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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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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Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) Family: Passerellidae By Grace Yaros, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Swamp Sparrows are medium-sized sparrows, handsomely colored in shades of red and gray. They are rusty reddish-brown above with coarse black streaks, and grayish underneath. They have a distinct black line that extends behind the eye, and a pale gray face […]
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