Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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Our Experience Auction is open until December 12 at 7:00 PM! You can now view and bid on the auction items in our online store! We've got a ton of great experiences and adventures on the roster this year, so check them out! |
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The new year is fast approaching, so you know what time it is- Time to get a new GCBO calendar!
The 2022 calendar is devoted to Warblers of the Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary. Each page features a beautiful warbler that was seen at Quintana and photographed by Mike Williams.
Mike was kind enough to create these calendars for us, and all proceeds go to GCBO's conservation work.
To get your calendar (or some for holiday presents!), go to our online shop here!
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Sign up for a Bird Identification Class |
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Waterfowl of the Upper Texas Coast with Ron Weeks |
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ID Classes & Field Trip
7:00-9:00PM Tuesday January 25th, 2022 – Class session #1 (Zoom)
7:00-900PM Thursday January 27th, 2022 – Class session #2 (Zoom)
7:30AM Saturday January 29th, 2022 – Field Trip
Synopsis:
Join GCBO board member and co-author of Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and Upper Texas Coast and A Birder’s Guide to the Texas Coast Ron Weeks for an in-depth look at local waterfowl. This course will have two weekday evening classroom sessions via Zoom followed by a full-day field trip to the coastal marshes to put what we learned into practice. You can expect to learn about the 29 waterfowl species seen annually in the Greater Houston area including:
- Identification basics including photo quizzes
- Breeding and wintering ranges along with the best local spots to find them
- Molt including “eclipse” plumages of males
- Habitat and diet
- Vocalizations – No, they don’t all go “quack”!
The course fee of $200.00 includes:
- Both classes and the field trip (car caravan for convenient departures)
- Sibley’s Ducks, Geese, and Swans of Eastern North America (folding laminated field card)
- Helping save birds, as the fee goes directly to supporting GCBO’s many conservation programs!
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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 - Friday, December 17th
· Freeport - Sunday, December 19th
· Brazoria-Columbia - Saturday, January 1st, 2022
Find info about these, or a count near you in Texas here:
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Join us once again for Bird Banding on December 18th 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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Thanks For an Awesome Brew on the Bayou! |
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With record numbers of guests and funds raised, Brew on the Bayou was a huge success this year! And it's all thanks to our supporters! Thanks so much to all of our wonderful volunteers who helped set up and host the event and to everyone who came out to celebrate Brew. We also owe a huge Thank You to our generous sponsors: |
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And if you missed your chance to buy a Brew on the Bayou T-Shirt, you can purchase them in our online store here.
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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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February 2-7, 2022 – SOLD OUT!
March 5-13, 2022 with Tikal Extension March 13-16 2022- SOLD OUT!
June 18-25, 2022 – SOLD OUT!
November 25 – December 4, 2022 – Spaces open!
October 12-24, 2023 – A Few Spaces Left!
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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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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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