Hello, everyone! I am thrilled to begin this new chapter as President & CEO of Houston Audubon. I look forward to getting to know my fellow birders and all who share a passion for conserving and restoring nature. I am grateful to be part of an organization dedicated to a future where birds thrive in healthy habitats, people find inspiration in their wonder, and diverse communities connect through a shared appreciation of the avian world. I’m excited for what’s ahead and look forward to working together!
- Jed Aplaca, 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.
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Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary
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We hope everyone is staying warm while birding out in the sanctuary! Cold winter air has our birds fluffed up to stay warm. If a robin you see looks particularly large, it is likely puffing out its feathers to trap warm air close to its body.
Notable sightings in the sanctuary include Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Wilson’s Warbler, and Barred Owl.
Over the next couple of months, staff and volunteers will be working diligently to prepare the sanctuary for spring migration. At ELMNS, that includes preparing bird drips, mulching trails, repairing boardwalks, and counting birds! Over the last couple of weeks, our Trail Crew has been working on safety railing for our new boardwalk, and the project should be complete very soon. Our next community workday will be on Saturday, February 15 from 9 AM - 12 PM. Join us to assist with trail maintenance, litter pick-up, gardening, and invasive species removal.
Enjoy birding at ELMNS? Join us on a monthly bird survey! All experience levels are welcome to join this critical community science effort. We meet at 8 AM on the cabin porch on the third Friday of the month - the next one is February 21st.
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Thank you to everyone who helped us at our January High Island workday! The trails at Smith Oaks have been opened up in anticipation of the rapidly approaching spring season. Our next High Island workday will be Saturday, February 8th from 8:30 AM - 12 PM. We’d also like to thank those who braved the dreary weather to help us propagate several hundred tree and shrub cuttings during our January Coastal Nursery Workday. Our next Coastal Nursery Workday will be Thursday, February 13th from 9 AM - 12 PM. Coastal staff will be partnering with SPLASh for a volunteer clean-up at the 17th St Jetty in Port Bolivar (North Jetty) on Saturday, February 22nd from 9 AM - 12 PM.
January brought several notable species to High Island as southeast Texas received several successive cold fronts. A Spotted Towhee and Red-naped Sapsucker were found at Smith Oaks, and a Hooded Oriole put in an appearance on 5th St. The winter storm in the latter part of January brought many unexpected birds to High Island, and staff found 10 species of warblers while tromping through 3” of snow! Northern and Louisiana Waterthrushes and two separate Ovenbirds were joined by a similarly out-of-season Wood Thrush and Purple Gallinules in Smith Oaks. A flyover Purple Finch seemed a bit more at-home in the wintry landscape but was also a serendipitous find. These birds were likely wintering at higher latitudes and found their way to the coast trying to escape the storm. Three or four hummingbirds also survived the storm near the Morse Field Station. This storm highlighted the importance of providing quality stopover habitat year-round in our sanctuaries, as birds often move around at times we don’t necessarily consider as migration.
Spring is rapidly approaching as we wait anxiously for the first Purple Martin scouts to arrive, usually within the first ten days of February. By the end of the month, many Neotropic Cormorants and Great Egrets will have begun nesting at the Rookery and the first Louisiana Waterthrushes will materialize in the sanctuaries.
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From bird to borb: A note on our birds in cold weather
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By Schyler Brown, Conservation Specialist
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It’s officially cold in the Houston-Galveston area – and despite the fact that it will only last a couple of months, many of us probably own a down jacket to stay warm in the brief winter. The idea behind a down jacket is that the material inside the jacket will warm up from your body heat and trap the air to provide warmth. Well that idea wasn’t invented by humans – and unless you own a synthetic down jacket, the insulating materials are actually feathers from birds! Birds trap pockets of warm air inside their down feathers, which are loose, soft feathers that has the ability to trap air when overlapping across a birds body (hence the name “down jacket”). So next time you see a bird puffed up while perched on a tree, you’ll know that it has trapped air under its down feathers to stay warm, officially becoming a borb.
borb: slang for a cute, fluffy, round bird, originating from bird-orb
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LET'S GO BIRDING VIDEO SERIES
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We are thrilled to launch our Let’s Go Birding video series! Each month, we’ll cover engaging and informative topics for bird enthusiasts of all levels.
For our first Let’s Go Birding video, our coastal conservation technicians Nick, Charlie and Theresa guide us on a snowy walk through the High Island sanctuaries. In addition to all their fun on the snow covered trails and boardwalks, they share some footage of the 50 species they spotted, including a Louisiana Waterthrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Neotropic Cormorant, and Common Gallinule. Check it out for yourself here, and stay tuned to see what we feature in the coming months!
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Become a Member
Become a Houston Audubon member today to receive great benefits like members-only birding trips, early access and free admission to certain events, discounts on our merchandise, and more!
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| Conservation License Plate
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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| Make a Donation
Individual donations are the backbone of Houston Audubon's programs. Donations from individuals such as yourself are the driving force behind all of our work. Make a donation today to support the conservation of birds in the Greater Houston Gulf Coast region.
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