The Nominating Committee of the Houston Audubon Board of Directors recommends the following slate for election to the Board of Directors. Elections will be conducted at the membership meeting on Thursday, May 9, 2019. Also, according to the By-Laws, nominations will be accepted from the floor.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. It was posted by Lark Heston on March 22, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Seven-episode series showcasing birding on the Bolivar Peninsula. Produced and emceed by David Harris of Bolivar LIVE, featuring Winnie Burkett as the local birding expert. Each episode is about 10 minutes long. You can watch new episodes each Thursday at 11 am on Bolivar LIVE.

Bolivar Peninsula is one of the top 100 birding locations in the USA, and High Island is one of the top 10.

Did you know Spring migration is here and that means billions of birds will migrate across the hemisphere, just this year? Education Director for the Houston Audubon, Mary Anne Weber shares how you can catch a glimpse of these unique birds in person!

Recorded at the Speaker Event on March 14, 2019. Houston Audubon Conservation Specialist Anna Vallery spent six months on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2015 as a biological science intern. She immediately fell in love with the habitat, the wildlife, and, of course, the seabirds. But during her time there she was faced with the harsh reality that human activity has impacted even the most remote locations. Midway has since become the heart of the plastic pollution movement and is inspiring cities far away, like Houston, to do better.

Thank you to the great group of folks who joined me for the Senior Bus Trip to Buescher State Park on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.

Next stop for the bus trippers will be High Island in April.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the American Pipit. It was posted by Maria Hart on March 15, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Sixty eager birders attended the Birdathon Kick-off Workshop on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary log house. There were three informative sessions:

Birding 101 with Glenn Olsen
How to Use eBird with Anna Vallery
Plan Your Birdathon/Fundraising Tips with Barbara Tilton and Sarah Flournoy

Barbara has been on winning teams for several Birdathons, so she provided a lot of useful techniques.

Three of our sponsors had tables on the porch to display their wares, a new addition this year.

There was great weather for the afternoon and everyone enjoyed the presentations and refreshments. The highlight was home-baked and hand-painted bird cookies provided by a volunteer.

Click here to see a gallery of the event.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Bank Swallow. It was posted by Bryce Loschen on March 8, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Pete Deichmann, Coastal Sanctuaries Manager, reports that the first Great Egret eggs of the season have been laid at the Smith Oaks Rookery. Spring is right around the corner.

THANK YOU to everyone who came to the February workday and helped spruce up the parking lot, clear the observation platforms and trim some trails at Smith Oaks. Our next volunteer workday will be this coming Saturday, March 9th. We will put the final touches on the sanctuaries before Spring migration so please come out and join us!

Just one hour northwest of Houston is 1,200 acres of amazing habitat and incredible opportunities for birding and relaxation. Join us for the 10th Anniversary of Birds and Blooms at Camp Allen, April 26 – 28, 2019.

Eighteen prospective volunteers signed in for orientation on Saturday, March 2, 2019. The meeting was held at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary log cabin.

Rebecque Demark, Houston Audubon Board director, presented the history of the Edith L. Moore and the sanctuary. Juanita Perkins, Volunteer Coordinator, explained all the opportunities available that need volunteers. The group then took a tour of the sanctuary trails.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Northern Parula. It was posted by Lark Heston on March 1, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Here is a link to the March 2019 edition of our monthly E-News in case you missed it. You can subscribe by filling in the form at the bottom of any page on our website.

Keith Weiss Park is beautiful! The woods were certainly busy with titmice, cardinals, Pine Warblers, kinglets and more. The two detention ponds gave us great views of beaver activity, nutrias, an Osprey, egrets and cormorants and a beautiful Anhinga.

Announcing our brand new Houston Audubon 50th anniversary water bottles, available for sale at the Edith L. Moore Nature Store, High Island and FeatherFest. Get your limited edition bottle for just $15.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Short-eared Owl. It was posted by Maria Hart on February 22, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

The annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic was held at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary log cabin on Saturday, February 16, 2019. Click the link to read the full story.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Lincoln's Sparrow. It was posted by Bryce Loschen on February 15, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Thanks for joining us for another great trip on Thursday, January 24, 2019! The park and dike had lots of great birds for us all to enjoy. The Texas City Museum had some great history and the day was certainly enjoyed by all.

Houston Audubon's observations and concerns related to the February 7, 2019, Hobby Airport fuel spill are ongoing.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Double-crested Cormorant. It was posted by Lark Heston on February 8, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Education Director Mary Anne Weber was interviewed on KPRC TV News by reporter Keith Garvin on Thursday, February 7, 2019, about the jet fuel spill from Hobby Airport that is affecting Sims Bayou. Mary Anne explained the dangers involved to wildlife and people due to hydrocarbons floating on the water at the Raptor and Education Center.

Click the link to see the 2-minute video interview.

Over 40 hardy birders participated in Super Bird 53 at Archbishop Fiorenza Park Phase 2. The Gridiron Goatsuckers team beat the Superb Owls for the first time by identifying 55 species in the two-hour competition.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Brown Pelican. It was posted by Maria Hart on February 1, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Here is a link to the February 2019 edition of our monthly E-News in case you missed it. You can subscribe by filling in the form at the bottom of any page on our website.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Great Blue Heron. It was posted by Bryce Loschen on January 25, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Over 75 people attended the unveiling ceremony for the sculpture honoring the memory of Flo Hannah. The event was held at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary on Friday, January 25, 2019.

Recent studies have shown how volunteering with people or a cause you care about can actually mitigate depression and anxiety issues. Here's how.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Ruddy Turnstone. It was posted by Bryce Loschen on January 18, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

We kicked off our inaugural Young Professionals Advisory Council (YPAC) this year. The first meeting was a social gathering at Axelrad on Thursday, January 17, 2019. The YPAC is an initiative to engage a new generation of bird and nature lovers in conservation. In addition to contributing their time and insight, the YPAC will also work together to complete a conservation, education or advocacy project in line with Houston Audubon’s mission.

Our newest bird cam is live on the Bolivar Flats. The camera shows a lagoon that is enclosed by marsh with channels of water. Wonderful flocks of birds can be seen in various places. Viewers can point the camera and zoom in to see exciting bird activity.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Merlin. It was posted by Maria Hart on January 11, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

Get ready for our annual team-birding event. Dates for the 2019 competition have been announced. The logo has been updated to reflect our 50th anniversary year. Can you identify the change?

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Eared Grebe. It was posted by Bryce Loschen on January 4, 2019. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery

Hear the commotion of thousands of birds on Texas's Bolivar Peninsula. Thanks to BirdNote and National Audubon Society for this 1.5 minute audio story about the birds currently visiting our Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary.

Dawn Monachino, Education Specialist, gave a program for pre-K children on owls at our next door neighbor in west Houston, the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. She brought Percy, Tskili, and Juliet. Kids had fun meeting them up close and singing an owl song. We had them pretend to be owls at the end to demonstrate silent flight.

Our logo has been decorated to celebrate 2019 as Houston Audubon's 50th anniversary.

Here is a link to the January 2019 edition of our monthly E-News in case you missed it. You can subscribe by filling in the form at the bottom of any page on our website.

Linda Royce portrays Edith L. Moore in a video filmed on October 27, 2018, during a Saturday's in Nature event. The event was part of the Houston History Alliance Women's History Program.

The video is staged in the living room of the historic log house (it is officially classified as a house, not a cabin) at a time after the Great Flood of 1935. Linda does a great job of speaking like Edith, who was born and raised in Minnesota. She covers a lot in this 9-minute video, spanning Edith's early life and education up north. She moved to Houston and worked at Camp Logan during World War I. After getting married, she and her husband Jesse moved to what is now the nature sanctuary. The talk contains many nostalgic stories about living off the land west of Houston.

You can read more about the history of Edith L. Moore and the log house on the website.

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Black Scoter. It was posted by Lark Heston on December 21, 2018. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

This page contains photos and links to help you understand the Coastal Spine project and concerns expressed by the environmental community.

Houston Audubon is committed to protecting its coastal sanctuaries, and we believe any major infrastructure project along the coast must incorporate a thorough study of ecological impact.

We have prepared a statement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to its Coastal Study for a barrier system that runs 70 miles along the Upper Texas Coast, sometimes referred to as the Coastal Spine or Ike Dike. We invite you to stay informed by reading the these documents.

The hard-working volunteers of the Audubon Docent Guild met on the crisp evening of Sunday, December 16, 2018, to celebrate their many accomplishments of the past year at the annual holiday gathering. There was good food and good cheer. Guild President Sheryl Marquez and Docent Coordinator Bethany Foshée made a presentation about sanctuary changes including the recent effort to spread leaf litter on the grounds to replace the ground cover lost during Hurricane Harvey.

New t-shirts were distributed featuring a possum. This shows that Edith L. Moore is a "nature" sanctuary for critters in addition to birds.

Click the link to see a photo gallery of people that enjoyed the party.

Calling all Central Houston backyard birders! We are looking for feeder watchers for the Central Houston Christmas Bird Count (see count area below). If you have a feeder in outlined area and are interested in participating, please email avallery@houstonaudubon.org.

Click the link to get more information about Christmas Bird Counts around Houston (and all of Texas).

The Beak of the Week on the Houston Audubon Facebook page featured the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It was posted by Maria Hart on December 14, 2018. Click the link to see the profile in our Bird Gallery.

This article was taken from the Bing search engine home page on December 14, 2018.

Before the 20th century, some North Americans organized ‘Christmas side hunts’ in which participants would choose sides, then compete to bag as many birds as possible. In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman suggested a bird census instead, and the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was born. The annual count is sponsored by the National Audubon Society. This year, the CBC runs from today through January 5, 2019, giving citizen scientists across North America time to join in, get outside, and spot some birds. The data collected is used to gauge the health of various bird populations–this information is then used to focus conservation efforts on particular species and geographical areas.

If you have a chance to count northern cardinals in your area, like the one in our photo today, you can tell the females from the males easily: Only the males have the bright red feathers all over. The females have only splashes of red on their tan coats.

Our 2019 High Island patch features a Yellow-throated Warbler - very fitting for our 50th anniversary as it's also the bird in our logo.

Houston Audubon chose the Yellow-throated Warbler to represent the organization in logo form along with a mayfly and Spanish moss. These species were threatened by major development at Wallisville Lake and the work of Houston Audubon and others resulted in much of the area being conserved. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Houston Audubon, we acknowledge the courage and resolve of our first members to stand up for nature.

Patch art generously donated by Linda Feltner.

Houston Audubon comments on the Coastal Texas Study and an additional statement from a group of 15 conservation organizations.

We have been gathering bags of leaf litter at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. We are using these to rebuild the forest floor leaf litter layer, which was washed away during Harvey. This will help bring back our invertebrate and herp communities. The photos show the Tuesday Trail Crew hard at work spreading the leaves.

The City of Houston, under Kelli Ondracek’s leadership as Natural Resources Manager, is applying to be a Bird City. Bird City Texas is a new program offered by Texas Parks and Wildlife and Audubon Texas. The program outlines a rigorous set of criteria incorporating three key areas: habitat enhancement and protection, community engagement, and safer spaces for birds. Because of Houston’s important location for birds and because of the widespread activities of many partners in these three areas, our application shows significant current impact and success. We have also identified areas for improvement that will require broad alignment and effort including outdoor cats, city plant lists, and the lights out initiative. We also believe that biodiverse, green infrastructure needs to be a key part of the City’s resilience and sustainability plans.