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Photos courtesy of Mike Gray, Don Verser, and GCBO staff. May 2012 
Birds and Bottomland Blitz - Insects of the Bottomland Forest The next Birds and Bottomland Blitz program
will feature insects of the bottomland forest. Ed Barrios and
Jerry Epner will
host this event on Saturday, May 12, from 9:00 to 11:00am.
Both Ed and Jerry are master naturalists with the Cradle of Texas
Master Naturalists. The monthly program is
a joint effort by the Cradle of Texas Master Naturalists and
GCBO to raise awareness of the importance of the Columbia
Bottomlands to birds and other native flora and fauna. Summer Bird Camp
From June 11-15, 2012, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory will hold our first ever summer day camp on birds and birding for ages 8-11. The camp will run from 9:00 to 1:00 each day and will include varying outdoor learning experiences including bird identification, how and why birds communicate, build a bird, bird sketching, examining wetland critters eaten by wading birds, and conducting a mini-research project. At the end of the camp, each participant will graduate as a certified "Bird Scene Investigator". Fee for the camp is $150 and includes all supplies for the camp activities along with a snack. If you are one of the next five to sign up though, you will get a special $50 discount and your child can attend for only $100. Sign up today!
We hope to instill a love of nature, the outdoors and birds as we spend the week exploring a vast variety of bird related topics. The backbone of the week will come from GCBO's Coastal Wild Bird Trunk, an educational resource developed with grants from NOAA, USFWS, the GLO, the Trull Foundation, and TPWD. For more information call or e-mail Carol at GCBO (979-480-0999). GCBO Receives New Grant
GCBO has received a follow-on two-year $135,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation SPIRIT of Migratory Bird Conservation Program to continue our research on American Oystercatchers in Texas. This program is partially funded by ConocoPhillips, a long-time supporter of GCBO programs. We will continue our nesting monitoring and color banding of birds and for this grant we will begin a public awareness campaign on the plight of oystercatchers that includes signage, seminars, and a Public Service Announcement. This grant requires a 1:1 to match so for every dollar received from NFWF, GCBO must raise a dollar. That adds up to $135,000 in matching funds. To help us protect American Oystercatchers in Texas please click here to contribute to this valuable research program. Come See Us At Anahuac
Join biologist Susan Heath at the International Migratory Bird Day celebration at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, May 12. This event is hosted by the Friends of Anahuac Refuge and will be held at the new Anahuac NWR headquarters buidling on FM 563 in Chambers County. Susan will host the GCBO booth from 10:00 to 2:00 and give a presentation on the Smith Point Hawk Watch at 11:30. There will be tours, guest speakers, butterfly and dragonfly walks, a kids craft tent and hands-on activities. Click here for more information or call 409-267-3337.
Americorps Team at GCBO
During the months of March and April
we were honored to host an 11-member AmeriCorps Team at our
sanctuary. Working with these future leaders of America was an
awesome experience! For two mornings each week the team improved
and built trails, planted trees, re-designed our native plant
nursery, removed drought killed trees, assisted with education
projects, painted boardwalks, and even helped with office work a
few days. In all the energetic team invested 350 man-hours in
GCBO and accomplished so much more than would have ever been
completed without them! When not working with us, they shared
their time with two other local groups: True to Life Ministries
and the Boys and Girls Club of Brazoria County assisting them
with their youth education programming. This week they return
to their base camp in Colorado where they will pick up their
next assignments scattered across the U.S. The team is
photographed here in the GCBO garden sporting safari hats we
gave them as ‘thank you’ presents.
Monthly Bird Banding at GCBO
Spring migrants are pouring through and we are seeing them daily at GCBO. Join us from 8:00 until noon on Saturday, May 19th for our next monthly bird banding session and see what migrants we find. Seeing birds in the hand is a great way to get kids excited about wildlife, but all ages are welcome. See the map on our webpage for directions or find a map by going to Mapquest or GoogleMaps. Note that some other navigators will not take you to the correct location. |
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If you are an ExxonMobil employee or retiree and would like to help us raise funds through their VIP Group matching grants program by donating four hours of volounteer time, please let us know! |
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| www.gcbo.org | Telephone 979-480-0999 | Contact Us |
103 W. Hwy 332, Lake Jackson, TX 77566
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