Howdy all, Bob reports the following: 7 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Swainson’s hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 2 Swallow-tailed Kites 1 Osprey Also of note, 4 Roseate Spoonbills and 48 Wood Storks.
Smith Point Hawk Watch 8/1/16 (4 raptors)
Howdy all, Bob reports 4 countable Broad-winged Hawks on this first day of the count. Additional entertainment included an adult White-tailed Hawk, a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk, and an Osprey. On the non-raptor front he had 20 Magnificent Frigatebirds and 2 Wood Storks. The count has begun! Come on out and enjoy it with us! Sue
Oystercatcher Diaries 2016: Field Week 13
By Susan Heath Not much happening out there these days. With Captain Tim, Alan Wilde, Amanda Hackney, Brittany Stamps and I made the rounds to check on the oystercatchers. Most pairs were hanging out on their territories sleeping or dining. The tide was too high to find any on reefs so we didn’t get any exciting resights of the non-breeders. … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch starts tomorrow!
Howdy y’all, It’s July 31st and you know what that means? The Smith Point Hawk Watch starts tomorrow! We brought the trailer over last Friday and got everything at the tower set up. Bob Baez has returned as counter for this 20th season. To celebrate our 20th season, we have some great t-shirts with artwork by Cin-Ty Lee featuring the … Read More
Beach Nesting Birds Project 2016: Update 7
By Amanda Anderson Even though it’s getting late in the season, the birds are still getting down and dirty in the hot, dry Texas summer. Least Terns, Black Skimmers, and Wilson’s Plovers are pretty rowdy at yet another chickpalooza happening in Freeport and Matagorda. The Least Tern colony at Matagorda is hopping with near fledged and two downy chicks (pictured … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2016: Field Week 12
By Susan Heath Surprise, surprise, surprise! I love late season surprises and we got a big one on Friday. Brittany Stamps, our GCBO summer intern, and I met John Wright and Alan Wilde at John’s house to do another oystercatcher survey. We usually end our surveys in June but this year there were still two pairs incubating nests and one … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2016: Field Week 11
By Susan Heath It’s getting hot out there! John Wright escorted Alan Wilde, Rosaleen March, and myself on an oystercatcher tour last Thursday. Most of the birds are done with their nesting activity but we made the entire rounds anyway because it’s fun to see what they are up to and I wanted to make sure there weren’t any more … Read More
Beach Nesting Birds Project 2016: Update 6
By Amanda Anderson Bryan Beach was pretty quiet until two weeks ago when 3 Wilson’s Plovers breeding pairs got a second wind and laid 3 new nests! It appeared the nesting season was coming to an end at Bryan Beach after I observed Wilson’s Plovers beginning to flock up and the only chick had disappeared. As usual, these Wilson’s Plovers … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2016: Field Week 10
By Susan Heath Tim Long, Alan Wilde, and I went out on the 16th to check on the oystercatchers and found some surprises. One piece of good news is that the tide is finally down to a reasonable level. It’s still higher than it’s supposed to be but at least it’s not two feet higher! Now it’s only one foot … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2016: Field Week 9
By Susan Heath We had to split our field day between two days because of the weather. We were originally scheduled to go out on Friday, June 3rd but with a weather forecast of 90% chance of rain for most of the day, we moved it back to Wednesday, June 1st. Even with that switch we had to run from … Read More
Beach Nesting Birds Project 2016: Update 5
By Amanda Anderson There has been a chickpalooza happening at Matagorda Bay Nature Park the last two weeks! Since the last blog, we have resighted 15 chicks. Just this past week, we banded 8 chicks! Below is a montage of cute Wilson’s Plovers chicks. I was even more pleased that a nest located within the main beach area survived to … Read More
Beach Nesting Birds Project 2016: Update 4
By Amanda Anderson It has been an exciting week at Matagorda Bay Nature Park! Two nests hatched with a total of 3 chicks. Two chicks hatched from a nest that I had not found, so it took me by surprise. Pictured below are the surprise chicks. As you will see from the second picture, the chicks are very well camouflaged. … Read More