Photo from the North American Breeding Bird Survey
Last updated 2/15/96
"How hard is it to see the Prairie-Chickens at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge?" is one of the sadest questions I'm asked. The
bad news is you can't see them there, or anywhere else open to the public on the UTC. The Attwater
Prairie-Chicken NWR is open to the public still, but the few areas that have APC on them are closed to the
Public. From a population in the hundreds a few years ago to less than 2 dozen the Attwater NWR population has crashed due I'm told avian cholera. There is also a small population on private property in Galveston County.
The good news is the captive breeding program is doing so well that they will soon have more Prairie-Chickens than they know what to do with. Hopes are high that they can soon be reintroduced to the wild.
It is only the Attwater subspecies of the Greater-Prairie Chicken that is endangered. Stable populations exist in
other states. For more information see the
Attwater's Prairie-Chicken Page.
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Greater (Attwater's) Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus cupido
Photo from the North American Breeding Bird Survey