We are so grateful to everyone who volunteered with us this year! Our organization would not be able to survive without the help of our wonderful volunteers. We know that it was challenging getting out and helping during 2020, but we are so thankful that you did. We hope that we will see all of our volunteers next year and that you will continue to make this a better world for the birds!

If you would like to donate an experience or other item, please contact mhagne@gcbo.org.

Learn more about the auction here.

This month, GCBO, in partnership with American Bird Conservancy and Black Cat GIS organized a small cleanup of the San Luis Pass. This cleanup was a part of the new S.P.L.A.Sh initiative that our three groups have started together to clean up Gulf waters and shorelines. Read more about S.P.L.A.Sh here.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the cleanup! The birds appreciate it! We picked up over 800 lbs of trash!.

Our next beach cleanup is scheduled for November 14 at the Bolivar! Contact csilling@gcbo.org to get more information.

We are determined to make these cleanups safe for all, so please abide by all Covid safety precautions. We will have extra masks if need be.

Snacks, grabbers, gloves, and water refills will be provided! We encourage same-household families to come together for a fun day on the beach!

Non-breeding season has begun! During this season, GCBO Coastal Biologist, Taylor Bennett, and intern, Sarah Belles are monitoring beaches for Piping Plover, Snowy Plover, Red Knot, and American Oystercatcher. They will be surveying Matagorda Beach, Bryan Beach, Quintana Beach, and Follet’s Island, keeping track of all banded and flagged birds which they report back to their original banders.

Each flag and band combo are specific to each bird like a social security number. Piping Plovers can either have a flag with or without a code or have a flag and colored band combo. Each flag color represents a certain organization. For instance, yellow and blue flags are banded by the U.S. Geological Survey. This helps keep track of certain species over time. Most of the banded birds have been observed multiple times over multiple seasons which shows site fidelity. In other words, they return back to the exact same place to winter each year. How cool is that! Most of the Piping Plovers GCBO has observed are mainly from The Great Plains region (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas). However, every once in a while, we see something new.

On August 29 and September 3rd, Taylor and Sarah observed an orange flagged Piping Plover. The plover also had a multicolor band which Taylor has never seen before. It turns out this particular plover had quite a story. It is a Great Lakes Plover and it was banded as a chick in 2011 in Michigan. What’s even more interesting is that the chick was captive raised in 2011 after being rescued from an abandoned brood on North Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan. Its mom was unfortunately predated by a Merlin and the dad abandoned the chicks (also due to the Merlin). Two chicks were rescued from that brood.

This particular chick was raised at the University of Michigan Biological Station and then released back at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Throughout the nine years of his life he has nested many times and in multiple locations. Unfortunately, this year, he was unable to find a mate, but made it safely back to his winter roosting grounds. He just so happened to stop in Matagorda Beach along the way this time and we are sure glad he did.

A huge thank you to Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort for telling us this amazing story!

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!

Get our first Hummingbird calendar in the nature store now! It has 12 gorgeous Texas hummer pictures by Mike Williams, GCBO’s Board President. They are printed and bound by Mike with a plastic spiral spine in case you want to frame the pictures. Price will be $20.00 and will be a limited run by Mike, with all proceeds going to GCBO. If you want one or more, give us a call or go to our online Nature Store and buy them there! https://www.gcbo.org/product/2021-hummingbird-calendar/

Once again, we have had to postpone our Brew on the Bayou event in light of the COVID 19 situation. The safety of our volunteers, visitors, and staff is the most important thing to us, so we will continue to put that first! We hope to see everyone on March 27 for brews, birds, music, and friends!

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!

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.

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.

Telephone: 979-480-0999 | Email Us