In conjunction with the Houston Audubon Society’s Citizen Science Committee, Fred Collins and I are organizing the 2nd Annual Red-vented Bulbul Census, and we would like your help. The census will take place on Saturday, June 3rd from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM in the Heights and surrounding area. Last year’s survey found 29 bulbuls, and we expect to find more this year with additional routes and an earlier start time. The birds should be actively nesting and feeding young at this time of year, making them easier to detect. We will cover the area via transects. Each person/pair will cover approximately 2 miles on foot. We would like to have people bird in pairs (particularly, a man and a woman when possible) so as not to cause distress among people living in the Heights when strangers with binoculars start peering into their yards on a Saturday morning.
One goal is to get an idea of the size of the population by recording as many bulbuls as possible at one time. We would also like to check some gaps in the area where no bulbuls have been reported on eBird. We hope to expand the survey to other areas of the city if we get additional observers.
If you are interested in participating in the census, please let us know as soon as possible so we can determine how many transects we can cover and if we have enough participants to expand the survey area. Tell us if you already have someone to pair up with. We are looking for people who can identify bulbuls by sight and/or sound and who can be cautious and respectful while birding in a neighborhood. If there are other people who meet these requirements, please let us know so we may contact them as well.
After 9:00 AM, we will meet at BB’s Café, 701 White Oak Dr. Houston 77008 to do a countdown. They will provide us with coffee and donuts. We will contact all of those interested in participating soon with information on which transects they will be birding, how to conduct the survey, and where we will meet after.
Thanks,
Kendra Kocab
Naturalist: Kleb Woods Nature Center
Commissioner Steve Radack
Harris County Precinct 3
Kleb Woods Nature Center website
