Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566
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It's time to start thinking about our 20th
Anniversary Celebration, "Brew on the Bayou" once again! As I'm sure you remember, Brew's initial date last fall was postponed thanks to Harvey flooding GCBO. But now we are rescheduled and good to go for SATURDAY MARCH 10th from 4-8 pm!
JOIN US: Celebrate 20 years of conservation with our brew tasting evening event which include great brews, fresh food, live music and a silent auction all on our torchlit grounds. Tickets are $25/person and can be bought at the door or by calling us at 979-480-0999. ID required for brew tasting.
VOLUNTEER: Sign up to help with the event. We need a volunteer team to help with parking, ticket collection, brew booths and more! Volunteers should come dressed in a red tshirt and will receive dinner on us for their help. If interested, contact Emma at eshelly@gcbo.org
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Enjoy an evening on the beautiful wooded GCBO grounds. Live music featuring Drew Kennedy.
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The Oystercatcher Sets Sail
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Thanks to a generous grant from LNG Freeport and a private donation by Kay Hale, we now have our much-needed boat. We didn't have to think for too long on the name - what other name could be more fitting than "The Oystercatcher?"
She will be an invaluable part of the upcoming field season and has already been out on the water for a survey of her namesake species.
Thank you LNG Freeport for contributing to our ongoing conservation work!
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GCBO Offers Exciting Trips
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We are bringing back the exciting experience of birding and traveling with GCBO with three upcoming trips!
Birding in Oaxaca, Mexico
: September 11-16, 2018. Tropical species (Citreoline Trogon, Emerald Toucanet, endemic Blue-Capped Hummingbird etc.) and a half-day offshore trip for pelagic species.
Veracruz, Mexico Raptor Tour
: October 6-14, 2018. Join GCBO and Bill Clark for the chance to see the resident raptors of Veracruz including Bat Falcons, White-tailed Hawks, Snail Kites, Black-and-white-hawk-eagles and more.
Boreal Winter Birding. Duluth, Minnesota:
January 9-13, 2019. Possible species include Great Gray Owl, Evening Grosbeak White-winged Crossbill, Hoary Redpoll and others.
We will release a separate e-blast with all the details including hotel/lodge names, trip prices and what is/isn't covered by the cost. As always, part of your purchase will go directly into supporting the GCBO mission so you can bird for a cause! Stay tuned!
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Help needed to resurface our walkways around the main building at GCBO. The crushed granite was washed away and covered in mud from Harvey and needs to be replaced. Phil Huxford and his tractor will do the heavy lifting but we need to rake off the leaves and debris and then spread the new crushed granite. Bring a garden rake if you have one and some gloves. We will furnish water and pizza!
WHEN: Wednesday February 7th, 8:30-whenever we are done
WHERE: GCBO headquarters - 299 Highway 332 Lake Jackson, TX.
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Soar Volunteer Orientation and Updates
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For those of you interested in participating in our elementary and middle school outreach program, Project Soar, we will be holding mandatory volunteer orientation at the following times:
Saturday February 10th at 1 pm
Sunday February 11th at 1 pm
Friday March 16th at 5:30 pm
Saturday March 17th at 9 am
Sunday March 18th at 9 am
Email eshelly@gcbo.org to RSVP. Orientation is an hour long.
An art-themed variation of Soar debuted at Grady Rasco Middle School earlier this month. Kids learned about bird anatomy and adaptation by sketching specimens!
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Matagorda Bay Birdfest and Sea Center Nature Day
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Save the date- February 16-18th is the 2nd annual Matagorda Bay Birdfest! The Birdfest includes birding tours, kayak tours, Palacios Parade of the Birds, the youth art bird program and guest speakers! GCBO will be there Saturday the 17th with a booth and two presentations: an update on our oystercatcher work and exploring the concept of "science-art" as a teaching tool.
See what the Fest is all about on their
website
and we hope to see you there!
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But if Palacios is a little out of your way how about joining us for Nature Day at the Sea Center Texas on Saturday February 24th? Walk through exhibits, activities and crafts will be offered by a variety of nature based organizations from 10 am - 3 pm. Perfect for the kids! Learn more about it on their
website
!
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GCBO open on weekends thanks to RV Volunteers
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Our wonderful RV volunteers Sue and Steve are back on site for the next couple of months. We are so grateful for all their help on our grounds and for their willingness to open GCBO for us on the weekends. Stop by 8:30-4:30 Saturday and Sunday to wander our grounds, hike our trails, visit our giftshop and pick out a new plant from our native plant nursery "The Growery."
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Join us for banding Saturday, Feb 17th
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We started off the new year with a great banding session last month, catching a total of 36 birds including 6 recaps. Join us on the 17th from 8 am - noon for your chance to see birds up close and in the hand and to learn about how and why we catch birds.
Thank you Sue and Brooks for photographing some of our highlights including this Lincoln's and Swamp Sparrow, young male Painted Bunting and American Goldfinch.
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A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated items to our Hurricane Recovery Fund. We are still looking for:
-A vacuum
-Large throw/area rugs
We are also looking for these general, non-hurricane related items:
- Bags of black oil sunflower seed
- Bags of chicken scratch
- One gallon black plastic pots, used or new
- Flammable storage cabinet for our gas cans
- Sugar for hummingbird feeders
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Now when you shop at Kroger, you can support GCBO!
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GCBO is a registered charity through Kroger's Community Rewards Program. This means that you can register your Kroger Plus Card online and select GCBO as the organization of your choice. Every time you use your Kroger Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion back to GCBO! This is an easy way to support GCBO while you shop - your donations help us continue to protect birds and birding habitat around the Gulf Coast and beyond. To register your Plus Card, click
here
.
Our charity number is #80345.
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All photographs are courtesy of GCBO staff unless otherwise noted.
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