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May Edition
View on HAS website.
HOUSTON AUDUBON BIRD COUNTS
Armand Bayou Nature Center Survey Next Survey on May 10: Please join us Saturday for the monthly Houston Audubon Bird Count at Armand Bayou Nature Center. We will meet in the front parking of the nature center at 7:00 AM. Proper attire is recommended as you never know how the mosquitoes may be; however, as of last weekend, the mosquitoes were not bad at all, even deep in the woods. This will probably be the last decent week of spring migration so we may have some nice sightings. Crested Caracara has frequently been seen flying over as well as various warblers migrating through. I hope to see you there! — Andrew Hamlett, Leader Armand Bayou Bird Survey West 11th Street Park Survey Next Survey on May 20: Houston Audubon is conducting monthly surveys at this beautiful park. We meet at 8:30 AM on the Shelterwood side of the park. Please join us! — Mary Dodson, Leader West 11th St. Park Bird Survey Bolivar Bird Count Bolivar Bird Count Spreadsheets 
Next Survey on May 17: We meet at 8:00 AM at the parking lot on the Bolivar side of the ferry. Lunch and compile the list at 11 at the Mexican restaurant. Afternoon birding optional. All skill levels welcome. — Tom Kihn, Leader Bolivar Bird Count Willow Waterhole Survey Next Survey on May 17: The park is located just outside the southwest corner of Loop 610. Go south on Chimney Rock past Bellfort; turn left at Westbury High School onto Gasmer. The park begins where Gasmer splits and becomes Willow to the left, Gasmer to the right. For the survey, please park on Ricecrest and meet at 8 AM at the gazebo on Willow Street. Hope to see you there! For a list of the species seen to date, see the eBird hotspot. — Joy Hester, Leader Willow Waterhole Survey Pershing/Whole Foods Weekly Swift Count There have been many Chimney Swifts in Houston recently. On 4/15 we counted 330 swifts at Whole Foods and 3 at Pershing. On 4/14 there were 3 swifts at Russ Pitman Park. On 4/22 there were 241 swifts at Whole Foods. The swifts have been entering the chimney about 8 PM. We meet every Tuesday evening at about 7:45 PM at Whole Foods in Bellaire at 4004 Bellaire Blvd. Join us there or better yet, check out the skies in your neighborhood! Houston Audubon has initiated Swifts Over Houston to track swifts in Houston. Send us your reports of swift activity (observations, nesting, and roosting sites) and we will plot the results on maps. The purpose of Swifts Over Houston is to increase awareness of the benefits of swifts while increasing our knowledge of the birds in the Houston area. Ultimately we hope to save existing roosting / nesting sites from being destroyed and encourage construction of new towers. Your help in tracking Swifts Over Houston is greatly appreciated! — Pam Smolen, Leader Pershing/Whole Foods Swift Count Houston Bird Survey Summer Survey: June 1-30 Mark your calendars now for the next round of the Houston Bird Survey. Send us those reports for your neighborhood, local park, workplace or favorite birding spot! Online report forms will be posted June 1.
NEWS
Request for Reports of Color-flagged Hudsonian Godwits and Whimbrels Brad Andres has posted a request for reports of these species. Report details as well as requests for reports on color-flagged Long-billed Curlews, Reddish Egrets, and Western Sandpipers can be found on the Houston Audubon banded bird report web page. We also have links for general information about how and where to report banded bird sightings. Nightjar Survey: May 12-28; June 10-26 The Center for Conservation Biology constructed the Nightjar Survey Network in 2007 to begin the process of collecting data on the population distribution and population trends of Nightjars across broad regions of the United States. Nightjar Surveys are easy to perform and will not take more than two hours to complete. Volunteers conduct roadside counts at night, during specific time windows when the moon is less than 50% illuminated, by driving and stopping at 10 points along a predetermined 9-mile route. At each point, the observer counts all Nightjars seen or heard by species during a 6-minute period. No artificial broadcasts of the species' calls are used. Please visit the United States Nightjar Survey website for more details including location of routes, instructions, and results. Volunteer participation is important to provide information on Texas nightjars and the broader region. Please consider adopting a route. I have also posted a 2-page flyer on the website that can be downloaded and printed for distribution at bird-club meetings, wildlife product retailers, and other places. — Mike Wilson, Center for Conservation Biology April HAS Field Trip to Quintana  Eleven hardy HAS members braved a rainy morning to join guide Mike Austin for a birding tour of the Quintana area on Saturday, April 26. We started at the Quintana Neotropical Sanctuary where the birding was slow in a light rain. We then moved to the jetty where a flock of terns, gulls and sandpipers provided better birding views. All 8 of the common terns and the 3 common gulls were seen. A nearby pond and marsh area produced more species including Wilson’s Phalarope, Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Baird’s and the three ‘peep’ sandpipers. The rain stopped about 11:00 but was replaced by strong offshore winds. We returned to the Neotropical sanctuary and found a weak Cerulean Warbler on the ground but happily it made a miraculous recovery over the next hour. We added a few more warbler species including Yellow, Black-and-white and Redstart before breaking for lunch at the adjacent picnic pavilion. A drive down Bryan Beach produced Northern Gannet and a late Redhead duck. Another weather change brought sunny skies and calming winds and the jackets started coming off. Some of us ended the day at Brazoria NWR where Olney and Rodgers Ponds contained an astounding number of sandpipers and wading birds. We ended the day with about 110 species seen.
— Bill Saulmon, HAS Field Trip Coordinator |
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