Start the weekend off with a class on Friday evening introducing raptors. Subjects include field marks, shape, measurements, terminology, feathers, molt, and raptor flight identification. Then review and learn about vultures, Osprey, and harriers. He will show photos of many raptors in hand and will discuss their vocalizations and aspects of their biology. We will have Bill's books available in our online store.

On Saturday, Bill will present a series of lectures about identifying Accipiters and Buteonines. Then he will discuss Eagles, Kites, and Falcons. Finally, he will cover some of the more unusual plumages that one might encounter in the wild.

Unfamiliar with Zoom and online workshops? Not to worry! Zoom is quite easy to use on either a computer or smart phone. Our staff is willing and able to answer any questions that you have about this virtual format.

The cost for Friday and Saturday is $100 per person (non-refundable). Please call GCBO at 979-480-0999 or fill out this form to reserve your spot and make payment.

Read more about this event here.

If you would like to donate an experience or other item, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about the auction here.

The Texas City Dike is important habitat for the American Oystercatcher, one of our conservation species. Unfortunately, this habitat is littered with massive amounts of fishing line, a common cause of bird entanglement and death. Please dispose of your fishing line properly!

This month, GCBO, in partnership with American Bird Conservancy and Black Cat GIS organized a small cleanup of the dike, targeting fishing line in particular. This cleanup was a part of the new S.P.L.A.Sh initiative that the 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 215 lbs of trash with just 16 people. The next cleanup is scheduled for October 23 at the San Luis Pass near Galveston. Contact [email protected] to sign up or get more information.

Thanks to everyone who watched our Virtual Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza! We reached thousands of people this year and raised lots of funds for our conservation efforts. We are so grateful to everyone who tuned in and donated, adopted, made purchases, or entered the raffle!

We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors Mike Heather and Kenny G's Home Inspection.

If you missed the event, you can watch it on our You-Tube here. We look forward to seeing everyone at the live event next year!

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!

Wondering about this year's winter finch forecast? Take a look at the Finch Research Network's predictions here.

The Smith Point Hawk Watch runs through November 30^th.

The tower will be staffed from 8:00 – 4:00 each day.

This year because of Covid-19 we have to make some special rules. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the raptors while also keeping everyone safe so please respect these rules and don’t force Bob or our volunteers to have to be the covid police!

First, only a small portion of the upper deck will be open to visitors and we must limit that number to five people max. Second, all visitors on any level of the tower MUST wear a face covering that covers both their nose and mouth and is secured at both top and bottom. Third, volunteers who fill in for Bob on Tuesdays may close off the entire upper deck while they are there. Please respect their boundaries to keep them safe. Fourth, please employ social distancing as much as possible while on the tower. We love our visitors and we don’t want anything to happen to them while enjoying the raptor show!

Keep in mind that for years there was no tower at Smith Point and people simply watched from the parking lot. It’s a good idea to employ that strategy this year. Bob will do his best to yell out good birds as they pass over so everyone can enjoy. This year we are trying out Dunkadoo which is an electronic reporting mechanism. We can’t report directly from the tower because there’s no wifi there but Bob will report the birds at the end of each day and they should show up on hawkcount.org and the Dunkadoo site that same day! We will still maintain the blog as well.

This year has been especially hard for fundraising. If you would like to support the hawk watch monetarily you can call our office and leave a message for Tricia (she is there on Thursdays) or make a donation on our website. Thank you for your loyal support!

Be the first one to get our first Hummingbird calendar. 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/

We have new Ruby-throated Hummingbird shirts designed by Cin-Ty Lee. The design features a male and female Ruby-throat and red tropical sage. These shirts celebrate the hummingbird migration as well as native plants.

You can buy yours now in our nature store along with hummingbird feeders, hummingbird books, and other hummingbird merchandise.

View the shirts here.

Right now on the Online Nature Store, you can find hats, shirts, patches, and American Oystercatcher adoptions. Check them all out here: https://www.gcbo.org/connect/support-us/nature-store/

Come explore Oregon’s beauty and so many birds! GCBO’s Executive Director, Martin Hagne will join us on this scenic exploration. This wonderful trip includes six full days of birding, and the opportunity to use the beautiful Sister Bend area as our base for at least two-three nights. For the Central Oregon portion, we will visit all of the primary habitats of this sub-region which include montane and sub-montane fir-pine forests, drier pine-juniper forests and the high desert sagebrush steppe over the first couple days and leave the last day for clean-up of any target species that we may have missed.

We will travel in two vans for comfort, and be guided by two local expert bird guides. Dave Irons and Shawneen Finnegan live in the Portland area and know Oregon and the southwest birds better than anyone!

Tour includes hotel rooms, van transportation, birding guides, entry fees, and van snacks. Please go to our web site for more info: https://www.gcbo.org/connect/gcbo-bird-tours/

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