By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Summer is heating up– as is the 2024 beach-nesting bird season! The first Wilson’s Plover nest of the season was discovered at San Luis Pass on April 16th, and the birds have been keeping busy ever since! So far this season, a total of 20 Wilson’s Plover […]
Read More
By Kenena Hanson, Houston Audubon Member Growing up with autism, it can be difficult to make connections with other people. I have been in love with birds from a very young age and have always wanted to be around them. Expressing my love for birds can seem obsessive to someone on the outside, but with […]
Read More
By Jesi Malowitz, Senior Development Associate, Houston Audubon July is here, and with it comes scorching Houston summers and a global movement to protect our environment: Plastic-Free July! Plastic pollution is a well-documented environmental crisis, especially here in Houston where, after a heavy rain, our bayous get inundated with plastic litter, bound for the ocean […]
Read More
By Tricia Lydick, Houston Methodist Research Institute It started with a rustle of feathers and the occasional eerie cry, but soon, Black Vultures had claimed our balcony as their own. Four years ago, we were unsure about these unusual visitors, but we quickly learned that it’s not uncommon for vultures to lay eggs on hard […]
Read More
By Schyler Brown, Wyatt Egelhoff (Conservation Specialists) & Pete Deichmann, Land Conservation Director, Houston Audubon Six years ago, in May 2018, all that remained was a hastily assembled jumble of sticks sitting atop a 6’ by 8’ skeleton platform. Houston Audubon staff had installed the fenced platform in the hopes of attracting a few nesting […]
Read More
By Brenda and Ivan Castillo Like many, my wife and I started our birding journey as a way to spend more time outdoors. Our first exposure was a guided bird walk put on by Houston Audubon. It was very eye opening to have all that wildlife activity pointed out to us by the incredibly knowledgeable […]
Read More
Purple Gallinule (Porphyrula martinica) Family: Rallidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician These multicolored, curious-looking birds are relatives of rails, and like many other rails are fond of wetland habitats with plenty of places to hide from potential predators. Adult Purple Gallinules have dark purple-blue heads and underparts, with a contrasting bright white […]
Read More
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Family: Accipitridae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician These boldly-marked hawks are as fierce as they are handsome. Adult Red-shouldered Hawks are distinctive, with bright reddish-brown chests and bellies, brown heads, and bold black-and-white wings with red shoulder patches. Immature birds are brown above and white below with broad […]
Read More
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) Family: Recurvirostridae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Black-necked Stilts are striking, elegant shorebirds; they are white below with black wings, backs, and heads. Their exceptionally long legs are bright bubblegum pink. They are quite vocal and conspicuous, especially during the breeding season. Black-necked Stilts favor shallow, open wetlands […]
Read More
By Vicki Stittleburg, Houston Audubon Environmental Educator & Naturalist Fledgling Friends, our program for young learners that meets each Thursday for 12 weeks, wrapped up an exciting spring session. Class topics focused on nature and wildlife that children are likely to encounter in the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary (ELMNS) and in the Houston area. […]
Read More
Houston AuduBlog 