Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera) Family: Anatidae By Theresa Kelly, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician This week’s Beak of the Week is a stunning one. The Cinnamon Teal is a regular (though not overly common) wintertime visitor to the Houston area, a cheery splash of red floating among the reeds of freshwater ponds. Relatively small overall […]
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Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) Family: Icteridae By Charlie Ayers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician This week’s Beak of the Week is a flashy Icterid of south Texas, the Hooded Oriole. Hooded Orioles are slender birds with a flame orange body, black wings, a black tail and a black throat patch that extends up to their […]
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By Theresa Kelly, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician The best weather for birding can vary heavily based on what you’re looking for. Although wind-driven rain might cause songbirds and waders to hunker down, it tends to push migrating seabirds such as petrels and terns closer to shore, making for great seawatching. Migrants of all orders, […]
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By Charlie Ayers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician As we are all huddled up in our houses drinking our coffee, tea or hot chocolate, many of us reading this blog post are probably watching the birds at our feeders stuffing their little beaks full of seeds. This brings questions to mind like “how do the […]
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Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) Family: Regulidae By Theresa Kelly, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician Despite its tiny size, this week’s Beak of the Week is astoundingly hardy, active, and agile. Golden-crowned Kinglets have a tiny, rounded body, short wings, and a skinny tail. Dull body coloration — pale olive and gray — is offset by […]
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American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) Family: Ardeidae By Charlie Ayers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician This week’s Beak of the Week, the American Bittern, is a master of disguise! American Bitterns tend to choose when they are seen rather than being found. With their cryptic, brown, streaky coloration, they materialize right in front of your face […]
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Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) Family: Accipitridae By Charlie Ayers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician This week’s Beak of the Week, the Northern Harrier, has a small hooked bill that it uses to eat a variety of prey. The Northern Harrier is a medium-sized raptor with broad wings, a long tail and a white rump patch […]
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By Vicki Stittleburg, Environmental Educator & Naturalist This fall, we had 13 young learners enrolled in our Fledgling Friends program. This interactive program focuses on the aspects of nature that preschool children are likely to encounter in their neighborhoods and at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. In their first class, students learned about our […]
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Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) Family: Anatidae By Charlie Ayers, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician This week’s Beak of the Week, the Red-breasted Merganser, has a long, thin bill with serrated edges like a bread knife! Males of this species have green heads with a hairdo that resembles a punk rocker, a white neck band and […]
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By Nick Minnich, Houston Audubon Coastal Conservation Technician More than a century of community science efforts has provided researchers, conservation biologists, and wildlife agencies with valuable data related to the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. While originating as an alternative to the popular Christmas “Side Hunt,” this community science event […]
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