Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) Family: Icteridae (blackbirds, orioles, and allies) By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The Great-tailed Grackle is North America’s largest grackle and a common permanent resident throughout Texas. They can be found just about anywhere in their range and birders and non birders alike have observed flocks of these loud […]
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Merlin (Falco columbaris) Family: Falconidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Merlins are small falcons that can be found throughout much of both the eastern and western hemispheres. Their name comes from the Old French name for this bird, esmerillon. They are slightly larger than American Kestrels, and are gray/brown above and white […]
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Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) Family: Laridae (Gulls and Terns) By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The Royal Tern is a year-round resident that nests on the Upper Texas Coast. They are social birds, and often gather on undisturbed beaches and nest in dense colonies. They are easy to distinguish in the breeding and […]
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Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima) Family: Passerellidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Seaside Sparrows are rather large, long-billed sparrows that are found in tidal saltwater marshes and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Populations that breed from New Hampshire and Maine south through Virginia are migratory or partially migratory, while populations […]
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Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata) Family: Parulidae (Wood-Warblers) By Rachel Myers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The Orange-crowned Warbler is a rather inconspicuous species of warbler common to the upper Texas coast during the winter. They can be seen from October through April and are absent during the summer. Due to their rather drab coloring and […]
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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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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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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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