Sedge Wren (Cistothorus stellaris) Family: Troglodytidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Sedge Wrens are small, well-camouflaged wrens. They are brown all over, with a paler throat and belly and dark streaking on the wings, back, and crown. They can be found in wet habitats with dense grasses and sedges, including coastal marshes […]
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Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) Family: Mimidae (Mockingbirds and Thrashers) By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Related to mockingbirds and thrashers, the Gray Catbird is a common bird you can see throughout the year on the Upper Texas Coast. They are most common during spring and fall migration, but small numbers overwinter in the […]
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By Zoe Gapayao, Houston Audubon Community Outreach Manager Just outside the 610 Loop in southwest Houston, you’ll find the international community of Gulfton. About 58% of Gulfton residents were born outside of the United States, 75% of whom were born in Latin America. In the middle of the neighborhood, families regularly gather at Burnett Bayland […]
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Please join us in welcoming our newest team member, Kimberly Lobit! Kimberly hails from Illinois, just outside the city of Chicago. She has worked as an environmental educator, avian field assistant, conservation program educator, education director, and public programs manager for a variety of organizations including the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, the George Miksch Sutton […]
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Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) Family: Sittidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Brown-headed Nuthatches are tiny nuthatches native to pine forests of the southeastern United States. Their range extends from southern Maryland and Delaware through southern Florida, extending westward into eastern Texas. They are blue-gray above and whiteish below with dark brown caps. […]
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Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) Family: Charadriidae By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The Black-bellied Plover is species of plover that spends its winter along coasts across the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean. On the upper Texas Coast, Black-bellied Plovers are abundant from August through April and less common in the summer. […]
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By Schyler Brown, Houston Audubon Conservation Specialist To better understand and protect our birds, we have to look at their movement through habitats across broad landscapes. Typically, scientists do this by counting birds and surveying plants where the birds occur, but this takes a lot of time and money, and usually only covers a small […]
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Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) Family: Cathartidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Black Vultures are large, all-black vultures with unfeathered, dark gray heads. They feed primarily on carrion, though they will occasionally hunt small fish or mammals. Black Vultures are common within their range, and can be found from the eastern United States […]
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Snow Goose (Anser Caerulescens) Family: Anatidae By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The Snow Goose is a species of waterfowl that overwinters here in abundance on the upper Texas coast and surrounding areas. They arrive in huge flocks of hundreds to thousands of birds, surrounding the sky in a cacophony of honks. In […]
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Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) Family: Passerellidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Harris’s Sparrows are large, mostly brown sparrows with white underparts and black crowns, throats, and chests. During the breeding season, adults have silvery gray faces that contrast with their brown backs, and become browner during the winter. Immature birds are similar […]
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