The Nature Center, season by season

500 acres on a peninsula between Burnet, Crystal and Scott bays, on land that used to be the Brownwood subdivision until Hurricane Alicia took it in 1983. The city let the bay have it and turned what was left into the best free-ish thing in Baytown — there's a small fee at the gate — four dollars for an adult, one for a child or a senior — and it's worth ten times that. 317 species of bird have been recorded here, and you don't have to know any of them to have a good morning.

Spring (March–May). The migration. Warblers in the trees along the entrance road, shorebirds on the flats, and the peninsula at its greenest. Go early; by ten the parking is gone on a good weekend. This is the season the boardwalk earns its keep, and the season to bring the binoculars you got for Christmas and never used.

Summer (June–September). Hot by nine, unbearable by noon, and the mosquitoes have opinions. Go at seven, be out by ten. Herons and egrets don't care about the heat; you will. The boardwalk gets real shade after two, if you must. Storms build over the bay most afternoons and you can watch them come.

Fall (October–November). The second migration and the best weather of the year — and the week the whole regional birding world shows up: Baytown Birding Week is November 18 to 22 this year, guided walks and talks across the peninsula. Nurture Nature, the festival, is the second Saturday of October — the one day the peninsula is crowded, and worth it: shuttle from the lot on Decker, guided walks, kids' activities, the Wetlands Center open all day. Otherwise October mornings here are the reason people put up with August.

Winter (December–February). Ducks on the bays, roseate spoonbills in the shallows, sparrows in the grass, and the clearest views of the Fred Hartman you'll get all year. Cold fronts blow through every week or two and the morning after one is the morning to go — the sky is scrubbed and the birds are busy.

The practical part. 6213 Bayway Drive. Open daily; hours on the page are pulled from the city every night and dated. The admission — charged per person, not per car — is on the same page, and we don't hand-type it because it changes. The Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center on the way in is the indoor half: exhibits, live animals, a good rainy-day hour with kids; weekdays 8 to 4, Saturday 10 to 4, closed Sunday. Bring water, bug spray from April on, a hat from May on, and binoculars if you own them. No pets — service animals only. Fishing only in the designated areas, with a Texas license.

En español. El Centro de Naturaleza de Baytown: 500 acres, 317 especies de aves, en lo que fue el vecindario de Brownwood antes del huracán Alicia. Primavera y otoño son las temporadas; en verano vaya a las siete de la mañana.