Birding Texas: Lake Livingston

Lake Livingston is the second largest lake in Texas. Located 80 miles north of Houston, it has 450 miles of shoreline and is over 40 miles long. Bird watching habitats here include the lake, creeks, pine-oak forests, the shoreline, and many more. In addition to bird watching at Lake Livingston in Texas, you can also enjoy fishing, camping, picnicking and sailing. For tips on finding and identifying just a few of the species you may see while bird watching at Lake Livingston in Texas, see below.

Greater Roadrunner. Look for this bird in the open, dry areas near Lake Livingston in Texas. You can identify it while bird watching from its brown, white and buff streaked body, as well as the blue and orange bare skin patch behind each eye. Roadrunners eat insects, snakes, lizards, birds, and anything else they can catch.

Turkey Vulture. Identify this vulture when bird watching near Lake Livingston in Texas from its red, featherless head and neck. The rest of its body is black. You can usually spot them when bird watching in the forests and scrubbier areas near Lake Livingston in Texas. Turkey Vultures are one of the few birds of prey which use their sense of smell to find food.

Little Blue Heron. You'll recognize this medium-sized heron while bird watching from its gray body and purplish-blue head and neck. It also has yellow eyes and a black tip on its gray bill. Young Little Blue Herons are white. Look for them in the ponds and shallow waters of Lake Livingston, where you will see them hunting for insects and crustaceans.

Snowy Egret. This beautiful egret is completely white, with a long black bill and yellow lores. It has yellow eyes and black legs with bright yellow feet. Look for it while bird watching in the shallow waters of the marshes of Lake Livingston in Texas. You'll find it hunting for small fish, insects and crustaceans.

Wood Duck. Look for this beautiful duck year-round in the wooded areas near Lake Livingston in Texas. It is very easy to identify while bird watching from its crested green and purple head, striped in white, as well as its purple-brown breast, white throat, and yellow flanks. Wood Ducks feed on insects, seeds, acorns and fruit. They are one of the few North American ducks that nest in trees.

Pileated Woodpecker. You can identify this woodpecker while bird watching from its sheer size - Pileated Woodpeckers are very large, about the size of a crow. Look for this year-round resident of Lake Livingston in Texas in the tall trees of the forest, digging holes for ants and insects. It has a bright red crest, forehead and mustache, as well as a white neck stripe.

American White Pelican. Look for this summer resident of Lake Livingston in Texas while bird watching along the shores of the lake, where you will easily recognize it from its large, heavy white body. It has a long, pouched bill and broad wings edged in black. White Pelicans do not dive for fish - they scoop them up by dipping their heads below water.

Source list:

Personal experience
http://lake-livingston-texas.com/
http://www.allaboutbirds.com
http://identify.whatbird.com