We are holding another volunteer work day in our nursery on Friday, September 9 from 8-11AM. We'll be weeding, organizing the plants, and getting ready for XHX! Email csilling@gcbo.org to sign up.

Thanks so much to the volunteers who came out to the volunteer work day today (9/2)! Our grounds look so much better for all of your hard work, and we hope that you had a fun time!

Join us at the Smith Point Hawk Watch from August 15 through November 30. The watch is held from 8:00am to 4:00pm daily at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area where TPWD has a 30 foot observation tower. Smith Point, on the eastern shore of Galveston Bay, is a natural concentration point for raptors migrating south in the fall and we typically record at least 20 species of raptor. At the peak of fall migration, it’s not unusual to see thousands of Broad-winged Hawks, the most numerous species that migrates through Smith Point, on a single day. Plan your visit on the day of or the day after a cold front and you just may be amazed at all the raptors you will see!

GCBO’s Smith Point Hawk Watch is celebrating its 26th year of raptor monitoring this fall. On October 1, 2022, from 10:00am -1:00pm, we will be hosting our free Smith Point Hawk Watch Celebration at the hawk watch.

Rebekah first became interested in birds in 2008 when she volunteered for non-profit and bird banding station in northeast Pennsylvania to assist in their MAPS and Project Owlnet banding research efforts. After dedicating 9 years of field seasons to these projects, she graduated in 2017 with a BS in Biology, after which she became interested in shorebird and seabird conservation. From 2018-2022, she has worked with shorebirds and seabirds for the National Audubon Society in Louisiana and Florida, as well as the US Fish and Wildlife in Alaska. Currently, she travels across the US to learn more about birds and their habitats while pursuing her Master's degree online in Environmental GIS. Her other interests include baseball, playing guitar, yoga, and drinking lots of kombucha.

Photo by Josh Fowler

Alexandra (Alex) Pearcy graduated last year in May 2021 from Albion College in Michigan, where she got a degree in both Biology and Geology with a minor in GIS. Post graduation she has worked in Alaska, South Carolina, and Florida. She most recently came from White Oak Conservation, in Florida, where she was their Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Intern. She enjoyed her time there observing, handling, and banding more than 50 sparrows. When Alex is not working she enjoys hiking, birding and taking her kayak on the river but recently got barbed by a stingray while fishing off the beach (she’s no pro fisherman). Recent hobbies that she has picked up in the last year are line dancing and climbing in hopes to climb and dance across the US on a road trip one day. During a lazy day you can find her needle pointing and painting ceramics. She is super thrilled to be at GCBO this fall and is excited to learn and gain many skills from the amazing people here.

Thanks to Ron and Kathleen, who stayed with us over the summer and helped in the nursery, trails, outreach booth, summer camp and much more! They are now back home in Galveston, ready to spend more time with their new great grandbaby!

Our 2022 trips are all sold out! But we have just released our 2023 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.

November 25 – December 4, 2022- SOLD OUT!

February 2-7, 2023 - SOLD OUT!

February 9-14, 2023 – Only 2 spaces left!

June 24 - July 1, 2023- SOLD OUT

October 12-24, 2023 – SOLD OUT

February 2024 – Dates and info TBA

March 2024 - Dates and info TBA

June 2024 – Dates and info TBA

2024 – Dates and info TBA

Some of you may be interested in Jim Stevenson’s twice-a-week bird picture email list. He is local, running the Galveston Ornithological Society. He sends two PDFs a week that are name suppressed with pictures he takes of local bird species and one educational paragraph about them. You might learn more about the birds and also places to find them. Send an email to: galornsoc@earthlink.net

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!   

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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.

Telephone: 979-480-0999 | Email Us