Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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Our Experience Auction is coming up later this month. This is a great way to support our conservation work, while also having some amazing experiences. Take a look at our list of Auction Items now, then bid on them Nov 18 - Dec 11! |
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Willet Study Paper Published |
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In 2015, GCBO and the Texas MidCoast NWR Complex began a project studying the nesting habits and migratory linkages of breeding Eastern Willets on the Texas Gulf Coast. We trapped birds on the nest for five nesting seasons and applied geolocators to them to track their migratory routes and determine where they went for the winter.
Data from these devices showed that our nesting Willets left Texas in July and flew non-stop 2-5 days to their wintering grounds along the Pacific Coasts of Central and South America. They returned to breed in March again flying non-stop in 3-4 days. The fact that there are wintering Eastern Willets on the Pacific Coast was new to scientific knowledge as all Willets on the Pacific Coast had previously been assumed to be Western Willets.
The paper on this aspect of the study was recently published in Waterbirds available here for review. We are still working on two other papers using this data: one on nest site selection criteria and one on incubation sharing and timing.
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Join us at the Smith Point Hawk Watch from August 15 through November 30. The watch is held from 8:00am to 4:00pm daily at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area where TPWD has a 30 foot observation tower. Smith Point, on the eastern shore of Galveston Bay, is a natural concentration point for raptors migrating south in the fall and we typically record at least 20 species of raptor. 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. Plan your visit on the day of or the day after a cold front and you just may be amazed at all the raptors you will see!
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Shopping for the holidays?
Stop by our nature store or online store (here) for all your gifts!
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GCBO's annual Volunteer Dinner was a great night! Thanks to everyone who came to the dinner and a huge thanks to everyone who volunteered with us this year.
We couldn't do it without you!
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Thanks for a Wonderful Evening on the Bayou
and Smith Point Hawk Watch Celebration!
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We had two truly fun events this past month. First, our Smith Point Hawk Watch Celebration was a great time. We had a Great Horned Owl and a Harris's Hawk from our friends at Wildlife center of Texas, some yummy food, and a great turnout!
Next, we had our Evening on the Bayou fundraiser, which was a new event for us. It was a great time and we raised some money for our conservation work!
Thanks to everyone who came to these events and especially to those who volunteered.
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Thanks to our Evening on the Bayou Sponsors! |
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Bird ID Class: Winter Sparrows of the Upper Texas Coast with Bob Friedrichs |
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Join GCBO board president and Texas Master Naturalist Bob Friedrichs on January 17th, 19th, and 21st for an in-depth look at the fascinating and sometimes frustrating sparrows that inhabit our upper coast counties in the winter. This course will have two weekday evening classroom sessions via Zoom followed by a full-day field trip to coastal prairies, wetlands and woodlands to study these ‘little brown jobs’ and put into practice what we learned during the Zoom sessions. You can expect to learn about 23 species of sparrows and their close cousins that occur annually in the Greater Houston area. Each species account will include:
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Identification basics with photo quizzes
- Typical vocalizations
- Breeding and wintering ranges, and the best local spots for each species
- Habitat and diet information
The course fee of $200.00 includes
- Both classes and the field trip (car caravan for convenient departures)
- Helping save birds, as the fee goes directly to supporting GCBO’s many conservation programs.
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The Upper Texas coast has many great Christmas Bird Counts. GCBO sponsors one count, compiled by our Executive Director, the Brazoria-Columbia Bottomlands CBC, based in Brazoria county. We would love your help!
There are also two other great CBC’s in Brazoria County, and there are many other wonderful counts in our area, across the state, and country.
· San Bernard - Friday, December 16th
· Freeport - Sunday, December 18th
· Brazoria-Columbia - Saturday, December 31st, 2022
Find info about these, or a count near you in Texas here:
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Save the Date for Brew on the Bayou 2023! |
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Welcome back Adam!
Adam is back for another season as an intern at GCBO and will be helping with our education, outreach, research, and general nonprofit work! He was with us earlier this year and always a huge help to us.
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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!!
Our 2022 trips are all sold out! But we have just released our 2023 lineup! A few trips still need more information posted, so stay tune on those, or email Martin mhagne@gcbo.org to be put on list for more info! You can also go to our website to check for trip information and to register.
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November 25 – December 4, 2022- SOLD OUT!
February 2-7, 2023 - SOLD OUT!
February 9-14, 2023 – Only 2 spaces left!
June 24 - July 1, 2023- SOLD OUT
October 12-24, 2023 – SOLD OUT
Boreal Winter Birding — Duluth, Minnesota
February 2024 – Dates and info TBA
Birding Baja Mexico
March 2024 - Dates and info TBA
Birding Summer Maine
June 2024 – Dates and info TBA
Birding Northern Peru and TFFF Trip
2024 – Dates and info TBA
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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.
Sugar
The hummingbirds are coming our way, and we are looking for granulated sugar donations for their sugar water. Please bring it by our headquarters: 299 Hwy 332 W Lake Jackson. Thanks!
Picnic Table
We are looking for a small picnic table to go outside our field house. If you have one to spare, please call 979-480-0999 so we can set up delivery/pick up. Thanks!
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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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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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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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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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