On Saturday, June 3rd, we will be hosting a beach cleanup in Surfside as part of our partner program SPLASh. We will be focusing on the Crab St. area, which is used by a lot of waterbirds and is also quite trashy. We're looking for volunteers to help us cleanup this habitat for the birds! If you would like more information, or would like to sign up, please click the link below.

We've got lots of events coming up, so take a look and click for more information.

Spring Fling has come to a close! We had some great species this year and lots of visitors to share them with. Many thanks to all of the awesome volunteers who donated their time at the host station and worked hard to improve the property. We couldn't do it without you!

Did you know 1 out of every 3 birds migrating through the U.S. passes through Texas? Most migratory birds fly at night, meaning the bright lights of commercial and residential buildings attract and disorient birds. This distraction can cause collisions and leave birds vulnerable to threats on the ground. Take action to protect migrating birds by turning out all non-essential lights outside and inside from 11 pm - 6 am from March 1 to June 15. Learn more and sign up for bird migration alerts: https://tx.audubon.org/urbanconservation/lights-out-texas

As most of you know, Sue Heath is retiring at the end of June after a long and wonderful career at GCBO. She will leave a big void and hard shoes to fill! GCBO is lucky that we have found Rebecca Bracken to take on the role at Conservation Research Director. Sue and Rebecca will work together for the next two months until Sue’s retirement. 

Rebecca was born and grew up in central Texas. She received a Master’s in Biology from Texas State University and a Ph.D. in Forest Resources with a Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture concentration from Mississippi State University. Her dissertation focused on evaluating the influence of forest management activities on breeding and wintering avian communities and investigated how forest age and management affected nightjar abundance. Between her master’s and Ph.D., she worked on several field projects ranging from songbirds in New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Australia to shorebirds and wading birds in Wyoming and Oklahoma. She can’t wait to be back in Texas and working on the Gulf Coast again.

Welcome to our new Biology Intern, Ben! Ben Ryan Torres Jr. was born and raised in Angleton, Texas, the youngest of four siblings. Growing up Ben spent a lot of his time with his grandpa deer hunting and fishing, allowing him to learn about the ecosystems and wildlife he was surrounded by. As a child his Mimi gave him a book called North American Wildlife by Susan J. Wernert, this started a deeper interest and understanding of wildlife and ecology. He enrolled in the Wildlife, Fisheries, and Ecology class at Angleton Highschool and his teacher, Mr. Lens, taught him how to identify grasses, forbs, etc. Ben joined AHS’ FFA wildlife team and received the certificate of achievement for AP Environmental Science. During his internship at GCBO, Ben has been learning about Least Terns, Wilson plovers, their nesting habits, and how to prepare for in a future career of Wildlife Biology.

Contact splashtx@abcbirds.org to learn more or visit www.splashtx.org/education .

We often have a list of waiting RVers enjoying their time here at GCBO, but due to a cancellation we do have our summer slots open for the month of May through September 2023. You can do part or all! Think XHX events! We also have openings for the summer of 2024 if you or anyone you know wants a fun RV volunteer gig here. If you’re interested please send an email to Martin at mhagne@gcbo.org for more info.

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

June 24 - July 1, 2023 - SOLD OUT!

October 12-24, 2023 - SOLD OUT!

March 2024 - Dates and info TBA

June 16-22, 2024 - SOLD OUT!

September 2024 - Dates and info TBA

Thanks to Phillips 66 for supporting our conservation work! We recently received a grant from Phillips 66 for $60,000. They have supported us from Day 1 and continue to donate every year, helping us continue our avian conservation programs. We truly appreciate it!

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.

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

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