Eagle Lake: Goose-Hunting Capital of the World

Eagle Lake has long billed itself as the Goose-Hunting Capital of the World, and the claim is no idle boast: each winter, vast flocks of snow geese and other waterfowl descend on the flooded rice fields of the coastal prairie around town, drawing hunters from far beyond Texas. The connection between the rice and the geese is the whole story here — when farmers began growing rice in Colorado County in the early twentieth century, the winter-flooded fields became an irresistible feeding ground for migrating birds. This short drive visits the museum, the old railroad hotel, and the markers that tell how rice culture and a natural lake made this small town famous. Keep to the public roads and picture the sky filling with geese on a cold January dawn.