|
|
|
Photos courtesy of Mike Gray and GCBO staff. May 2010 Birding Classic Wrap Up
The 14th annual
Great Texas Birding Classic concluded this past Sunday, May 2nd
with a fantastic brunch sponsored by the Harlingen Convention
and Visitors Bureau at A Catered Affair on Jackson in Harlingen,
Texas. This year 37 teams participated including two weeklong
teams, six sectional teams, three energy saver teams, 12 Big
Sits and 14 kids teams. A whopping 344 bird species were
identified during the event! We would like to thank our MC
Father Tom Pincelli and the Harlingen CVB for hosting the
brunch. Also a big thanks to all participants, sponsors and
support staff. As always we had a great time and hope you did
too. Next year the Birding Classic will be held April 9-17 and
we look forward to seeing everyone at the Awards Ceremony on the Upper
Texas Coast.
Birding Classic Auction Raises $5355 for Conservation
It's all over but the mailing! This year the Birding Classic Online Auction raised $5355 for conservation projects along the Texas coast. We would like to thank all bidders for participating and supporting this most valuable effort. Winners will be notified in the next few days and all purchases will be mailed from GCBO as soon as payment is received. If you would like to pick your items up at GCBO, please let us know as soon as possible. Thanks again for supporting conservation along the Texas coast! Shorebird Identification Workshop
Join John Arvin for a half day Shorebird Identification Workshop on May 22. At this time of year shorebirds will be in breeding plumage so this is the easiest time to start learning them. Travel to both freshwater and saltwater sites in southern Brazoria County to view them in their natural habitat. Learn various field marks, overall body shape, bill shape, leg color and other plumage characteristics. This will be a skill building experience with an expert! Workshop runs from 7:30am to 1:00pm. Cost is $75 for members, $95 for non-members
Quintana Spring Fling Welcomes Visitors
Our Spring Fling at Quintana was a huge success again this year. The weekend of April 24/25 in particular was spectacular for migrants and the southwest winds covered us up in Western Kingbirds (30 or more on Quintana alone) and Yellow-headed Blackbirds (at least 5 in the sanctuary itself). There were too many orioles to count and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were everywhere. The fields at Xeriscape Park were filled with Indigo and Painted Buntings. It was truly a magical sight. We would like to thank all our volunteers for operating the host station and the City of Quintana for logistical support. We still have plenty of patches left which will be available at our Lake Jackson Nature Store. Site Partner News
GCBO is excited to provide $30,000 to support a 10-acre land
acquisition in coastal Mississippi with the Land Trust for
the Mississippi Coastal Plain. This tract in Ocean Springs
is part of a 25-acre property immediately adjacent to Old
Fort Bayou and includes a tidal wetland marsh and a live oak
and pine hammock. Surveys on the property have tallied 115
species of birds including over 50 neotropical/nearctic
migrants. We are working with the Land Trust to add this
parcel as well as several others to the Site Partner
Network.
Monthly Bird Banding at GCBO
Join us from 8:00 until
noon on Saturday, May 15th 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 trying to catch migrants in April. 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. |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| www.gcbo.org | Telephone 979-480-0999 | Contact Us |
103 W. Hwy 332, Lake Jackson, TX 77566
Unsubscribe | Comments About This E-Mail
To ensure these e-mails reach your inbox, please add news@gcbo.org to your address book or safe sender list.