This year $50,500 was awarded in Birding Classic grants bringing the grand total raised for conservation along the Texas coast by this event to $736,500. The 2010 winning teams chose two acquisition projects and four restoration/enhancement projects. Both acquisition projects are in the Columbia Bottomlands of Brazoria County. Restoration/enhancement projects include the Valley Land Fund Salineno Enhancement Project, Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge Restoration and Enhancements, Colonial Waterbird Sanctuaries in the Lower Laguna Madre, and Brazilian Pepper Tree Removal and Control in the Port Aransas Nature Preserve. Congratulations to all participants for supporting conservation along the Texas coast!

There is mixed news from our site partners to the east. Oil is seeping into Louisiana marshes and has been described as being heavy and four inches thick in some places on Grande Terre Island just .38 miles east of Grande Isle. The impact to the beaches of Grand Isle has been extensive but the effects are limited to the beach, thus Lafitte Woods has not been impacted directly. Other good news is that as of now, the oil has not reached the upper Barataria Basin and so Barataria Preserve has also not been impacted thus far. As the above NOAA map shows, Dauphin Island is in imminent danger but offshore booms are in place to hopefully protect this valuable avian resource. We will provide updated status as best we can on our Facebook page.

GCBO has been awarded a two-year $100,000 grant to study American Oystercatchers along the Texas Coast from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Once a fairly common bird, oystercatchers now number only 11,000 and are irregularly distributed between Maine and Texas. Despite existing conservation efforts, the eastern North America population of oystercatchers is projected to decrease by at least 12% in the next decade. Though extensive research has been underway along the Atlantic Coast for more than 10 years, we know very little about the oystercatcher populations along the western Gulf Coast. GCBO plans to monitor nests and color band birds to gather needed life history information and establish population movement patterns. If you have a kayak or boat and would like to volunteer to help with this project, please contact Sue for more information. 

Take a Trip on the Brazos Belle

Join GCBO staff on July 10 for a leisurely ride down the Brazos River through historic woodlands on the Brazos Belle paddleboat with Captain Mike Leebron. This trip will depart in the morning from the Underwood House in East Columbia and return around noon. Listen to breeding bird song, watch herons and egrets fish along the way, and learn about local history. The Brazos Belle is the first paddle-wheeled vessel to operate on the river since Captain Travis Smith operated his famous vessel, Hiawatha, under the flag of the Columbia Transportation Company in the late 1880's. Cost for this trip is to be determined. Please contact Reba for more information.

Monthly Bird Banding at GCBO

Join us from 8:00 until noon on Saturday, June 19th for our monthly bird banding session.  Watch as GCBO Research Associates Robert & Kay Lookingbill band the birds and explain how to determine the species, age, and sex of birds in the hand.  We'll be catching newly fledged young birds this month.  Come out and see what surprises are in store for us. This is a great way to get kids excited about wildlife, but all ages are welcome.  See the map on our webpage for directions.  Note that mapquest and googlemaps will not guide you to the right place using our address.