Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is pleased to host a series of Bird ID Classes focused on species in our local area! These classes are open to the public and consist of in-depth identification lessons in person or on zoom, followed by a field trip. This is a great opportunity to learn about birds, how to identify them, and where to find them in the wild. Your registration fee goes directly to help saving birds through our conservation work!
The next Bird ID Classes will be Hummingbirds of the Upper Texas Coast, followed by Gulls and Terns of the Upper Texas Coast
Hummingbirds of the Upper Texas Coast with Martin Hagne
ID Classes & Field Trip
6:00-8:00PM Monday, February 5th, 2026 – Class session #1 (Zoom).
8:00AM Saturday February 7th, 2026 – Field Trip
- The field trip will be focused around hummingbird banding in the Lake Jackson area.
Unfamiliar with Zoom and online workshops? Not to worry! Zoom is quite easy to use on either a computer or smart phone. Our staff is willing and able to answer any questions that you have about this virtual format.
Class Synopsis:
Join Gulf Coast Bird Observatory's Executive Director, Martin Hagne, for a detailed look at the hummingbirds of Texas. This course will include a weekday evening classroom session via Zoom followed by a morning field trip where our licensed researchers will be banding birds. This unique experience will allow up-close viewing of the birds in order to practice the identification skills we learned during the Zoom sessions. Each species account will include:
- Identification basics with photo quizzes
- Typical vocalizations
- Breeding and wintering ranges, and the best local spots for each species
- Habitat and diet information
The course fee of $100.00 includes
- Zoom class and the field trip
- Helping save birds, as the fee goes directly to supporting GCBO’s many conservation programs.
All About Martin
Martin Hagne was born and raised on the Swedish west coast, where his grandfather instilled a love for nature at an early age. He moved to the United States, and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, in 1979 and turned his focus towards wildlife viewing and conservation concerns.
Martin served as the Executive Director of the Valley Nature Center in Weslaco, Texas, and environmental education facility, for 13 years. He then moved to Bandera, Texas where he led the Flying L Resort and Conference Center. He has also worked as a Field Biologist doing baseline studies for many years, including avian, herp, mammal, T&E, and habitat studies.
He enjoys leading birding field trips in the US and Mexico and has served on several state, regional and local environmental appointments, committees, and boards. Birding, nature viewing, native plants, conservation issues and environmental education are his great passions.
GULLS AND TERNS OF THE UPPER TEXAS COAST WITH BOB FRIEDRICHS.
ID Classes & Field Trip
6:00-8:00PM Monday, February 23rd, 2026 – Class session #1 (Zoom).
6:00-800PM Wednesday February 25th, 2026 – Class session #2 (Zoom).
8:00AM Saturday February 28th, 2026 – Field Trip
Unfamiliar with Zoom and online workshops? Not to worry! Zoom is quite easy to use on either a computer or smart phone. Our staff is willing and able to answer any questions that you have about this virtual format.
Class Synopsis:
Join former GCBO board president and Texas Master Naturalist Bob Friedrichs for an in-depth look at the fascinating and sometimes frustrating gulls and terns that inhabit our area. This course will have two weekday evening Zoom sessions followed by a full-day field trip to beaches and wetlands to study these birds and put into practice what we learned during the class. Each species account will include:
- Identification basics with photo quizzes
- Seasonal and aged plumages
- Typical vocalizations
- Breeding and wintering ranges, and the best local spots
- Habitat and diet information
The course fee of $200.00 includes
- Both classes and the field trip (car caravan for convenient departures)
- Helping save birds, as the fee goes directly to supporting GCBO’s many conservation programs.
All About Bob
Robert (Bob) Friedrichs and his wife Ruth live in Palacios, Texas and have one grown son. Bob holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University. His 34-year career with Chevron included a variety of management positions. Now retired, Bob and Ruth enjoy traveling around North America in their RV, most recently driving their motorhome to Alaska (and back!) for some awesome sightseeing and birding. Bob is an outdoor enthusiast, conservationist and avid birder. He started birding at age 13 while a member of the Golden Crescent Nature Club in Victoria, Texas. His life list is 2446 species globally, 771 species in the ABA, 769 species in the USA, 583 species in Texas. Bob compiles the Victoria and Jackson-Calhoun Christmas Bird Counts. He is a certified Texas Master Naturalist with the Midcoast Chapter and spends most his time in the field conducting tours and surveying birds.
His field work includes Colonial Waterbird Surveys in Calhoun and Matagorda Counties and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) trapping and banding of wintering sparrows in Brazoria County. His survey work on Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Piping Plover supports FWS research of these two threatened species. Additionally, Bob has helped FWS researchers trap and geo-tag Buff-breasted Sandpipers to better understand their migration path and habitat use. Bob currently helps trap, band and monitor American Oystercatchers in Matagorda and Lavaca Bays for GCBO’s Director of Conservation Research, Dr. Rebecca Bracken. Bob is on the board of the Matagorda Bay Birdfest and the Palacios Prairie Wetland.
Bob served as the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Board President and is a Texas Master Naturalist.