Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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Adopt an Oystercatcher Pair and Keep Up With All the Mating Season Drama! |
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It’s time again folks! We found the first American Oystercatcher nests already! Don't miss your chance to keep up with all the drama. If you would like to support this project (and we hope you do!) you can adopt a pair of oystercatchers for a $100 donation. You will receive a certificate for each member of your pair with their banding data and Sue will update you monthly on your pair's progress throughout the nesting season. When possible she will send you photos of nests and chicks. You can adopt your pair here: adopt a pair of birds or call and talk to Tricia or Sue. Thanks everyone for your continued support of this important project!
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Volunteer for Spring Fling |
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We are looking for volunteers for the last few slots of the 2022 Spring Fling season! Volunteers are tasked with setting up and manning the store booth, putting out oranges for the birds, and generally making sure that everything is in order at the sanctuary. To view available slots and sign up, click here.
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Join us once again for Bird Banding on March 19th from 8 am - noon at our headquarters in Lake Jackson. Come see birds in the hand and learn about the science of bird banding. The earlier you arrive the more birds you'll see. This event is free of charge!
And while you're here, why not check out our native plant nursery and wander our trails too? We even have picnic tables set up for an outdoor lunch -- It's the perfect nature outing for the family!
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Quintana Sanctuary Work Morning |
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Spring Migration is upon us! Our bird sanctuaries at Quintana could use some sprucing up before we start Spring Fling and the migrants arrive.
We have set a work morning for Saturday, March 26 from 8:00am to 12:00noon (or so). We will be trimming trails, working on clearing vegetation around water features, and similar work. We would love your help in any way you can. Meet us at the Quintana Neotropic Bird Sanctuary at 8am. Bring gloves, sturdy shoes, loppers, shovels, and similar tools, bug spray, and drinks and snacks if you want them. And a pair of binos!
Email info@gcbo.org for more information or to sign up. Thanks!
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Welcome to Our New Board Members! |
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Sharon J. Barnes, DBA, MBA/HRM- New Board Member
For over 25 years, Barnes worked as a Clinical Laboratory Supervisor, Environmental & Analytical Chemist, and Associate HR Director for The Dow Chemical Company. She received numerous accolades from her recognition as an inventor in 1991 to being named the winner of Dow’s Martin Luther King Community Service Award. In 2016, Barnes was named an “MLK Drum Major for Peace” by the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee of Brazoria County Texas. She also worked as an Assistant Laboratory Director for the Brazosport Memorial Hospital.
Sharon was also employed by Freeport LNG Development, L.P. as a Senior HR Business Partner. Barnes is employed by the San Jose Clinic as the VP/Chief Human Resources and Inclusion Officer for the Fort Bend and Midtown location within the Texas Medical Center.
For 21 years, Barnes has been a public servant, having spent four years as a city councilmember and subsequently mayor pro-term in the City of Lake Jackson, Texas. In 2000, Governor George W. Bush appointed her to the District Review Committee #1 for the Texas Medical Board. She continues to serve on the Texas Medical Board on the Finance Committee and Disciplinary Process and Review Committee. Barnes has received re-appointments from former Governor Rick Perry and from Governor Greg Abbott.
Barnes currently serves as the national Secretary for the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) and is a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of Brazoria County and Habitat for Humanity of Southern Brazoria County. Most recently, Sharon was named to the Board of Directors for the Brazosport Health Foundation, which is an entity of CHI St. Luke’s at Brazosport Regional Health Center or formally known as Brazosport Memorial Hospital and the Community Hospital of Brazosport. Barnes resides with husband, Ronald, in Rosharon, Texas. She is the proud mother of twins, Ronnie Barnes and Amber Crawford, mother-in-law of Billy Crawford, and grandsons, Rock, Jett, Dash, and granddaughter, Zion Renee…her 4 Sidekicks”.
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Cin-Ty A. Lee, PhD- New Scientific Advisory Board Member
BA UC Berkeley, Geology, 1996
PhD Harvard University, Geochemistry, 2001
Post-doctorate Caltech, 2001-2002
Cin-Ty Lee is a professor of Earth and environmental science at Rice University with research focused on the origin and evolution of volcanoes, critical minerals, and Earth-life interactions. In addition to geology classes, he teaches field ornithology at Rice. He has written numerous articles on the field identification of challenging bird species. He is currently working on a field guide to flycatchers of North America. He is also conducting acoustic surveys of nocturnally flying migrants on the upper Texas coast.
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Dr. Tim Brush -New Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. Bush recently retired as a Professor of Biology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus, in Edinburg, Texas. He was born and raised in central New Jersey, where his parents encouraged him to read and to enjoy nature. He became interested in birds at age 14, when he noticed Turkey Vultures flying over the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania, and a foraging Eastern Phoebe in a natural area near his home in Piscataway, New Jersey. He majored in Biology and further developed his interest in birds at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, from which he graduated in 1977. In 1981, he received an MS in Zoology from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, where he studied cavity-nesting birds in desert riparian woodlands along the lower Colorado River. In 1985, he received PhD in Zoology, for his study of habitat use and foraging behavior of birds in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In 1991, after teaching for 5 years at a small college in Iowa, he and his family moved to Edinburg, Texas, to begin what turned out to be a thirty-year career. He has studied and taught about the changing birdlife and habitats of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, trying to understand what is happening and why. He has traveled to and studied birds in Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. His wife and three children are all strongly interested in nature. Tim looks forward to continued research and travel.
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Thanks so much to everyone who came out in February to help at the SPLASh cleanups!
This month, we cleaned up the beach at Frenchtown Road in Bolivar, the Surfside Jetty County Park, and East Beach in Galveston. All told, we picked up over 1400 lbs of trash at these three cleanups!
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Come birding with GCBO and our Executive Director, Martin Hagne! Have a great time birding, exploring, enjoying some extraordinary scenery, dining on local cuisine, and of course seeing great birds! We always hook up with at least one local guide for the best experience. Here are our wonderful upcoming trips, but hurry, our trips are selling out fast!!
Our 2022 trips are all sold out! But we have just released our 2023 lineup! A few trips still needs more information posted, so stay tune on those, or email Martin mhagne@gcbo.org to be put on list for more info! You can also go to our website to check for trip information and to register.
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March 5-16, 2022 including Tikal- SOLD OUT!
June 18-25, 2022 – SOLD OUT!
November 25 – December 4, 2022- SOLD OUT!
January 31- February 6, 2023
Argentina Birding Exploration
March 2023 - INFO TBA
June 24 - July 1, 2023 (fees TBA)
October 12-24, 2023 – A Few Spaces Left!
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Evening on the Bayou Postponed |
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Evening on the Bayou, our art auction that was previously scheduled for March 26, has been postponed to a later date. Stay tuned for more information on the event and the new date.
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Corporate Matching Programs |
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Did you know that many corporations have a donation matching program? Corporations can match their employees' volunteer hours and/or donations to nonprofit organizations like GCBO! These types of programs are great because they double your contributions to the causes that you care about! If you work (or are retired from) a corporation, ask them about their matching program today! |
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Recycle Your Old Technology and Help Birds |
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The Wireless Alliance is a company that recovers and recycles cell phones, smart phones, tablets, and other consumer recyclables.
We will be collecting these items for Wireless Alliance to keep them out of landfills as well as raise money for our conservation efforts. If you have old technology such as a phone, charger, tablet, or other accessories, consider bringing it to GCBO!
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You can help support GCBO's mission in several important ways!
Save a Tree and some $!
We are trying to go as paperless as we can to save some trees and quite a bit on printing and mailing costs. We would love if you would let us email you instead of snail mailing a hard copy of any correspondence, including your future copies of the Gulf Crossings. Please email or call Tricia to say: “Hey, GCBO, please start emailing me things! Here is my email…” Thanks!
DONATE NOW on our website to support our conservation programs.
BECOME A MEMBER and receive our twice a year newsletter and a 10% discount in our nature store.
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Make an in-kind donation to support our sanctuary needs. |
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Fresh Oranges
Spring Fling is coming up and the birds will need lots of oranges at our Quintana preserve! Please bring them to our headquarters anytime (we can store in our freezer). Or to Quintana once Spring Flings starts. Thanks!
Black Oil Sunflower Seed and Chicken Scratch
We feed year-round here at GCBO, and during migration at Quintana. We stock our GCBO feeders to help augment natural foods, and this also helps our monthly banding research project.
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Support GCBO When You Shop on Amazon! |
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Do you shop on Amazon? Did you know you can do that same shopping on Amazon Smile and support GCBO with every purchase?
Just go to the Amazon Smile website and select GCBO as your charity of choice and then shop, shop, shop!
GCBO will receive a donation for every purchase you make. Thanks so much!
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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 #DN782.
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