Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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COVID UPDATE
Bird Banding is still closed to the public.
GCBO Headquarters and Plant Nursery is still NOT open to the public, but our trails are open 8:30-4:30 Mon-Fri and our nursery is on our online store.
Brew on the Bayou has been postponed again to November 6, 2021.
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Get ready for Spring Fling! Billions of birds migrate thousands of miles between breeding and wintering grounds, stopping in route to refuel at coastal stopover sites. At GCBO we manage, in cooperation with the Town of Quintana, our own patch of stopover habitat, the bird sanctuaries at Quintana, just ten miles south of our Lake Jackson headquarters.
We host a month-long Visitor Station each April, where GCBO volunteers assist with bird identification, sell snacks, field guides, t-shirts and hats, and post a daily bird list.
After much debate, we have decided to go ahead with Spring Fling this year. We will require all visitors and volunteers to wear masks and social distance in the sanctuary, parking lot, and at the visitor station. The visitor station will be selling only a select few items and only the volunteers will be allowed inside the structure. When visiting, please follow all of these rules to make this a safe sanctuary for birders as well as the birds!
Spring Fling will be happening April 3 - May 8, 2021 9:00am – 4:00pm daily. We hope to see you there!
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Calling all Texans! Help protect migrating birds this spring by turning Lights Out, across Texas! Here’s how you can help: turn out all non-essential lights from 11 pm - 6 am every night through June 15, especially during the peak migration period of April 19 - May 7, when half of the total spring bird migration traffic passes through Texas. Join in and spread this message far and wide to help protect the approximately one billion birds that travel through the Lone Star State. Learn more and sign up for bird migration alerts: bit.ly/LightsOutTexas
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Listen to our Episode of the BirdSense Podcast! |
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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!! You can get more information on or website or send Martin an email.
For all trips below with availability, please go to our website for trip information and to register.
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August 16-23, 2021 - SOLD OUT!
October 14-25, 2021 - SOLD OUT!
February 2-7, 2022 - SOLD OUT!
March 5-13, 2022 with Tikal Extension March 13-16 2022
June 2022 – Only 1 spot left!
Oaxaca, Mexico
2022
Trip info to be published soon
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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 for Oystercatcher nesting season! 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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Spring Migration is here, folks, and we at GCBO are preparing for the visiting birds. Every spring, we stock our Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary with tons of seeds and oranges for the birds. Some of them have been flying for miles (sometimes across the gulf) without rest and they need to refuel! We provide them with food, water, and a safe place to rest. If you would like to help us, please donate black oil sunflower seed, wild bird seed mix and oranges now! Thanks!
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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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Bird Banding Canceled for April |
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Due to Covid 19, Bird Banding has been canceled this month. We apologize for any inconvenience. |
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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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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.
One Gallon Plastic Pots
We can use your used 1 gallon nursery plant pots for the Growery. We go through a lot of 1 gallon pots when potting up new plants. Let’s recycle them here. We’ll take one or a hundred!
Five Gallon Buckets
We could also use a handful of 5 gallon plastic buckets with handle in good shape.
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Have you updated your email preferences yet? |
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Get emails that matter to you. At the very bottom of this email there is an "update profile" or "unsubscribe" link that will take you to a page where you can make your selections. We now have specific lists for things like volunteering, events, bird of the month, and more. Please take a moment to update your preferences if you haven't already.
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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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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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