Sign-up instructions found in guidelines below.

Guide: Damien Carey
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008
Time: 8:00 AM

Description: Spring birding on the Upper Texas Coast shouldn't be complete without a visit to the Big Thicket National Preserve. This area, at the confluence of Turkey, Village, and Beech Creeks north of Kountze, is a sweet spot for nesting specialty birds. Surrounded by bird song, we'll travel tram roads into habitats holding such East Texas nesting birds as Chuck-will's-widow, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and Swainson's Warbler. Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue Grosbeak, Painted and Indigo Buntings will be on territory too. Migration will be trailing off, but the many creeks and washes can produce late season migrants. Since many of the birds become quiet later in the morning, we will start our day earlier than usual. Think of it as an adventure as you watch the sun rise on your drive from Houston.

Guide: Damien Carey – Damien has birded Texas extensively since 1991 and has led numerous field trips for Houston area bird and nature clubs. He serves on the advisory board of Legacy Land Trust (LLT) doing habitat valuations and bird surveys in support of its land conservancy efforts.

Directions: Meet at the Big Thicket Visitor Center at 7:00 AM. From Houston, travel east on I-10 to Beaumont. Take US Highway287/69 north from Beaumont and drive to Kountze. Stay on US 287/69 for about 8 miles north of Kountze to the Big Thicket Visitor Center on your right at the intersection of FM 420. This is about a 1 hour and 45 minute drive from downtown Houston. Carpooling is highly encouraged.

Registration: Reservations are required. Sign up at the HAS meeting or contact Bill Saulmon, telephone 281-537-6924. Remember to bring your binoculars, scope, camera, sunscreen, insect protection, sturdy shoes, hat, raingear, water, and snacks or a lunch if you want to bird into the afternoon.

Houston Audubon Field Trip Guidelines

Our goal is to ensure that every field trip is enjoyable, safe, educational and beneficial to HAS members. To meet our goal, we have developed the following guidelines:

• Monthly field trips will normally be held the fourth Saturday of the month from September through May. Exceptions will be published in The Naturalist.
• Participants need to sign up for the trip either 1) at the monthly membership meeting during the same month as the field trip or 2) via e-mail/phone at least two days before the field trip.
• Each trip will have a limited number of participants, normally 25, and these will be chosen using a first-come, first-chosen basis. The sign-up will be opened first at the monthly membership meeting before the field trip and then via e-mail on the next day following the meeting. There may be some field trips in which the number of participants will vary from the 25 stated above, depending on the logistics of the trip. Variations will be noted in the field trip descriptions in The Naturalist.
• Each participant must be a local member of the Houston Audubon Society or be a guest of a local member of the Houston Audubon Society. An individual may be a guest on no more than two field trips during the birding season (September - May).
• Each field trip will have at least one expert leader whose responsibilities are the birding aspects of the trip. A liaison also will be present to handle the logistics of the trip, such as checking in, keeping track of participants, answering questions and following up on any logistical problems.
• Every effort will be made to provide each participant via e-mail with a list of birds seen after each trip. The liaison will help the leader with that information.
• Each liaison will have packets of Houston Audubon Society information to hand out to guests and other interested parties encountered during the field trip. The goal is to make the field trips more visible as a Houston Audubon Society event.
• Transportation to and from the field trip is the responsibility of each participant. The Houston Audubon Society, however, encourages car pooling.