Dear friend,
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Spring migration is always an exhilarating time, but as peak migration season advances into May this year, some are more excited than usual. With notable and first finds at Houston Audubon coastal sanctuaries, including a Ringed Kingfisher at Smith Oaks, we’re eager to see what May brings. The even more surprising find thus far was had by Conservation Specialist Schyler Brown, who spotted a Piratic Flycatcher at Sylvan Rodriguez Park in Clear Lake. While the Piratic Flycatcher is strongly migratory and has the potential to stray out of its range, it is normally found in southeast Mexico to northern Argentina. The Piratic Flycatcher will be a lifer for many, and there is a lot more birding to come. What will your bird of the season be?Â
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- Helen E. Drummond, President & CEO
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Houston Audubon owns and manages 17 bird sanctuaries totaling over 4,100 acres, many of which are open to the public! Our most frequented sanctuaries include the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary in west Houston and our High Island and Bolivar Flats sanctuaries on the coast.Â
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Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary
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Neotropical bird migration is in full swing, as evident by the plethora of colorful warblers found throughout the sanctuary! Feasting on mulberries are Orioles and Buntings high in the canopy, while dancing below among the Cherry laurel, Wood and Swainson’s Thrushes flute about their gorgeous melodies. Reptiles of all sorts have come out of hiding to bask in the warm sun – keep your eyes out for our little box turtles and charismatic banded water snakes!
A lot has happened at Edith L. Moore recently, with a few corporate work groups coming out to help re-mulch our trails and clean up the trash along the creek. The ever hard working Trail Crew has begun rebuilding the boardwalk around the south side of the pond- demolition was completed in the first weeks of April, and the foundation is being built now! Notable sightings include Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Yellow Warbler, Swainson’s and Wood Thrushes, and a variety of other warblers.
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As April turns to May we are still in the thick of spring migration on the coast, albeit with more biting insects and fewer visitors. We’ve traded in some of the early migrants (Swainson’s and Yellow-rumped Warblers) for Empidonax Flycatchers. Other bits of eye candy, such as Bay-breasted and Canada Warblers, are only beginning to make their way through Texas. Primarily southerly winds in April made for few days with large numbers of grounded migrants as birds continued north rather than stopping over. There were however, plenty of birds in the woods for those who looked. The overall “flavor” of notable birds this spring was westerly. Lazuli Bunting made a brief appearance at Lafitte’s Cove in Galveston, and a Bullock’s Oriole dropped in at Hooks Woods. Also present at Hooks for several days was the first “Gray-headed” Dark-eyed Junco record for Galveston County. Typically found in the Rocky Mountains, this subspecies sports a red back, unlike our more regular wintering Junco subspecies, the Slate-colored.Â
A Ringed Kingfisher photographed at Smith Oaks was a new species for the sanctuaries list, as was a Sooty Shearwater photographed at Bolivar Flats (#397 and #398 respectively). There’s still time this spring to find those next two new species and break 400 species documented across all of our sanctuaries! The Kingfisher also constituted a (perhaps overdue) first Galveston County record. Also notable for the region was a Chestnut-collared Longspur that spent many days near Rollover Pass, a fourth county record (and only the second photographically substantiated).Â
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We will have our monthly beach ramble at Bolivar Flats on Saturday, May 4th at 10 am. There are Least Terns nesting at Bolivar Flats now and a few pairs of Wilson’s Plovers that will be nesting soon.
Please respect the fencing we have erected and stay back from posted areas. Help us give the birds the space they need to successfully reproduce.
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May is also the time coastal staff are able to transition to our annual Texas Waterbird Census. We survey ten sites from High Island to Bolivar Flats and within Galveston Bay to get estimates of the number of breeding waterbirds (everything from egrets, herons, spoonbills, pelicans, gulls, and terns).
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SANCTUARY SPOTLIGHT: WINTERS BAYOU SANCTUARY
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Houston Audubon owns and manages over 4,100 acres of land as habitat for birds and wildlife. Many of our 17 sanctuaries are open to the public but not as well known. One of these public sanctuaries is Winters Bayou, a stunning 165-acre mixture of bottomland and upland pine-hardwood forest. In the upland area, one can expect to find large, tall, Loblolly Pines that host a variety of uncommon birds including Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, and White-breasted and Brown-headed Nuthatches. The pines create a soft substrate along the trails, making traversing the property easy on the feet. As one approaches bottomland, deer and raccoon tracks can be seen in their neat patterns leading down to the tributary, where bottomland vegetation grows. Due to the sanctuary's distance from Houston, and its seclusion in Sam Houston National Forest, peace, quiet, and a breath of fresh, clean air are found with the sounds of echoing bird song. While our trails at Winters Bayou are still in the works, we recommend anyone come out and do some birding.
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In mid-April, Houston Audubon partnered with Madres del Parque, Greener Gulfton, Precinct 4, and the Nature Conservancy to host a native plant gardening event at Burnett Bayland Park. We are so grateful for the community's enthusiasm about the benefits of native plants. Check out the garden next time you're in Gulfton!Â
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Our next community event will be in Third Ward, a predominantly African American community with a rich history and cultural legacy. Come see us at the Third Ward Block Party on May 11th at Cuney Homes. Learn more »
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Conservation License Plate đźš—
Show your love of birds when you hit the road! Order your specialty license plate to support bird conservation while driving around town. $22 of the $30 annual fee comes to Houston Audubon.
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Reliant EcoShare
With Reliant EcoShare, you support conservation and environmental projects and can help make a difference throughout Texas.
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