Slow day after the big start yesterday. Only 29 birds today. Broad-winged Hawk 20 Swainson’s Hawk 3 Mississippi Kite 3 Swallow-tailed Kite 2 Osprey 1 Bob reports the tv in the trailer is on the fritz. Any one want to donate a small one to his cause?
Smith Point Hawk Watch 8/15/19 (737 raptors)
Well we’re off to a great start! Bob counted 737 raptors on the first day of the count. Broad-winged Hawk 15 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Mississippi Kite 716 Swallow-tailed Kite 4 Other birds included a couple of local Cooper’s Hawks, a local Red-shouldered Hawk, three Magnificent Frigatebirds and lots of White Ibis. Come on down and enjoy the count!
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory: Ensuring a Future for American Oystercatchers in Texas
Sue Heath, Director of Conservation for GCBO, was recently featured in the “Conservation Milestones” section in the American Bird Association’s “Birding” magazine for her groundbreaking work with American Oystercatchers on the Gulf Coast. Read the full article at the link below! It begins on page 60.
GCBO Bird of the Month – Wood Stork
Geography/Habitat: Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) is uncommon to locally common post breeding summer visitor to the Texas coast and inland to the eastern third of the state. West of the I-35 corridor, they are very rare due to the lack of wetland areas. A few may stay the winter in the South Texas Brush country. Half a century ago, Wood … Read More
Active Summertime Reptiles
By Amelia Grider As summer has rolled around and temperatures have steadily increased, the activity levels of many organisms have also increased. Mammals, insects, birds, and even plants are enjoying the warmer weather and plentiful resources. However, one group’s increased activity levels can lead to particularly unpleasant encounters. Reptiles, specifically snakes and alligators, are some of the most feared and … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2019: Field Week 19
By Susan Heath Well folks, there’s good news and bad news. I was joined on Wednesday, July 3 by Alan Wilde, Amanda Hackney, and my sister Kay Heath to monitor the skimmers and the remaining oystercatcher activity. Unfortunately the weather did not allow us to get much done. I checked the radar when I woke up at 6:00 and there … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2019: Field Week 18
By Susan Heath I’m beginning to get a complex about the weather. This season has just been awful with wind and now rain. I wasn’t able to go to Drum Bay on Tuesday to check on the chick there because there were heavy thunderstorms all day. I rescheduled that for Friday in combination with East Matagorda Bay which would mean … Read More
Wood Storks
By Susan Heath It’s that time of year again when it takes something pretty cool (pun intended) to get me outside on the weekend. Since I spend a good part of my work days outside, I’m pretty fond of sitting in the air conditioning on summer weekends. But there is one bird that’s worth looking for and I’ve just started … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2019: Field Week 17
By Susan Heath I had some non-negotiable commitments on Tuesday and Wednesday this week which of course were the two days with the best weather. It was a tossup between Thursday and Friday. Neither looked very good from a wind perspective but Alan and I made a go of it on Friday. It was too rough to go check on … Read More
Bird Strikes
It is estimated that window strikes by birds cause over one billion bird deaths per year in the U.S. alone! Although we have not had a huge number of birds striking our windows here at GCBO, we have had several, and any bird strike is one too many.
Nature notes: Summer bird campers share knowledge; ask others to “help save birds”
By Jennifer Horton, with help from Siri Sanketh, Lily Bonser, Ashton Reed, Brandon Weeks, Daniel Faulk, Lauren Faulk, Gage McMillan, Hayden Dietrich, Ainsley McGee, Nikolai Leatherwood, and Ellie Madsen. Summer bird camp at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory just wrapped up its eighth year of engaging children ages 8 to 11 in fun activities related to birds, nature, and wildlife. … Read More
GCBO June Bird of the Month – Least Bittern
Geography/Habitat: In Texas, Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) is common summer resident along the Coastal Prairies and the eastern portion of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Inland, they are rare to locally common in the eastern third of the state. In the western portion of the state, it is a very rare and local summer resident due to lack of habitat. … Read More