Dear friend,
Here's what's happening at Houston Audubon! We hope to see you at a program or one of our sanctuaries this summer!
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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HOUSTON AUDUBON
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Presented by CenterPoint Energy
Purple Martins migrate from South America beginning in late January to nest across North America. Before heading back south for the winter, Purple Martins gather in larger numbers and feed on flying insects to fuel up for their long journey. At dusk, groups of up to 500,000 come together to roost. You can witness this spectacle with us at a Purple Martin Watch Party! Grab your friends and family, bring a lawn chair, and join us for a unique experience!
*Volunteers needed!*
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Become a community scientist and hone your birding skills at a bird survey this summer! Houston Audubon conducts 18 monthly surveys across the region to gather data that will help scientists evaluate population changes and understand which species might require special management. All birding experience levels welcome!Â
Not all surveys run through the summer, so be sure to check our calendar.
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Join us for a fall open house at the Houston Audubon Natives Nursery at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary! This is your chance to the pick the brains of our expert nursery volunteers with all your burning native plant and gardening questions. Chat with our volunteers about your needs and go home with the perfect plants for your space. And you can take advantage of the long weekend to get your planting done for the bugs and birds!
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October 20, 2022
Celebrate the connection between art and nature and support Houston Audubon at our annual fundraising dinner, Avian Affair. Featuring keynote speaker and nationally recognized artist, Dixie Friend Gay, this year's event will showcase works of art, including art cars from Houston's annual parade! Join us for a colorful evening and help protect the inspiration behind countless works of art, our birds. Underwriter opportunities now available!
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| September 17-24, 2022
Houston Audubon's Young Professionals Advisory Council (YPAC) is hard at work planning Bird Week 2022! Houston Bird Week celebrates the important role our city plays in the lives of billions of birds. The event calendar is filling up with free and low-cost opportunities for everyone to experience the joy of birds and learn about how we can help them.
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We're also excited about our wonderful slate of judges for our second annual Flock Together Photo Contest. Photographers of all experience levels are invited to participate.Â
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Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary
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Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary is enduring the heat and drought. Our volunteer Tuesday Trail Crew is working hard to keep young trees alive and the pond full in addition to repairing boardwalks. Rummel Creek got some attention from our Plastic-Free July volunteer group, who collected, sorted, and recorded over 100 lbs of trash on our workday!
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The Natives Nursery plants are getting some love from the volunteers and a new shade covering has been installed to keep the plants from burning in the heat. Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Mockingbirds are all fledging and causing a ruckus all over the property. Come check out their cute and awkward antics!
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Raptor and Education Center
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Our education team has been busy with summer camps and will wrap up mid-August. If you'd like to schedule your visit to the Raptor and Education Center, please call (713) 640-2407 for an appointment until we announce regular open hours in late August.Â
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On the Coast - High Island and Bolivar Flats
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The beach-nesting birds at Bolivar Flats have mostly finished for the season, a little earlier than usual. The continued drought has made it difficult for young birds to find insects for food. Even so, there were at least 3-4 broods of Wilson's Plovers this year and two dozen Least Terns.
While most of us would consider late-July "summer", fall migration has already begun for many shorebirds species. Large numbers of Wilson's Plovers and Western Sandpipers have begun congregating, and up to 30 Piping Plovers have already arrived at Bolivar Flats, including three banded Piping Plovers which bred in North Dakota. If you do encounter birds on the beach, please give them space and avoid causing them to fly. Some have likely flown hundreds (if not thousands) of miles from their breeding areas and need to conserve as much energy as possible while they recharge for the next leg of their journey.Â
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Similarly at Smith Oaks, many of the wading birds have concluded their nesting, though there are still over 100 active nests (mostly Cattle Egrets). There are still several thousand herons, egrets, and cormorants at Smith Oaks. Some may have bred elsewhere but congregate at the sanctuary due to the limited standing freshwater elsewhere. This includes a flock of nearly 30 Wood Storks that frequented Clay Bottom Pond earlier in the month. Overall songbird diversity remains low, but some species have already begun flocking up (such as Purple Martins), and many other species will begin moving by mid-August.
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Support our education ambassador animals by adopting a bird! Funds from honorary adoptions go towards all care of the animals, including food, housing, healthcare, and more.
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| *New Dual Membership Level!*
Support Houston Audubon and get great membership benefits like free admission to the Raptor Center, free member birding trips, discounts at our Natives Nursery Open House events and nature stores, and more!Â
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Purchase our specialty license plate, featuring an Eastern Meadowlark, to support our mission of bird conservation! $22 of the annual $30 plate fee comes to Houston Audubon.Â
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