january-february 2010 naturalist newsletter houston audubon society

8/9/2019 January-February 2010 Naturalist Newsletter Houston Audubon Society

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Sarah Emmott Environmental Conservation

Award or her conservation work on the Bolivar

Peninsula.

Julia Garrett, a member o the Board o

Advisors, likewise has expended tremendousenergy or Houston Audubon in multiple ways

rom education to sanctuaries to Birdathon

enthusiast. She was named the LauraSingleton Exceptional Volunteer in 2006 or

her outstanding contributions to HoustonAudubon.

The

These are exciting times on the BolivarPeninsula. Recent heavy rains are nally

leaching salt rom the soil, and Houston

Audubon is able to oer peninsula propertyowners ree native trees and shrubs as part o

the Trees or Bolivar Project. Property ownerssign up or trees, and Houston Audubon

sta conduct a site visit to determine whatspecies o trees are appropriate and i their

soil is ready. Peninsula residents are excited

about replanting, and many have signed upto participate in the program. This project is

unded by Together Green, a project o NationalAudubon and Toyota. The Apache Foundation

donated 500 trees and shrubs or the project.

Shorebirds have returned to Bolivar beachesas the invertebrate population has nally built

back up. Ike moved tons o sand o the beach

and with it the invertebrates that eed beach

Naturalist

January/February 2010

Contents:

Grand Parkway, Segment E 2

North Deer Receives Award 2

Exciting Times on the

Bolivar Peninsula 3

Grow Seedlings orRestoration Projects 3

CEC Honors Flo Hannah 3

2010 High Island Patch 4

Species Prole

Prothonotary Warbler 5

Winter Bird Counts 6

Summer Camps 7

birds. It took almost a year or invertebratesto settle in to the new beach. It is great to see

plovers and Sanderlings working the beachesagain.

continued on page 3

Exciting Times on the Bolivar Peninsula by Winnie Burkett, Sanctuary Manager

February 10, 2010

Watching Hummingbirds in Texas

Better than Reality TV

Speaker: Cli Shackelord

In a humorous as

well as inormative

presentation, Cli willcover the detailed

lives o several o ourstates hummingbirds

by poking un at the

titles o several realitytelevision shows.

Copies o his book,Hummingbirds of

Texas, will be available at this presentation.

Cli, a 5th generation Texan, is the statewideNongame Ornithologist or the Texas Parks and

Wildlie Department in the Wildlie DiversityProgram. He has also authored nearly 60

publications on birds and birding. He and his

amily live in Nacogdoches and, in their sparetime, they build screech owl boxes known as

Owl Shacks. (See our website or details.)

Membership MeetingsPlace: United Way Center

50 Waugh Drive Time: 7:00 pm Social

7:30 pm Meeting

January 13, 2010

The Great Alaskan Birding Adventure

Speakers: Winnie Burkett

Julia Garrett

A week in Nome ... Great Gray Owl chicks

in a campground ... camping on the Denali

Highway where Hermit Thrushes call allnight long ... lynx in Denali National Park ...

rating through the magnicent Arctic NWR... what is a growler anyway? Winnie Burkett

and Julia Garrett will give you the highlightso their great Alaskan Birding Adventure.

Find out how you too can plan a great

Alaskan Birding Adventure.

Winnie Burkett currently serves as Houston

Audubons Sanctuary Manager. She hasworn many hats or Houston Audubon, rom

Executive Director to cleanup crew to author.

In 2002 she was awarded the CECs Army and

Celebrating 40 Years o Bird Conservation

Naturalist

This Burrowing Owl at Bolivar Flats wasrst spotted during the Houston Audubon

October eld trip to Bolivar Flats

Photo:DavidMcDonald

Denali National Park


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Vol 29, No 1 January/February 2010

Houston Audubon Society

is a chapter o the National Audubon Society

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT Jim WinnPAST PRESIDENT Joy HesterPRESIDENT-ELECT Mary CarterCORPORATE SECRETARY Judith Boyce

TREASURER Andrew LopezDIRECTORSJohn Bartos Ginger ColemanLynn Forster Richard GoldarbKathryn Hale Bernice HotmanBen Hulsey Jerey MillsGeorey Newton Laurie WilliamsJerey Woodman

Galveston GroupRepresentative: Alice Anne ODonell

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Gerard A. Bertrand Sara BettencourtPeggy Boston Caroline CalleryClaire Caudill Gary W. ClarkFred Collins Scott DavisVictor Emanuel Ted Eubanks, Jr.Julia Garrett Stephen GastGene Graham Terry HersheyFord Hubbard, III Ann Wier JonesMavis P. Kelsey, Jr. Robert McFarlaneJe Mundy Donal C. OBrien, Jr.Heidi Rockecharlie Rob RowlandAndrew Sansom Steve SmithKathryn Smyth James R. Stewart, Jr.Lucie Wray Todd John L. WhitmireLettalou Whittington

STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Gina DonovanSANCTUARY MANAGER Winnie BurkettSR. SANCTUARY STEWARD Flo HannahSANCTUARY STEWARD Andrew BeckEDUCATION DIRECTOR Mary Anne Weber

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR Vicki VrobleCOMMUNITY RELATIONS DIRECTOR Robin LeonardCOMMUNITY RELATIONS ASSOCIATE Andrea RitchieCONTROLLER Barbara ThompsonOFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Juanita Perkins

CONTACT INFORMATION

HAS Oce 713-932-1639Education Oce 713-640-2407FAX 713-461-2911E-mail [email protected] County Group 409-772-3126

AUDUBON DOCENT GUILDCOORDINATOR Bethany [email protected] 713-464-4900

wwwhoustonaudubonorgwwwnarbaorg

The Naturalistis published bimonthly.Editor: Susan Billetdeaux

A ull color version oThe Naturalistin PDF ormatis available on our website.

Naturalist E-News is published monthly.To receive The Naturalistby e-mail, sign up or

Naturalist E-News on our website.

The Naturalistis made possible by a generous

git rom Terry Hershey.

For years, birders rom around theworld have visited the unique naturalarea west o Houston the Katy Prairie.

This unique prairie ecosystem serves as

critical habitat or thousands o geese,ducks, herons, egrets, hawks, songbirds,

and numerous rare and endangeredspecies o plants and other wildlie. TheKaty Prairie Conservancy has done a

remarkable job in protecting 13,000 acreso this habitat, which is only a remnant

o the great tallgrass prairie that once

stretched rom the Gul o Mexico toCanada.

Houston Audubon has ought diligentlyover the last couple o decades to

protect this vital area rom development

(residential, commercial, airports) andnow, the organization has joined a lawsuit

led by the Sierra Club taking to task the

Federal Highway Administration and theTexas Transportation Commission (Texas

Department o Transportation - TXDOT)or the negative environmental impacts

expected rom the proposed constructiono the Grand Parkway, Segment E.

On September 14, 2009, Houston

Audubon mailed a letter to the U.S. ArmyCorps o Engineers Regulatory Branch

(USACOE) opposing the permit to llwetlands submitted by Harris County

Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) citing the

Final Environmental Impact Statement(FEIS) didnt adequately address wetlands,

food control, water and air quality,

and commercial

and residentialdevelopment. The U.S.

Fish & Wildlie Serviceand the Texas Parks & Wildlie Department,

too, wrote letters opposing HCTRAs permit

application. The Segment E portion o theGrand Parkway project could directly impact

45.63 to 72.79 acres o wetlands, and mitigationplans submitted by HCTRA will not adequately

mitigate project impacts.

Even though Harris County ocials requested$181 million in ederal stimulus unds be shited

to other projects ater determining the Segmen

E toll road project wasnt shovel-ready, thelawsuit will remain in eect since its based on

inadequacies o the FEIS and Harris County TollRoad Authoritys (HCTRA) permit application to

ll wetlands.

In its permit application to the USACOE, HCTRA

ailed to ully disclose right-o-way (ROW)boundaries; thus, not including the totalpotential wetlands destruction. Generally,

ROWs are 400 eet, but HCTRAs plans include

an additional 300 eet (150 eet on each side othe 400 oot ROW) that was not mentioned in

the wetlands permit application. This additionaROW ootage will assuredly include additional

impacts to wetlands and require additionalmitigation.

At this juncture, Houston Audubon sees its role

in the suit as one o ghting or ollowing thelaw as set orth in the National Environmental

Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act,

and the Clean Water Act.

Grand Parkway, Segment E

by Gina Donovan, Executive Director

North Deer Island Protection Team ReceivesCoastal America Partnership Award

On December 2, the North Deer IslandProtection Team received the CoastalAmerica Partnership Award the only

environmental award o its kind givenby the President o the United States

or their eorts to protect the most

important colonial waterbird rookery onthe Upper Texas Coast: North Deer Island.

The Coastal America Awards Programrecognizes outstanding eorts and

excellence in leadership or protecting,preserving, and restoring the nations

coastal resources and ecosystems.

The North Deer Protection Partnersworked or eight years to armor

approximately 1.7 miles o North DeerIslands rapidly eroding shoreline.

Partners barged in 24,100 tons rom a rockquarry in Missouriusing the Mississippi River

and the Intracoastal Waterway as a routeto

create 6,450 eet o stone breakwater andarmored shoreline.

The large and diverse partnership includes:

Audubon Texas, EcoNRG, EPA Gul o MexicoProgram, Houston Audubon, Harris & Eliza

Kempner Fund, Meadows Foundation, ReliantEnergy, Shell Marine National Fish and

Wildlie Foundation, Texas Commission oEnvironmental Quality - Galveston Bay Estuary

Program, Texas General Land Oce, Texas Parks

and Wildlie Department and U.S. Fish andWildlie Service.

Read more about this award, North Deer

Island and the North Deer Island Erosion

Project on our website.

The Naturalist January/February 2010


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Rodent populations are picking back up onthe peninsula, and raptors are becomingmore common. It is wonderul to see harrierscruising the marshes once again. A Burrowing

Owl took up residence in the power pole

pile in Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary or acouple o weeks but may have moved on due

to the regular presence o Peregrine Falconsin the area. Barn Owls have returned to the

peninsula and hopeully will soon nd our

nest boxes. We have more boxes to put upthis winter.

Houston Audubon sta is involved in thedevelopment o the Bolivar Blueprint, a vision

or the long-term recovery process. Thecommunity is looking to ecotourism as one

o the keys to economic recovery, and that

is good news or birds and bird watchers.The peninsulas rural nature has retained

wildlie habitat and made it a popular birding

destination. The restoration o that habitat will

help with economic recovery. To nd out moreabout the Bolivar Blueprint process, visit www.

bolivarblueprint.com.

Two recent work days ocused on restorationo habitat in the bird lots adjacent to Ft

Travis in Port Bolivar. Once 4 acres o yauponthickets where Painted Buntings nested and

many migrants stopped, these lots werescraped bare by hurricane cleanup operations.

Habitat restoration specialists rom the Natural

Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cameto the peninsula to evaluate the site, and then

brought 5,000 native salt-tolerant grassses,150 trees and shrubs, and grass and wildfower

seeds or the site. The grasses were planted

on October 31 by 40 volunteers who includedHouston Audubon sanctuary volunteers, master

naturalists, and peninsula residents.

On November 17, thirty volunteers showed up

to plant the trees and shrubs and were thentreated to a yummy gumbo lunch provided byPort Bolivar resident Edith Watson. What would

we do without volunteers?

It is immensely gratiying to witness the wildlieand the habitat upon which they depend

return to Bolivar Peninsula, helped along by thecooperative eorts o our volunteers, Bolivar

residents, donors, and partners.

Find more inormation about our Bolivar projects

in the Sanctuaries section o our website.

American Avocets atBolivar Flats, November, 2009

Pho

to:JoanneKamo

Exciting Times on the Bolivar Peninsulacontinued rom page 1 CEC Honors Flo Hannah

Grow Seedlings for Restoration Projects

by Flo Hannah, Sr. Sanctuary Steward

Houston Audubon and the Coastal PrairiePartnership (CPP) are involved in nativeplant restoration projects at several locations,Houston Audubons land outside o the Ft.

Travis Seashore Park in Port Bolivar, and a CPPproject at Hermann Park (Project Blazing Star).

Partners include the NRCS, several MasterNaturalists chapters, a Together Green grantsponsored by National Audubon and Toyota,

and the Apache Tree Foundation.

The biggest roadblock to coastal prairierestoration is the lack o available native plant

material specic to the Upper Texas Coast. Wehave collected native seed all summer and all

and are asking individuals to propagate theseed at home or restoration projects in early

spring 2010.

Participation is limited to the rst 25

respondents and we are requesting a donationo $20 or more. I hope you will join in this un,

important wildlie enhancement project. I will

mail you the native plant seed along with aphoto o the native plant you are growing. Full

instructions on native plant germination areavailable at coastalprairiepartnership.org. Jaime

Gonzalez has prepared a restoration handbook,available on that site, which explains everything

about seed collecting and propagating.

Once your plants germinate, and are hardyenough to bump-up to 4 or 1-gallon

containers, you can join us at a potting-up work

day, or drop o the seedlings and we will do therest. The plants will be used in one o our many

restoration projects. We encourage you toretain some o the native plant material or your

own backyard, helping to create a wildliecorridor throughout the Houston-Galveston

region.

I youre not able to propagate plants butwould still like to participate, there are many

ways to help. You can join us or one o our

work days or assist with a donation.

Find ull details in the Sanctuary section

o our website.

On November4, the CitizensEnvironmental

Coalition honored

Houston AudubonSr. Sanctuary

Steward Flo

Hannah along withJaime Gonzalez

o the Katy PrairieConservancy or

their leadership in native plant rescueevents held at Saums Road Prairie during

the summer o 2008. Native grasses andwildfowers were relocated rom this site

beore its destruction or a development

project and transported to sites acrossthe city o Houston to create small

pocket prairies. Their eorts led to thecreation o the Coastal Prairie Partnership,

the rst local group dedicated to the

conservation o coastal prairies.

Flo and Jaime were the 2009 Army &

Sarah Emmott Conservation Award

Winners. This award recognizes localindividuals and organizations or

their notable environmental projectsand achievements. The winners are

chosen rom nominations made by theenvironmental community at large.

Congratulations, Flo and Jaime! Houston

Audubon is thrilled that your outstandingeorts to save our coastal prairies are

being recognized.

American Basketfower

www.houstonaudubon.org


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Reservations are required or all Houston Audubon eld trips. For more inormation about the eldtrips and resource links, see the description in the Birding section o our website. Participants, please

check the website or any last minute updates.

Houston Audubon Field Trips

Kleb Woods Nature PreserveSaturday, January 23, 8:00 am

Fred Collins will lead us through KlebWoods Nature Preserve, which is a 133.5-acre Harris County park located only 40 miles

northwest o downtown Houston. It is one

o the ew places in Harris County wherethe Brown-headed Nuthatch is resident,

and its the only publicly accessible park tohave resident Greater Roadrunner. Elmer

Klebs amily armed this land beginning in

the 1870s, and when he died in 1999, hehad transormed his prairie into a pine-oak

orest. The parks southern tract has beenopen to the public since September 2006,

and it has already become a regular stop orHouston area birders. The Kleb Woods bird

list includes more than 200 species. Day

lists oten total 40 species or more and wewill likely see the ollowing wintering birds:

Blue-headed Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet,Brown Creeper, Pine Warbler, six woodpecker

species, Pine Siskin, and American Goldnch.

Fred Collins is the director o the KlebWoods Nature Center and the Cypress Top

Historic Park, botho Harris County,

Pct 3. He is also aHouston Audubon

past president. Fred

does reelanceconsulting, primarily

on bird relatedtopics as well as

endangered species

habitat analysis in SE Texas. He is currently

doing research onthe Eastern Spotted

Skunk. Past research

has included the

Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Snowy Plover, PipingPlover, Mountain Plover, and Long-billed Curlew.

Reservations: Sign up at the HAS Membership

Meeting or with Skip Almoney ([email protected]) a

713-524-4285

Directions: We will meet in the parking lot at the

education center. From Houston, take Hwy 290/

Hwy 6 north, exit at Mueschke Rd, and drive 7 milesto Draper Rd. To reach the Nature Center, turn let,

go 400 yards, and turn let into the parking area.Please make every eort to car pool to this event.

Mayes Trace & Lake CharlotteSaturday, February 27, 8:00 am

Bill Saulmon will lead this trip to the J.J.Mayes Wildlie Trace near Wallisville inChambers County. Located in an area setaside at the Wallisville Lake Project, Mayes

Trace consists o a complex o roads, trails,boardwalks, and picnic acilities designed to

allow close-up viewing o both marsh and

riparian habitats located along the river. Theheart o the complex is a 4-mile nature trail

located along the top o a levee. Observersare able to view the marsh area as they

drive along at an elevation o about 10-eetabove the surrounding marsh. The trail is

anchored by a small picnic area located

under a grove o large, historic oak treesjust south o I-10. A 2.5-mile trail ollows

an old road along the banks o the TrinityRiver through beautiul riparian habitat. The

middle portion o the trail is paved and is

part o a .8-mile handicapped accessibleloop trail containing over 1,000 eet o

board walk only a ew eet above the marsh.Observation decks overlooking the Trinity

River and the marsh are also provided. In

addition, a small pavilion and restroom are near the

Wallisville Navigation Lock at the south end o theauto/nature trail.

Ater exploring Mayes Trace, the group will travel

to nearby Cedar Hill Park on Lake Charlotte to lookor more woodland birds and possible looks at Bald

Eagles that nest on the lake. You can bring a sack

lunch and well picnic at the park.

Bill Saulmon has served as eld trip coordinator or

Houston Audubon and the Ornithology Group. He

a volunteer counter at the Smith Point Hawk Watchand leads birding eld trips or various nature group

around the Houston area.

Reservations: Sign up at the HAS Membership

Meeting or with Kevin Poling at 832-689-6959 or

[email protected].

Directions: We will meet in the parking lot at the

entrance to Mayes Trace. From Houston, take I-10

East. Just ater mile marker 805 and just beorethe Trinity River bridge, look or signs on the right

indicating the exit or the Trinity River Boat Ramp& Turnaround. Take this exit and continue on the

service road to the Mayes Trace entrance road onthe right. The parking lot is just inside the entrance

road. Please make every eort to car pool to this

event.

Greater Roadrunner

High Island Work Days

Saturday, January 9, 8 am 2 pm

Saturday, February 13, 8 am 2 pm

High Island work days this winter will

ocus on habitat restoration eorts,which means attacking privet and

planting native trees and shrubs. It is

rewarding to see how well previouslyplanted trees and shrubs are growing.

We work rom 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., butvolunteers are welcome whenever they

show up. Houston Audubon supplies

lunch, water, and some tools. I youhave avorite tools, please bring them

along. Please sign up with AndrewBeck, [email protected] or

713-932-1639.

2010 High Island Patch

Linda Feltner has once again donatedher talent to Houston Audubon tocreate the design or the 2010 HighIsland Patch and t-shirt. This years bird

is a Prothonotary Warbler, a common

spring migrant in the High Islandsanctuaries and a species that has been

sticking around during the summer.Nesting? We cant prove it yet.

Linda is an artist who specializes in both

the aesthetics and science o naturalhistory. Her work adheres to the strict

standards o scientic accuracy, whilecombining the creativity o artistic

design and the realism o nature into

what has become her trademark. Asa naturalist guide, she spends many

hours observing wildlie in a greatvariety o habitats worldwide. To nd

out more about Lindas art, visit her

website, http://lindafeltner.com. We are

very lucky to have an artist o Lindas

caliber donating her talent to HoustonAudubon.



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Species Profle

Prothonotary Warbler

by Glenn Olsen

The Prothonotary Warbler is the iconicbreeding warbler o bottomlands, woodedbayous, creeks, rivers, and swamplands o theeastern United States, including those habitats

in the eastern hal o Texas.

This breeding warbler o the darkbottomlands and swamps glistens like a

golden fame as it darts about deendingterritory or in search o ood. The head,

throat, breast, and belly o the male are a rich,

bright, golden yellow. The blue-gray wingsand yellow-green back go almost completely

unnoticed, so compelling is the bright yellow.The emale looks very similar but is not as

brightly colored. A.C. Bent thought that a

more betting common name or this speciesshould be Golden Swamp Warbler. This name

seems quite appropriate both or the colorand habitat o the bird, but it just makes too

much sense to be accepted. The commonname and the genus are derived rom the

Latin protonotarius and reer to yellow robes

worn by Vatican Registrars.

This species begins arriving in Texas mid tolate March. Many more arrive in April and

most continue northward to other breedingranges. Once a suitable territory is located, the

Golden Swamp Warbler begins to search or

nesting cavities. This species has the unique habito nesting in natural cavities and abandoned

woodpecker holes within bottomlands andswamps. It is the only eastern warbler known to

do so. Females arrive, courtship begins, and the

timeless story o raising a amily is retold. Oncethe young are sel sucient, individual birds begin

their all migration to the southern areas o CentralAmerica and northern South America where

they will remain until the ollowing March. Mostindividuals have let the U.S. by the end o October.

Unortunately, this species, like many others,

aces the potential o even more declines inits population due to loss o bottomlands and

Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea

Ph

oto:Greglavaty

with Glenn Olsen

Sparrow IdentifcationJanuary 21 February 6, 2010

Class meetings at ELMNS & eld trips

Spring Warbler IdentifcationMarch 23 April 10, 2010

Class meetings at ELMNS & eld trips

Shorebirds o the Upper TX CoastFebruary 25 March 25, 2010

Oered through the Susanne M. Glasscock

School o Continuing Studies

at Rice University

Details at www.houstonaudubon.org

Birding Classes

reshwater swamps where it breeds as well as

loss o habitat in non-breeding areas.

During migration, these warblers can be oundat the Houston Audubon sanctuaries at High

Island. During breeding months, look or them

along secluded wooded bayous, in bottomlandor a swamp. I encourage you to search or this

strikingly beautiul bird when they begin arrivinin our area.

Find this profle in the Bird Gallery o our website


Bird Counts

National CountsHouston Audubon Counts

Houston Bird SurveyJoin us or the next survey during

the month o January. Report thebirds at your home, oce, school,

local park anywhere you nd birds

in the greater Houston area. Find ulldetails and online report orms in the

birding section o our website.

Armand Bayou SurveyLeader: Andrew Hamlett

Monthly on the second Saturday

West 11th Street Park SurveyLeader: Mary DodsonMonthly on the third Tuesday

Willow Waterhole SurveyLeader: John Schneider

Monthly on the third Saturday

Check www.houstonaudubon.org or

details and any last minute updates

Rusty Blackbird Blitz: January 30 February 15

Great Backyard Bird Count: February 12 15

This is the 13th annual count, hosted by Audubon and the Cornell Lab o Ornithology. Submit

your counts online. Send in your photos, some o which may be displayed online. There isno registration fee all ages and skill levels are welcome. Details at birdsource.org/gbbc.

The Rusty Blackbird has been steeply declining, with estimates o an 85-99% population drop

over the past 40 years. Although the cause or this alarming decline is not known, winterhabitat loss and degradation are likely candidates. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is

asking us to help locate local, but predictable wintering concentrations o Rusty Blackbirds.

You can go wherever you like, whenever you l ike, and as oten as you like anytime withinthe blitz period. Submit your observations via e-Bird, and they will do the rest! Find more

inormation and links in the Birding section o the Houston Audubon website.

Christmas Bird Counts

Christmas Bird Counts continue through January 5 with many exciting counts on the Upper

Texas Coast still to be held. See our website or details on these and other Texas counts.

Houston (Baytown) Dec. 26 Bolivar Peninsula (High Island & Anahuac NWR) Dec. 27

Trinity River Dec. 28 Old River Dec. 30 Cypress Creek(Katy Prairie) Jan. 1

Orange County Jan. 1 Bualo Bayou (ELMNS) Jan. 2 Huntsville Jan. 2San Jacinto Wilderness Jan. 2 Brazoria revived! Jan. 3 Sea Rim State Park Jan. 3



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$5,000+

John Biesmann Lalise & Greg Mason National Audubon Society The Powell Foundation Temple-Inland Inc.

$2,500-$5,000

Ann Wier Jones Magnolia Charitable Trust Betsy & Jim Winn

$1,000-$2,499

Amegy Bank Cindy & John Bartos Mary Carter Steven Damuth Jena Evans ExxonMobil Foundation Rick Goldfarb John Knighten

Evelyn & Kevin Shanley Ellen & Buddy Temple W. Wamsley

$500-$999BP Foundation, Inc. Patsy Cravens Mary Gwen & Ben Hulsey Kay & Larry Medford Stewart Mill Alice Anne ODonell

Joanne & Albert Smith Lucie Todd Kelly Walker

$100-$499

Anonymous Jonni & Skip Almoney John Ashmun Victoria & Robert Bartlett Susan & Sandy Baum Kristin & Jason Bonilla

Robin & Richard Brooks Jan & Jack Cato Ginger Coleman Carlton Collier Karen & Gerald Cullar Carolyn & Scott Davis

Nancy & Bob Davis Mary Dodson Gina Donovan Marianna & Rufus Duncan Michael Eisemann El Paso Julia & Phil Garrett

Cynthia Gersch Jean & Don Gray Joyce & Eric Haufrecht Tracy Hester Maxine Johnston Marcia & Stan Katz Wendy & Mavis Kelsey

Lynn & John Old Glenda & Calvin Perry Lee & Don Richardson Robert Richter Beth Robertson Judith Schott

Linda Shead & Tom Douglas Nancy Simpson Barbara & Mark Thompson Eliot Tucker Stephen Turnipseed Sarah Vickers & Andrew Beck

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Brenda & Mort Voller W. Wamsley Mary & Thomas Whitworth Laurie Williams Elizabeth Zivley

$1-$99

Lilibeth Andre Geo Butcher Alicia Bennett & Amit Kshatriya Peggy Boston Chevron Humankind Matching Gift Program J. CooperMary Jo & Jack Gorden Aaron Greenberg Halliburton Global Impact Sarah Hannah Joy & Bill Hester Daniel Jacobson Alice Keaton

Michael Lynch Sarah Mason & Caleb Crow G. Middlebrooke Keely Miers Deborah & Ellis Pickett Sonia Raizes Andrea Reynolds

Judith Schott Sempra Energy Foundation Barbara Shurberg Spring Oaks Garden Club Merrie Talley Texas Master Naturalists, Heartwood

Chapter Marjorie Thompson Glenda & Terry Waldman Mary Anne & Ric Weber Lettalou Whittington Connie & Je Woodman

Gits In-Kind

Buchanans Native Plants Caroline & Charles Callery Katy Emde Bernadette & Jeremy Weidenhof

And nally, we thank all our new and renewing Members, the lieblood o Houston Audubon

Donations received and processed by November 19, 2009

Thanks to Houston Audubons Generous Donors!

Taylor High School Work Day at SBUNC

by Vicki Vroble, Environmental Educator

On November 21, while many people werestill snuggled in their warm beds, a group ogirls rom the Taylor High School Environmental

Club arrived or a work day at the Sims BayouUrban Nature Center. It was cold and wet, but

the weather conditions didnt slow productivity.

In order to combat our recent inestation oRaspberry crazy ants, our ocus was to remove

as many logs, stumps, and allen branches romthe property as possible to reduce habitat or

the ants.

It was an incredibly ambitious project, but withthe assistance o Sanctuary Steward Andrew

Beck and me, the girls hauled an amazingamount o tree waste and loaded it into a

giant dumpster in the parking lot. When thedumpster was lled to the brim, the girls started

working on re-mulching the trails in our prairie.

We couldnt have accomplished this eat without

the energy and dedication o the Taylor Team.

Thank you, Irnela Bajroni, Lauren Cardenas,Rachel Gosch, Mariel Hooper, Corinne Jones,

Anju Kannappan, Emily Mills, and Meagan Wey!

The Environmental Club has aided us in the past

and is helping at our Holiday at the Cabin event

on December 5. We look orward to continuingour partnership with the environmentally

conscious students at Taylor High.

On Your Marks ... Get Set ...

Birdathon!

March 27 May 2, 2010

Its not too early to start orming your 2010

Birdathon team. Birdathon is a great way tointroduce others to the joy o birding while

raising money or Houston Audubon so we

can continue to promote the appreciationand conservation o birds and wildlie

habitat. Plus, youllbe competing or

antastic prizes!

Experienced, novice,adult, and youth teams

everyones welcome.

Come join the fun!

ProthonotaryWarbler:JoanneKamo



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Nature DetectivesJune 14 18 9:00 am 12:30 pm

Nature Detectives Camp lets your curiousyoungster explore the mysteries o the natural

world. Campers will learn how to look or and

interpret clues in nature. Each day they willadd a tool to their personalized detective kit

that will aid them in cracking the case o theday. Join us as we discover Who Dung It? at

the nature center. (Ages 5 7)

WILD about ARTJune 28 July 2 9:00 am 3:00 pm

Art takes nature as its model - Aristotle. Acombination o science and art, this camp

will unlock the creativity in your child. Well

explore the beauty o nature and attempt tocapture it through various media. In addition

to many original pieces, campers will bring

home new ways o expressing themselvesthrough art. (Ages 8 12)

Houston Audubon Summer Camps

at Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center

WILD about BIRDSJuly 12 16 9:00 am 12:30 pm

Bird camp is the place to be this summer! Wewill explore the world o birds both in and out

o the nest. Campers will learn to identiy local

birds, make amazing bird crats, and play lots oeducational bird games. Your camper will be

bird crazy by the end o the week. (Ages 5 7)

Habitat HeroesJuly 26 30 9:00 am 12:30 pm

Habitat Heroes Camp will literally transorm yourchild into a Planet Earth Protector! Campers will

learn how living things are connected and whyconserving habitat is important to maintaining

balance in nature. Each day their knowledge will

be tested as they don their capes and respondto an eco-emergency. The uture o the Earth is

sure to be in better hands with Habitat Heroes onthe scene! (Ages 5 7).

Registration for all camps begins in January. See www.houstonaudubon.org for details and forms.

Audubon Docent Guild Summer Camps

at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary

Come Along CampMay 24 28 10:00 am 11:30 am

Outdoor un and nature adventure await your

eager preschooler and a grown up chaperone otheir choice! (Ages 2 5)

Nature Explorers CampFive 1-week sessions in June & early July9:00 am 12:00 pm

Meet the animals o the Bayou City and hike

the trails each day as we go on eco-adventures.Make nature crats to take home. (Ages 5 10)

New! Frontier CampJuly 19 23 9:00 am 12:00 pm

Learn about the Akokisa Indians who used to

roam the banks o Rummel Creek. Explore theorest like our earliest pioneers. Make your own

arrowheads and pottery, sh in the ponds, tell

campre stories, and play rontier games.(Ages 5 10)

Survivor CampJuly 26 30 9:00 am 12:30 pm

Well test our nature survival skills as we learn tobuild shelters, lter our own water, cook using

the sun, and make a tasty snack rom plants (and

bugs!) ound here in our orest. (Ages 11 12)

New! Backyard Bugs CampJuly 12 16 9:00 am 12:00 pm

Spend the week investigating the incrediblediversity o earths largest group o animals. Make

bug trappers, build an insectarium, design buggy

costumes to wear, and spend lots o time upclose with our tiniest backyard neighbors.

(Ages 5 10)

New! Art in Nature CampAugust 2 6 9:00 am 12:00 pm

Explore the beauty in nature all around us.Well spend the week adding to our nature

scrapbooks, painting watercolors along the creek,designing crats using natural materials, and well

even create our own whimsical animal creatures!.

(Ages 5 10)

X-treme Pond CampAugust 9 13 9:00 am 12:00 pm

For our most daring adventurers, well spend thislast week o the summer exploring

the exciting, underwater worldo our creeks and ponds. Well

design our own pond aquariums,investigate the animals that live beneath the

waters edge, and explore the hidden habitats o

Rummel Creek. (Ages 10 11)

Volunteers Neededfor Spring Festivals!

NatureFestMarch 6

Jesse Jones County Park

Houston Audubon has a booth at this

un estival in Humble or the entireamily. We will need at least two

volunteers or the whole day or a ew

more that can take a morning shit

and then an aternoon shit.

8th Annual

FeatherFest

April 8 11Galveston

We need volunteers to run the

booth at the Birders Bazaar andhandle sales on all days. Even i

you can only work or a ew hours,it would be a big help.

Houston Audubon presents

5th Annual

Festival on the Bayou

May 8Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center

Mark your calendars now to

celebrate International Migratory

Bird Day with us!Activities or all ages, live animals,

crats, games, special guests, ood,and un! Volunteers have a great

time come join us!

To volunteer and or more inormation,

please contact Juanita Perkins:

[email protected]

713-932-1639



8/8

Naturalist

February

Weekly Bayou Buddies on Friday, SBUNCWeekly Titmouse Club on Tuesday & Wednesday, ELMNS

4 Sparrow Identication Class, ELMNS (see p. 5)

6 Sparrow Identication Field Trip (see p. 5)

10 Membership Meeting: Watching Hummingbirds in Texas

with Cli Shackelord (see p. 1)

13 High Island Work Day (see p. 4)

13 Armand Bayou Nature Center Survey

16 W. 11th St. Park Bird Survey

17 HANPA Meeting, ELMNS

18 Ater-School Nature Explorers Club, ELMNS

20 Family Nature Explore Club: San Jacinto Battlegrounds

20 Willow Waterhole Survey

24 Galveston Group Meeting (see website or details)

26 Owl Prowl, ELMNS

27 Flying WILD Workshop, SBUNC (see website or details)

27 HAS Field Trip: Mayes Trace & Lake Charlotte (see p. 4)

27 Galveston Group Field Trip (see website or details)

Nonprot OrgU.S Postage

PAIDHouston, Texas.Permit No. 9349

The

Solicited mailTime-sensitive material

DO NOT DELAY

Address Service Requested

Houston Audubon Society

440 Wilchester Boulevard

Houston, Texas 77079-7329

January/February 2010

Houston Audubon Membership Form

Bulletin BoardJanuary

Weekly Bayou Buddies on Friday, SBUNCWeekly Titmouse Club on Tuesday & Wednesday, ELMNS

1-31 Houston Bird Survey (see p. 5)

9 High Island Work Day (see p. 4)

9 Armand Bayou Nature Center Survey

13 Membership Meeting: The Great Alaskan Birding Adventure

with Winnie Burkett and Julia Garrett (see p. 1)

16 Family Nature Explore Club: Kleb Woods

16 Willow Waterhole Survey

19 W. 11th St. Park Bird Survey

20 Galveston Group Meeting (see website or details)

20 HANPA Meeting: Uganda: Gorillas, Chimps, and Birds Oh, My!

with Steve Matherly, ELMNS

21 Ater-School Nature Explorers Club, ELMNS

21 Sparrow Identication Class, ELMNS (see p. 5)

23 HAS Field Trip: Kleb Woods (see p. 4)

23 Sparrow Identication Field Trip (see p. 5)

23 Galveston Group Field Trip (see website or details)

29 Owl Prowl, ELMNS

Name

Address Please check box to indicate address changeCity State ZipHome Telephone E-mail Address $500 $250 $100 $50 $30 (Individual) $15 (Student)

Id like to receive an e-mail version oThe Naturalistinstead o the paper version.

Houston Audubon accepts Visa/MasterCard

Card Number:Name on Card: Exp Date:

Send to: Houston Audubon Society440 Wilchester Blvd

Houston, TX 77079-7329FAX to 713-461-2911 or sign up online at

wwwhoustonaudubonorg

All unds remain with Houston Audubonin support o its mission and local sanctuaries.

The Naturalist is printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper.

Mission Statement

Houston Audubon Society promotes the conservation and

appreciation o birds and wildlie habitat.

Audubon Foundation o Texas represents Houston Audubon in the

Earth Share o Texas payroll deduction plan or charitable giving.

Naturalist

january-february 2010 naturalist newsletter houston audubon society

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