Joseph reports 198 migrating raptors today. Broad-winged Hawk 27 Swainson’s Hawk 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 40 Cooper’s Hawk 8 Mississippi Kite 3 Turkey Vulture 105 American Kestrel 5 Northern Harrier 7 Bald Eagle 1
Oystercatcher Diaries 2019: Field Week 15
By Susan Heath Well I thought the wind was over but I was oh so WRONG! We had to change our monitoring day from Wednesday to Tuesday to avoid the high winds and rain from the tropical low that made its way to our area on Tuesday afternoon. Alan was out of town (having a blast in Costa Rica!) so … Read More
Nature Notes: Life’s a beach, especially if you’re a Wilson’s Plover
By Taylor Bennett The Wilson’s Plover is a type of shorebird that breeds along the Texas coast. It is not federally protected currently, but it is definitely a species that we should be more concerned about due to its population decline. It is considered threatened and endangered in some parts of the U.S., but because the majority of the population … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/22/18 (8 raptors)
Bob reports 8 migrating raptors today. Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Mississippi Kite 4 Peregrine Falcon 1 Merlin 1 Northern Harrier 1 Rainy morning followed by strong south winds. The Smith Point Hawk Watch is funded entirely through donations and grants. We have received a number of donations! Thank you! We are about 1/5 of the way to full funding. If you … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 12
By Susan Heath On Monday I went down to Port O’Connor to go out with Allan and Brigid Berger. They’ve been monitoring the oystercatchers there and they had a chick that needed to be banded. It was pretty windy but Allan assured me all would be well on the boat and it was! We headed out towards Grass Island where … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 8
By Susan Heath On Monday I went out to the Texas City Prairie Preserve sand/shell spit with volunteers Paula Kennedy and Joey Barnes. They found that P5 & unbanded had a nest last week and we planned to trap the unbanded bird today. Sadly when we arrived we found the nest had overwashed. The eggs were still there but they … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 7
By Susan Heath On Monday this week I had the pleasure of joining our Experiences Auction winners to check out the oystercatchers nesting in Tres Palacios and parts of Matagorda Bay. Maureen Wilde was the winning bidder on this auction item which included a day on the water checking out oystercatchers with local Bob Friedrichs, a gourmet dinner cooked by … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 5
By Susan Heath On Tuesday Robin and I headed up to Dickinson Bay in hopes of trapping and banding some of the birds at the Texas City Prairie Preserve (TCPP) sand/shell spit. Two of the volunteers that monitor those birds joined us – Paula Kennedy and Joey Barnes. It’s hard for them to tell what’s going on because so many … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 4
By Susan Heath The weather bit us this week and we had rearrange things. I had planned to do West Galveston Bay on Wednesday and East Matagorda Bay on Thursday but there was a small craft advisory on Wednesday so that was a no go. We moved West Galveston Bay to Thursday and scrapped East Matagorda Bay. We weren’t able … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 3
By Susan Heath The weather was on our side for a change and we were able to get out to both West Galveston Bay and East Matagorda Bay this week. Woohoo! On Wednesday I headed out to West Galveston Bay with Alan Wilde and John Wright. No fog! Sadly I forgot to get the banding toolbox and the nest box … Read More
Oystercatcher Diaries 2018: Field Week 2
By Susan Heath Another exciting week of oystercatchering! I had planned to do West Galveston Bay on Wednesday and East Matagorda Bay on Friday but Manomet is doing an aerial survey for American Oystercatchers in the U.S. to get a population count and they wanted people to count birds from boats so they could ground truth the aerial survey. It’s … Read More
Smith Point Hawk Watch 9/11/17 (3948 raptors)
Great day finally! Broad-winged Hawk 3898 Swainson’s Hawk 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Cooper’s Hawk 3 Mississippi Kite 39 Swallow-tailed Kite 1 Northern Harrier 5 Also lots of passerine migration happening.