Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | 299 Hwy 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 |
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Smith Point Hawk Watch Celebration |
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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 in Anahuac (view the location here).
There will be food, drinks, and some live raptors on display. And, as always plenty of raptors soaring through the sky! Our staff and volunteers will be manning the tower, monitoring the birds and pointing them out to guests. Visitors will be able to look through scopes and binoculars and see the migration up close. Come celebrate 26 years of research and conservation with us!
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Thanks to our Evening on the Bayou Sponsors! |
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Willet Study Paper Published |
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In 2015, GCBO and the Texas MidCoast NWR Complex began a project studying the nesting habits and migratory linkages of breeding Eastern Willets on the Texas Gulf Coast. We trapped birds on the nest for five nesting seasons and applied geolocators to them to track their migratory routes and determine where they went for the winter.
Data from these devices showed that our nesting Willets left Texas in July and flew non-stop 2-5 days to their wintering grounds along the Pacific Coasts of Central and South America. They returned to breed in March again flying non-stop in 3-4 days. The fact that there are wintering Eastern Willets on the Pacific Coast was new to scientific knowledge as all Willets on the Pacific Coast had previously been assumed to be Western Willets.
The paper on this aspect of the study was recently published in Waterbirds available here for review. We are still working on two other papers using this data: one on nest site selection criteria and one on incubation sharing and timing.
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Webber Conservation Support |
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Webber LLC is a part of the Ferrovial group of international companies, one of the world’s leading infrastructure operators and municipal services companies, committed to developing sustainable solutions.
Webber’s Houston office recently made a substantial corporate donation to GCBO to support our avian conservation research projects, especially for our shorebird and waterbird research projects. Their $80,000 donation will help fund not only field research but also allow us to replace an aging truck used for field research, and other needed equipment.
We are grateful for Webber’s commitment to GCBO and our conservation work! Thank you!
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GCBO's annual Volunteer Dinner is coming up and everyone who volunteered this year is invited. Our volunteers have worked hard all year to help us, and now it's our turn to treat them!
Volunteers, come to GCBO's headquarters (299 Hwy 332, Lake Jackson) on October 27 from 6PM-8PM for a delicious dinner and desserts! We hope to see you there!
Please RSVP to csilling@gcbo.org if you're planning on attending.
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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!
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Thanks for a Wonderful XHX! |
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Xtreme Hummingbird Xtravaganza was amazing this year! We are so grateful to everyone who came out and volunteered or attended the event. We had over 1,300 visitors and banded 150 birds over the two days, setting new records for the event. We also saw a lot of smiling faces and happy hummingbird-lovers! Thanks again to everyone who made this such a great event!
Sponsored by Land Sea & Sky
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Welcome back Sheryl and Harold!
Sheryl and Harold Travis are back for another season at GCBO. These two have been our RV volunteers several times now and they are always a huge help to us!
And of course we can't forget their dog, Lily, who is a star volunteer as well.
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Bye, Rebekah!
Rebekah, our seasonal biologist was a huge help to us this summer. She aided our research, brought the nursery back to life, and helped in aspects of our education, outreach and office work. Thanks for all of your hard work, Rebekah!
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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 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.
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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
Boreal Winter Birding — Duluth, Minnesota
February 2024 – Dates and info TBA
Birding Baja Mexico
March 2024 - Dates and info TBA
Birding Summer Maine
June 2024 – Dates and info TBA
Birding Northern Peru and TFFF Trip
2024 – Dates and info TBA
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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.
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!
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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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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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