Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
|
|
GCBO's annual Experience Auction is open now through December 10th! We have moved the auction to a new website, and we've also added several new and exciting experiences! Remember, bid high and often, because all funds are going towards bird and habitat conservation! |
|
Come enjoy a presentation by Martin Hagne, GCBO’s Executive Director, featuring GCBO’s 14-day bird survey trip to Cuba this past October. The group explored ¾ of the Cuban island, birding in most habitats, searching for the 28 Cuban endemics, and everything else. The Caribbean bird life is really special and there are many Caribbean endemics in Cuba as well.
See the country side, away from Havana (but Havana will be part of the presentation), and learn more about birding in Cuba, the birds, the habitats and land itself, and the culture. Also learn more about GCBO’s efforts in bird conservation in Cuba, as we supporting a couple of conservation/research projects annually.
This event is free and no registration is required. December 9th from 3PM to 4PM at GCBO headquarters (299 Hwy 332 W, Lake Jackson TX)
|
|
Smith Point Hawk Watch Finishes Its 27th Season |
|
The 2023 Hawk Watch at Smith Point is now complete! It was a record setting year, with almost 180,000 raptors spotted (the most we've ever counted in a fall season!). We had large numbers of Broad-winged Hawks (over 157,000!), Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Mississippi Kites, with a few White-tailed Hawks and Ferruginous Hawks mixed in. Huge thanks to Bob Baez, our stellar hawk counter, as well as John and Lynn Wright, Joe Kennedy, Winnie Burkett, Sue Heath, Tad Finnell, and all our amazing volunteers who helped make this year a success. Hope to see everyone again in August 2024! Feel like you’ll be missing the hawks in the meantime? Help us get started on next year’s count by making a donation! |
|
|
|
The Upper Texas coast has many great Christmas Bird Counts. GCBO sponsors one count, compiled by our Executive Director, the Brazoria-Columbia Bottomlands CBC, based in Brazoria county. We would love your help!
There are also two other great CBC’s in Brazoria County, and there are many other wonderful counts in our area, across the state, and country.
· San Bernard - December 15th
· Freeport - December 17th
· Brazoria-Columbia - December 30th
Find info about these, or a count near you in Texas here:
|
|
|
|
Brew on the Bayou is coming up on March 23rd and we are looking for volunteers to help out!
Whether you're interested in serving beer, helping with the auction, directing parking, or one of the other tasks, Brew is a fun event for all!
We are also looking for new members of our Brew Planning Committee, especially folks who have knowledge of wine and wineries.
If you are interested in helping out or have questions about the event, please email Celeste at csilling@gcbo.org. Thanks!
|
|
Join us once again for Bird Banding on December 16th 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!
|
|
Save the Date for Brew on the Bayou! |
|
Welcome, Brittany
We want to give a warm welcome to Brittany, our new Office Assistant!
Brittany has lived in Brazoria County for almost 15 years, born and raised in the DFW area. She has been married to her husband Tim for 10 years and has 3 awesome children! Before coming to GCBO she was a substitute teacher for for 4 years. She loves the outdoors, traveling, spending time at the beach, and reading as many books as she can!
|
|
Subscribe to our Business and Industry Newsletter |
|
If you own or are in leadership at a commercial or industrial company, you might be interested in becoming part of our special listserve for businesses and industry. The listserve will receive quarterly emails about how a culture of giving and volunteerism can positively impact the business community. |
|
|
Headquarters and Quintana Upgrades
If you have attended the Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza or our Brew on the Bayou here at GCBO lately you might have noticed both events growing larger each year… and with that growth, more and more cars. To help alleviate this issue, and allow more parking for visitors in general walking the trails, we recently received a Texas Parks & Wildlife Recreational Trails Grant to help expand the headquarter’s caliche parking lot. And the grant also allows us to soon install a new kiosk, birding site map, and a bunch of interpretive signs, that Celeste will design, for the Quintana Neotropical Bird Preserve. We are very thankful for this grant from TPWD! We are also very thankful for Brian Kolthammer and Phil Huxford, GCBO volunteers. Brian planned the layout of the expanded parking area, and Phil brought his tractor and is doing all the work. This grant application was started way back by our past grant writer Nicole, and more recently taken over and managed by Joni. Thank you to everyone involved!!
|
|
Thanks to Our Major Donors |
|
We would like to thank the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program for supporting of our Black Skimmer program. With their contribution, we will be able to continue our work studying and protecting these amazing shorebirds. Thank you! |
|
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 2023 trips are all sold out! But take a look at our 2024 lineup! A few trips still need 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.
|
|
February 8-13, 2024 ONE SPOT LEFT!
This will be our last Duluth trip for a few years so grab it now!
March 4-13, 2024 -SOLD OUT!
June 16-22, 2024 - SOLD OUT!
November 3-11, 2024 – SOLD OUT!
|
|
|
Make an in-kind donation to support our sanctuary needs. |
|
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.
Sugar
The hummingbirds are coming our way, and we are looking for granulated sugar donations for their sugar water. Please bring it by our headquarters: 299 Hwy 332 W Lake Jackson. Thanks!
|
|
Corporate Matching Programs |
|
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! |
|
Recycle Your Old Technology and Help Birds |
|
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!
|
|
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.
|
|
When you shop at Kroger, you can support GCBO! |
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
