Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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COVID UPDATE
Bird Banding is OPEN on August 21, 2021.
GCBO Headquarters and Plant Nursery are now open 8:30-4:30 Mon-Fri!
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Dear Volunteers, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory's Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza is coming up on September 18th and 25th, and we need some help to make it happen! XHX volunteers can man the nature store, help run the activities and booths, sell tickets, and more! We also need help setting up the day before. For all of our Master Naturalist volunteers, this does count toward your MN volunteer hours! If you are interested in volunteering or have questions about XHX, please contact Celeste at csilling@gcbo.org or info@gcbo.org or call us at 979-480-0999. Thanks for all you do!
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From August 15 through November 30, the Smith Point Hawk Watch is held daily at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area where GCBO has a 30 foot observation tower. Smith Point, on the eastern shore of Galveston Bay, is a natural concentration point for southwardly moving raptors in fall migration. At the peak of fall migration, it’s not unusual to see thousands of Broad-winged Hawks, the most numerous species that migrates through Smith Point, on a single day. The hawk watch is staffed daily from 8:00 am to 4:00 PM CDT. You are invited to come out any day during the season! |
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Great Texas Birding Classic Grant |
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GCBO has been awarded a GTBC Grant for re-vegetation at Quintana!
The Great Texas Birding Classic is an annual birding competition put on by Texas parks and Wildfire. Years ago GCBO used to host the event, but handed it back over to TPWD after many years. This year we were fortunate that one of the winning teams chose GCBO to receive a re-vegetation grant for the sanctuaries at Quintana!
The $1,000 Upper Texas Coast Big Sit! Conservation Grant was chosen by the team Centerpoint Wirebirds, who were sponsored by Centerpoint Energy, and then awarded it to our Quintana Sanctuaries Re-Veg Project which we had submitted along with many other great organizations.
GCBO had our own team as well, but we came in a respectable 2nd place for this division.
Here are a few parts of TPWD’s press release:
AUSTIN—At the close of the biggest, longest, wildest birdwatching tournament in the country, organizers of the Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC) announced a huge philanthropic milestone. Thanks to Texans who have been forming teams for a quarter-century to watch and listen for as many species of birds as possible, funds raised for conservation projects has topped $1 million.
“As the tournament continues to grow, we look forward to donating even more towards habitat conservation projects in Texas,” said Shelly Plante, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Nature Tourism Manager. “It’s thrilling to see so many families, kids and friends connect with nature through the event.”
This year, team registrations and sponsorships to the monthlong, 191-team tournament made it possible for the GTBC to award $44,000 in conservation grants to on-the-ground habitat acquisition, restoration and enhancement projects throughout the state.
It was a banner year for participation in the GTBC as well, with a 60 percent increase in the number of participants and a 38 percent growth in the number of registered teams. Records were broken for the number of Big Sit! and Sunrise to Noon teams. There were several first-time teams and 15 youth teams. In all, 421 species were identified during the tournament by more than 1,000 participating birdwatchers throughout the state.
Thanks to GTBC and the Centerpoint Wirebirds for awarding us with this re-veg grant!
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Our Summer Bird Camp was a whole lot of fun this year! We learned about birds, ecology, conservation, and more. Some of the highlights included catching bugs, visiting the beach, birding in the woods, and build bird houses. Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make this camp possible and thanks to all of the awesome campers who joined us this year! We hope to see you next summer! |
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Our SPLASh project partner, American Bird Conservancy, has teamed up with Bird Collective to create a new clothing line. When you buy hats, shirts, and water bottles from this collection, it benefits SPLASh and the birds we are trying to protect. Plus, all of their items are covered in birds (our favorite!). Shop the collection here! |
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Bird banding is open to the public again! Come on down to our headquarters in Lake Jackson on August 21 to watch our banders Robert and Kay Lookingbill band birds. Banding runs from 8 to noon, we hope to see you there! |
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Corporate Matching Programs |
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Did you know that many corporations have a donation matching program? Corporations can match their employees' volunteer hours and/or donations to nonprofit organizations like GCBO! These types of programs are great because they double your contributions to the causes that you care about! If you work (or are retired from) a corporation, ask them about their matching program today! |
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Come birding with GCBO and our Executive Director, Martin Hagne! Have a great time birding, exploring, enjoying some extraordinary scenery, dining on local cuisine, and of course seeing great birds! We always hook up with at least one local guide for the best experience. Here are our wonderful upcoming trips, but hurry, our trips are selling out fast!! You can get more information on or website or send Martin an email.
For all trips below with availability, please go to our website for trip information and to register.
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August 16-23, 2021 - SOLD OUT!
October 14-25, 2021 - SOLD OUT!
February 2-7, 2022 - SOLD OUT!
March 5-13, 2022 with Tikal Extension March 13-16 2022- Only 2 Spots Left!
June 2022 – SOLD OUT!
Oaxaca, Mexico
November or December 2022
Trip info to be published soon
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Recycle Your Old Technology and Help Birds |
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The Wireless Alliance is a company that recovers and recycles cell phones, smart phones, tablets, and other consumer recyclables.
We will be collecting these items for Wireless Alliance to keep them out of landfills as well as raise money for our conservation efforts. If you have old technology such as a phone, charger, tablet, or other accessories, consider bringing it to GCBO!
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You can help support GCBO's mission in several important ways!
Save a Tree and some $!
We are trying to go as paperless as we can to save some trees and quite a bit on printing and mailing costs. We would love if you would let us email you instead of snail mailing a hard copy of any correspondence, including your future copies of the Gulf Crossings. Please email or call Tricia to say: “Hey, GCBO, please start emailing me things! Here is my email…” Thanks!
DONATE NOW on our website to support our conservation programs.
BECOME A MEMBER and receive our twice a year newsletter and a 10% discount in our nature store.
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Make an in-kind donation to support our sanctuary needs. |
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Black Oil Sunflower Seed and Chicken Scratch
We feed year-round here at GCBO, and during migration at Quintana. We stock our GCBO feeders to help augment natural foods, and this also helps our monthly banding research project.
One Gallon Plastic Pots
We can use your used 1 gallon nursery plant pots for the Growery. We go through a lot of 1 gallon pots when potting up new plants. Let’s recycle them here. We’ll take one or a hundred!
Five Gallon Buckets
We could also use a handful of 5 gallon plastic buckets with handle in good shape.
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Have you updated your email preferences yet? |
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Get emails that matter to you. At the very bottom of this email there is an "update profile" or "unsubscribe" link that will take you to a page where you can make your selections. We now have specific lists for things like volunteering, events, bird of the month, and more. Please take a moment to update your preferences if you haven't already.
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When you shop at Kroger, you can support GCBO! |
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GCBO is a registered charity through Kroger's Community Rewards Program. This means that you can register your Kroger Plus Card online and select GCBO as the organization of your choice. Every time you use your Kroger Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion back to GCBO! This is an easy way to support GCBO while you shop - your donations help us continue to protect birds and birding habitat around the Gulf Coast and beyond. To register your Plus Card, click here. Our charity number is #DN782.
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Support GCBO When You Shop on Amazon! |
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Do you shop on Amazon? Did you know you can do that same shopping on Amazon Smile and support GCBO with every purchase?
Just go to the Amazon Smile website and select GCBO as your charity of choice and then shop, shop, shop!
GCBO will receive a donation for every purchase you make. Thanks so much!
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