APRIL 2024

Dear friend,

Here's what's happening at Houston Audubon this month!

Get your teams together... registration is now open for Birdathon 2024!

Get ready for Birdathon, a fun community event where everyone can enjoy the outdoors, spot birds, and contribute to bird conservation! Whether you're a seasoned birder or a curious beginner, there's a place for you on a Birdathon team. Funds raised go towards vital initiatives like restoring bird habitats, conducting bird surveys, providing educational programs, and advocating for communities that support our feathered friends. The birding period is April 13-May 13. Register your team today and get started setting up your fundraising page!

FEATURED EVENTS

SANCTUARY SNAPSHOT

Houston Audubon owns and manages 17 bird sanctuaries totaling over 4,000 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. 

Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary

Spring officially began on the 19th of March, but if you’ve been around the sanctuary, you know that spring has been vigorously blossoming its way throughout the sanctuary since late February! A variety of flowers have bloomed, and trees are leafing out young leaves. As our temperate migrants make their way back north, neotropical migrants are beginning to bop about the vegetation throughout the sanctuary. Reports of Black-throated Green, Black and White Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers and more are attracting many birders eager to see the first migrants in North America. Staff and volunteers are keeping busy as bees to get as much work done in the sanctuary as possible while the weather is cool. We are primarily focused on prepping the sanctuary for the expected influx of visitors looking for migrating birds. This includes preparing our bird drips, mulching trails, and repairing boardwalks. Recent notable sightings include the aforementioned Black-throated Green Warbler spotted around the pond in early March, and the Longear Sunfish flashing their breeding colors as they build and defend nests in Rummel Creek.

On the Coast

After several busy months preparing the sanctuaries, the spring migration season is here in full force! A huge thank you to the volunteers that have helped us the last three months with our spring preparations during our various workdays and beach clean-ups on the coast. We hope you had a chance to attend the High Island Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at the end of March and will get a chance to visit us during spring to see the fruits of your labors as the sanctuaries fill up with birds.

Already we are seeing large numbers of shorebirds accumulate at Bolivar Flats and the first waves of songbirds arriving in the High Island sanctuaries. Once again this year we will have kiosks for admissions and merchandise sales at our two most popular sanctuaries, Boy Scout Woods and Smith Oaks. The Smith Oaks kiosk opened on March 9th, just in time for the local spring break crowd to enjoy the rookery. The Boy Scout Woods kiosk has opened on March 29th as migrants begin flooding the Upper Texas Coast in earnest. As in recent years, we will also have volunteers on the Canopy Walkway at Smith Oaks throughout the spring to show visitors birds and the nesting rookery birds. Those interested in volunteering with us this spring can learn more here »  

Staff and volunteers have put together a packed spring’s worth of programming throughout the month of April and early May in High Island. From guided bird walks by Land Sea & Sky in April, to a variety of classes every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We hope you have a chance to come and see us during the most wonderful time of the year on the coast!

At Bolivar Flats, staff installed our Beach-nesting Bird fencing in collaboration with American Bird Conservancy in mid-March. This is a challenging time for managing visitation to this sanctuary as we try to give space to both the nesting birds that will be setting up territories in the dunes, and the hundreds of thousands of migratory shorebirds that will be feeding along the surf and mudflats. The best practice is to walk down the middle of the beach, giving the fencing a 30 foot berth if possible. Please also avoid flushing feeding birds if possible. Most of these migrants will be covering thousands of miles in the coming months, and likely have already traveled hundreds to thousands of miles to get to Bolivar Flats. Their ability to complete the next leg of their journey will depend on being able to feed in peace while visiting our stretch of coast.

NEWS & BIRDING

Featured Beak: Great-tailed Grackle

Member Field Trip Recap: Birding Southwest Houston

High Island Spring Migration is in Full Swing!

Houston Audubon is hiring a Development Director!

CONSERVATION CORNER

A Report on Hazardous Plastics

A 2024 report titled “State of the science on plastic chemicals” funded by the Norwegian Research Council, revealed that of 16,000 chemical compounds used in various plastics, more than 4,000 of them are hazardous. The standard by which the compounds are evaluated are based on persistence, bioaccumulation, mobility, and toxicity. The report also stated that over 10,000 of the chemicals have no international regulations, and of the 4,200 chemicals that were reported as hazardous, 3,600 of them are not regulated. This is concerning because plastics are known to leach into our food and drink, and those that make their way into our environment bioaccumulate and are magnified in our bodies. If you are unfamiliar with bioaccumulation, an example would be the following: plastic particles end up in the bodies of plankton and herring, which are eaten by salmon, and finally eaten by humans. The small bits of plastic add up as it is eaten by each larger organism in the food chain. Plastic compounds are known to be hormone disruptors, and can cause seriously adverse effects to the human body as it develops and matures into adulthood. This is only one of many issues associated with compounds found in plastics. Read the full report, or a summarized version published by Nature below. 

https://plastchem-project.org/

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00805-2

IN THE COMMUNITY

Honoring Ann Taylor's Legacy during the Witness Series

The 4-part Witness Series is a springtime event sponsored by artist-led, nature-centered, and community-driven nature lovers. For the past three years, we’ve explored together the experiences that communities of color have in the land of southeast Texas. Artist Kristi Rangel co-curates the series, partnering with artists from Native American, African American, Latinx, and Asian communities. By participating in the series through participatory public art experiences, the attendees become co-authors of each event.  

The Witness Series speaks to environmental equity by spotlighting hidden green spaces in Houston and their hidden histories. Each March, Part 2 of the series takes place at E.R. and Ann Taylor Park, a forest park in the Sunnyside neighborhood with a fascinating history. This year, we had the honor of hearing the history from the descendants of E. R. and Ann Taylor’s family. Read more on our blog »

WAYS TO HELP

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