Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566
|
|
|
Events Canceled/Postponed:
|
|
Spring Fling
is canceled this year.
Bird Banding
is canceled for May, but look for our online banding session. Scroll down to learn more.
The Spring Native Plant Sale
is canceled.
Summer Bird Camp
is canceled, but look for our new Saturday Family Days late this summer and fall!
GCBO Headquarters and Plant Nursery
is closed until at least May 18 as we are not deemed an essential business.
|
|
A Note From Our Director
GCBO During Covid 19
I hope all of you are safe and well! I want to thank everyone that has reached out to wish GCBO staff well, and the many that have made donations or online purchases to help offset the many programs and events that were canceled due to Covid19. Thanks also for the seed and orange donations for Quintana!
Our Lake Jackson headquarters will remain closed to visitors at least through May 18 when the next state order is released. Our staff will keep working, mostly from home, but some field work will resume.
For now the Quintana sanctuaries will remain open to visitors, but you must practice social distancing, staying 6 feet apart from any other person. The Town of Quintana is monitoring this, and will close it down if the rules are not adhered to! Please park in the marked parking area.
As you know, all GCBO events have been cancelled or postponed. Brew on the Bayou was moved to Nov 7
th so please put that on your calendar! Our May bird banding session will not be open to the public, but we will do a virtual banding day online so stay tuned for that! Summer Bird Camp is canceled, but we will have wonderful opportunities late summer and fall on Saturdays for families to come out and enjoy Summer Bird Camp programs together! More on that soon.
We still need your help with so many events cancelled. Here’s a few ways you can help our conservation work continue:
·
Our Host Station normally takes in many generous donations during Spring Fling, so instead you can go online to
www.gcbo.org (or mail a check) and make a donation.
Thank you!
-
Martin
|
|
With the Stay-at-home order, you might be missing some of your favorite birds or wishing you could take a walk around the GCBO trails. Worry not! We're creating more and more online content to connect you with nature. We've got a YouTube channel now where you can watch relaxing birding videos, fun educational videos, and videos about GCBO. Take a look
here.
|
|
Subscribe to GCBO's "Bird of the Month"
|
|
GCBO's Bird of the Month is a monthly article currently written by our Board President Mike Williams. These articles highlight one stand-out species, featuring information about their habitat, geography, recognizable features, and fun facts.
Each article is accompanied by a downloadable high-definition version of Mike's professional photo of the bird. To read more, check out past articles
here.
To subscribe, sign up
here.
|
|
In Memory of Cliff Peterson
|
|
Sunset at Smith Point- photo by Cliff Peterson
|
|
It is with a heavy heart that we report the death of Cliff Peterson. Earlier this month, Cliff passed away from complications associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Cliff was a longtime GCBO volunteer and supporter. He was especially supportive of the Smith Point Hawk Watch, where he was a volunteer bird counter. When Parkinson’s inhibited his ability to count the birds, he continued volunteering by entering the data into the hawkcount.org website, even after he relocated to Oregon with his wife Sharon. We at Gulf Coast Bird Observatory truly appreciated all of Cliff's invaluable help and loved working with him.
Cliff was an avid birder and photographer and these hobbies kept him busy throughout his retirement. His wife, Sharon, shared that they had a pair of Varied Thrushes visiting their yard this spring and Cliff enjoyed watching them through his last days.
Cliff will be greatly missed by all who knew him. A memorial celebration of Cliff’s life will be held at a later date given the current medical crisis. In lieu of flowers or gifts, his family asks that donations be made to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory in his name. We are honored that Cliff chose to give his time and talents to us, and are glad that we can continue to protect the birds that he loved.
|
|
Join GCBO's Online Bird School
|
|
Welcome to GCBO's Online Bird School!
Stuck at home in your nest? In these trying times, we thought it would be a cool idea to publish some online lessons about birds, conservation, and more!
Kids and adults who are staying home can become birders, researchers, and wildlife advocates from their living rooms. Right now, we have ten courses, all of which are completely free of charge.
Subjects include Birding, Avian Research, Coastal Cleanup and more. For smaller bird lovers, there's the children's book Winnie the Wilson's Plover. For more experienced birders, there's birding flashcards.
We are working on even more lessons, so check back in every few days for something new. We hope that these lessons brighten your day and keep you in touch with nature.
https://gcbo-school.thinkific.com/
|
|
Visit Our Online Nature Store
|
|
You can now buy GCBO apparel and merchandise on our website! Help us, help birds, and help yourself to some awesome merchandise!
|
|
Bird Banding Moved Online May 8
|
|
Due to covid 19, Bird Banding has been moved online for the month of May. We plan to broadcast the banding session on Facebook Live. You will be able to ask questions and comment through the chat feature and we will be able to answer live! Tune in on Friday
May 8 8 AM-12 NOON.
|
|
Adopt an Oystercatcher Pair and Keep Up With All the Mating Season Drama!
|
|
It’s time again folks! We found the first American Oystercatcher nest on January 31. 12 & unbanded are leading the way as usual. Don't miss your chance to keep up with all the drama. If you would like to support this project (and we hope you would!) you can adopt a pair of oystercatchers for a $100 donation. You will receive a certificate for each member of your pair with their banding data and Sue will update you monthly on your pair's progress throughout the nesting season. When possible she will send you photos of nests and chicks. You can adopt your pair here:
adopt a pair of birds
or call and talk to Tricia or Sue. Thanks everyone for your continued support of this important project!
|
|
Mark your Calendars for July 18!
|
|
Upcoming GCBO Birding Trips
|
|
Cuba Birding Expedition - 1 opening!
October 15-26, 2020
Due to a cancellation we have one single opening for the upcoming Cuba trip!
Join GCBO for a trip of a lifetime! GCBO have worked on several Cuban bird conservation initiatives over the years. Here is your chance to join Executive Director Martin Hagne, and Conservation Research Director, Sue Heath, in not only collecting valuable bird data over much of Cuba, but also visit a migration banding station in the most bird diverse area of Cuba, Guanahacabibes!
The expedition includes 12 days and 11 nights. That’s 10 1/2 days of intense birding! It will include a chance for all but two of Cuba’s 28 endemic bird species! This will be a fairly fast paced exploration, with some early breakfasts and long days and much travel between sites, all intended to explore as many habitats as possible for the highest species count.
Our GCBO trips also help fund our continuing bird conservation work! Come bird with us, have a great time, and help us fulfil our mission!
You can get more information on or
website
or send
Martin
an email.
|
|
Have you updated your email preferences yet?
|
|
We're working on fine tuning our email list so that you only get emails that matter to you. At the very bottom of each email there is an "
update profile
" or "
unsubscribe
" link you can click that will take you to a page where you can make your selections. We now have specific lists for things like volunteer news, special announcements, events, bird of the month, and more. Please take a moment to
update your preferences
if you haven't already. Thank you!
|
|
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.
|
|
Make an in-kind donation to support our sanctuary needs.
|
|
Tents
We are in need of a few more 12’ x 12’ pop up tents/canopies. If you have one or more in good contention, we will put them to good use for kid’s camp, XHX, and Brew on the Bayou!
Rain Gauge
With all the rain from Imelda we realized we need a good quality rain gauge so we can keep track of how much rain we receive at our headquarters.
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!
|
|
Now when you shop at Kroger, you can support GCBO!
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
