The thunder of 40,000 snow geese taking flight, the salty breeze off the Texas Gulf, or the sight of a 12-foot alligator loafing on a muddy bank make a trip to Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex a sensory banquet in any season.

Three national wildlife refuges -Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy - form a vital complex of coastal wetlands harboring more than 300 bird species. They serve as an end point of the Central Flyway for waterfowl in winter, and an entry point for neotropical migratory songbirds tired from a 600-mile Gulf crossing from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Near Greater Houston, the refuge complex offers haven for both wildlife and people. For wildlife, the expanse of salt and freshwater marshes, sloughs, ponds, coastal prairies, and bottomland forest represent feasting and lodging for all or part of the year. For people, these vestiges of wild Texas offer exceptional wildlife watching.

Freshwater sloughs wind through salt marshes. Rare, native bluestem prairie grasses grace the uplands. The greater the number of habitats, the richer the ecology. Brazoria NWR is no exception. It has a key location on the Texas Gulf which helps Freeport draw one of the highest Audubon Christmas bird counts in the nation - more than 200 species.

The Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge Discovery Center, home for the Discovery Environmental Education Program, is located within the refuge's Big Slough Recreation Area. This is where you can pick up helpful information on all of three refuges, including maps, brochures and details on where wildlife is being seen. This is also where you can learn more about the habitat found on the Brazoria Refuge. Restroom facilities are available here for the public.

From the intersection of Highway 288 and FM 523 in Angleton, take FM 523 to FM 2004 intersection. Continue on 523 for 5.5 miles to County Road 227. Turn left on CR 227 and proceed 1.7 miles to the refuge entrance. Big Slough Recreation Area is located at 2022 County Road 227, Freeport, Texas, 77541. It is an additional three miles beyond the entrance gate, which automatically locks at sunset.