the same.

Goose Island State Park, 202 S. Palmetto St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide notes multiple overlook vantages along the park road for scanning open water and marsh. Now: The overlook platforms give elevated views over the interior marsh. Roseate Spoonbills and Great Blue Herons work the shallows below. These views are exactly what the 1989 guide directed birders toward.

Goose Island State Park, 202 S. Palmetto St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then and Now: The interior marsh pier puts you directly over the shallows — close enough to watch herons stalk and strike. In winter, the marsh holds a reliable mix of wading birds, diving ducks, and occasionally Whooping Cranes if water levels are right.

Goose Island State Park Fishing Pier, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide described this as the end of the park road — a prime vantage over the mouth of St. Charles Bay toward Black Jack Peninsula. 'With luck and a scope, birders might spot Whooping Cranes across Black Jack Peninsula.' Now: The cranes still use Black Jack in winter. In cold months, White Pelicans gather here in mass — sometimes hundreds at a time on the water. The fishing pier is always active with birds diving and loafing alongside the anglers.

The Reserve at St. Charles Bay, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide called this stretch 'No Man's Land' — a salt marsh where Whooping Cranes could be spotted across Black Jack Peninsula. The guide warned that marsh roads could be impassable after moderate rain. Flounder fishing along the shoreline was some of the best on the coast. Now: The Reserve at St. Charles Bay. A gated community of million-dollar homes sits on what was open salt marsh. The flounder shoreline is behind a security gate. The marsh roads the guide warned about are private driveways. This is the most dramatic change on the entire 1989 route — 37 years of real estate development compressed into one gated entrance sign.

Copano Bay Causeway South, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide directs birders to 'Oystercatcher Point' immediately after crossing the causeway — prime habitat for American Oystercatchers and shorebirds along the rocky causeway riprap. Now: The south causeway cabanas offer a sheltered overlook of Copano Bay. In winter, White Pelicans use this area heavily. The oystercatchers are still here — check the riprap along the causeway base.

4701 Loop 1781, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide describes extensive birding along FM 1781 — live oak stands, thickets, marshes, ponds, and mudflats. An unpaved U-shaped road was noted for sparrows and passerines. An oil company pond supported Olivaceous Cormorants — now called Neotropic Cormorants. Now: Howard Murph Memorial Park at 4701 Loop 1781. Named for Howard Murph, longtime Rockport city leader. The cabana overlook and the surrounding live oak corridor preserve the FM 1781 birding the guide described.

1240 Airport Road, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide directs birders along FM 1781 past Old Salt Lake Road and Pouzee's Pier — both noted for shorebirds and marsh birds. Both are now gone. Old Salt Lake Road was still on the original Aransas Pathways site list but was removed due to access issues. Pouzee's Pier no longer exists. Now: Airport Road birding site #31 preserves the FM 1781 birding character — open freshwater with reliable wading birds and migratory shorebirds. This is where the 1989 route and the 2026 route most clearly diverge.

900 Rattlesnake Point Rd, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): 'Copano Cove / Rattlesnake Point Road' — the 1970 NOAA chart and the 1989 guide agree on the name. The guide lists this section of FM 1781 as prime shorebird habitat. Moore's Pond (still at 2520 FM 1781, site #16) was noted nearby — it still exists by the same name. Now: The kayak launch at Rattlesnake Point gives you the same view of Copano Bay the 1989 birders had. But this shoreline hides something the 1989 guide didn't mention. Looking across the water toward Live Oak Point, you are looking at the site of Fort Aranzazu — Spain's coastal military outpost established in 1766. It wasn't a stone fort like Goliad or Presidio La Bahía. It was a military outpost on the point that guarded the approaches to El Copano, controlled everything that came into Copano Bay, and stopped smugglers, pirates, and French traders from slipping along the coast. In 1785, Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez officially opened El Copano as a port of entry for Spanish Texas, formally establishing Fort Aránzazu as the region's first customs house. After Mexican independence in 1821, the fort's military significance faded. Today HEB operates that point as a partner recreational area — no trace of the fortification remains. James Power incorporated Aransas City on January 28, 1839, stretching from Live Oak Point south along this shoreline. Power built his first home here in 1837, added a commissary, and laid out the town after Texas Independence. Aransas City served as the seat of Refugio County and held the Republic of Texas customhouse — the westernmost port in Texas before Corpus Christi was founded. Rival port Lamar lobbied President Mirabeau Lamar to relocate the customhouse. Power protested and lost. Aransas City ceased to exist by 1847. There are no remaining structures, but the History Center for Aransas County holds archaeological findings from the site.

Cape Velero Dr access area, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): 'Cape Velero wetlands' specifically named in the guide — one of the reliable shorebird stops along FM 1781. The Ruth and John Lewis Wildlife Sanctuary gate area was also noted in this section. Now: Cape Velero birding site #20 preserves that wetland access. Shorebirds still use the flats in migration and in winter.

490 Port Bay Club Rd, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): 'Port Bay Club Road' — the guide notes coastal prairie meeting tidal flats, good for shorebirds and wading birds in any season. Now: Port Bay Road birding site #23 at 490 Port Bay Club Rd. The access and habitat are largely unchanged — one of the stops where 1989 and 2026 look the most similar.

1429 S Church St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): The guide's entire introduction is built around Connie Hagar's legacy. She moved to Rockport in 1935, made daily birding rounds for 35 years, and convinced the skeptical ornithological world that this coast was extraordinary. She died in 1973. The guide, published 16 years after her death, still frames everything through what she discovered. Now: 1429 S. Church St — the sanctuary named in her honor. 6.25 acres of oak motte and native grasses. In spring migration, every oak can be dripping with warblers. The loop ends here, where it always did.

319 Broadway St, Rockport, TX 78382

Then (1989): 'Rockport Beach' noted in the guide as a shorebird and colonial waterbird area — the beach and bay access made it reliable in any season. Now: Entry fee required. Drive all the way to the back of the park to reach Bird Island and the protected nesting colony — Reddish Egrets, Black Skimmers, and Tricolored Herons. Don't stop at the front beach.

Fulton Beach Rd, Fulton, TX 78358

Then (1989): 'Fulton Beach' noted in the guide as part of the loop's return — consistent shoreline access for Brown Pelicans, gulls, terns, and in winter, diving ducks just offshore. Now: The seawall along Fulton Beach Road offers the same reliable views. Scan the water from the pulloffs — Common Loon and American White Pelican are regular in winter.

Fulton Beach Rd, Fulton, TX 78358

Then (1989): The guide completes the loop here — freshwater ponds along the road noted for ducks and wading birds, then back north toward the Big Tree to begin again. Now: The Fulton Beach Road ponds are still productive after rains and in winter. This is where the 1989 loop closed. So does ours.