Armand Bayou Nature Center Part 2

I ended my last post about The Armand Bayou Nature Center at the Interpretive Building. Entering this building you will find various reptiles and amphibians on display. On the outside you can choose from several  paths to other areas of the nature center, that branch out from this central location. Next to the Interpretive Building is a bird blind, with feeders, fountain and bath. The trail heads for the three main hiking trails is located here also.

Bird Blind 

Viewing wall of bird blind.

Bird blind interior viewing area.

Fountain and pond, viewed from bird blind.

Trail heads.

Armand Bayou Nature Center trail map.

The three main trails are the 1.32 mile Martyn Trail, the 1.38 mile Karankawa Trail and the 1.5 mile Lady Bird Trail. On this visit I walked the Martyn and Lady Bird trails. Even though I am a novice hiker, I found both of these trails easy. On both the trail I walked were many downed and broken trees, that provide evidence of the damage done by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Martyn Trail

• Martyn Trail is 1.32 miles in length
• Loop Trail
• Has a Scenic Bayou Overlook
• Wildlife Viewing Platform
• Access to the Boat House 

Tree uprooted by Hurricane Ike

Fallen trees provide hiding places and homes for wildlife.

Decomposers like worm, bacteria and fungi will gradually break down these tree, where they will add important nutrients the the soil.

View along Martyn Trail.

Martyn Trail

Martin Trail

Trail Sign

View from the Bayou Overlook

Cormorant seen from the Bayou Overlook

There is a Wildlife Observation Platform along the Martyn Trail.

Wildlife Observation Platform, Martyn Trail.

View from observation plantform.

Related articles

• Armand Bayou Nature Center Part 1

Armand Bayou Nature Center Part 1

The next series of posts will be about my recent visit to Armand Bayou Nature Center in Pasadena, Texas. This was my first visit to Armand Bayou Nature Center, but it will not be my last. There are three main trails each a little over a mile long, with the longest at 1.5 miles.
After paying, you begin by exiting the back of the admission building where you will see the Hawk display. From the hawk display follow the boardwalk as it twists it's way through the woods and over a pond. There is a covered deck at the pond, that allows viewing of wildlife, while protected from the sun. Following the boardwalk the it's end, you will come to the Education (Interpretive) Building that has live animal displays, such as turtles and snakes. The Education Building serves as a sort of cross-road to all the other activities found at Armand Bayou Nature Center. I will write more about my visit in the next posts.

Sculpture at the entrance road. 

Close-up of Sculpture

Entrance to Armand Bayou Nature Center

Map posted near the entrance to the nature center.

Hawk House, Admission Building in the background.

Hawks

Boardwalk leading from the Admission Building to the Interpretive Building. 

This Marsh Rabbit, (Sylvilagus palustris) ran from under the boardwalk as I was going by.

Pond along boardwalk.

Pond and Boardwalk.

Covered observation deck overlooking the pond. 

Iris growing at the pond's edge.

Spanish Moss clinging to oak trees.

Interpretive Building at the end of the boardwalk trail.