Meetings and Field Trips

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Membership Meeting

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, 7:00 PM

Garden Center, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont

Between Triumph and Tragedy:

Across New Zealand in search of the Kiwis

By Stephan Lorenz

One cannot travel and bird in New Zealand without a certain sadness of what has been lost. The tragedy of human caused extinction common to many isolated islands has not bypassed this beautiful country. While the unique ecosystems of New Zealand face continued threats from habitat destruction and especially introduced species, much of the recent conservation work has been a triumph. Some bird species have been saved from the brink of extinction and other species are recovering, reclaiming former haunts on the main islands. Despite the extirpation of Moas and Haast Eagles, New Zealand still harbors many unique birds, including five endemic families. The kiwi represents one of the most famous and well-known birds native to the country and a search for it offers a great backdrop to the spectacular landscapes and birds found there.

 Stephan Lorenz spent one month traveling from Auckland on the North Island, through the South Island, and onto Stewart Island in search of all five species of kiwi. Due to their nocturnal habits and shy demeanor, Kiwis are hard to observe and photograph, thus the presentation will be filled with pictures of mountains, seascapes, and many other natural features, and of course plenty of birds. From flightless to some of the greatest flyers on earth, kiwi to albatross, from plain Fernbirds to colorful Stitchbirds, come enjoy an evening in search of the kiwi(s). The presentation will feature many original photographs, highlight the birds and birding opportunities of New Zealand, and touch briefly on logistics for an independent visit.

 Currently Stephan Lorenz teaches biology at San Jacinto College and devotes the rest of his time to birding, photography, and writing. He has published numerous magazine articles on traveling and birds, including in Bird Watcher’s Digest, WildBird, and Birder’s World. He worked for several years as a field biologist and bird guide throughout North America. His most recent trip took him to northern Colombia.

 We will plan on having the doors open by about 6:00 p.m. and the program will start at 7:00 p.m. sharp.

Field Trip to Anahuac

 National Wildlife Refuge

Saturday January 21, 2012.

This trip will be to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Chambers County, looking primarily for waterfowl but also raptors and sparrows. The refuge is recovering nicely from the recent hurricanes, although, like the rest of the area, it is very dry.

 As this is written, ongoing road construction in the refuge is resulting in various roads being closed at short notice. Consequently, we do not know exactly where we will go on this Field Trip. Currently, the Skillern Tract has some of the best birding, including Cinnamon Teal, Say's Phoebe, Least Grebe and Vermilion Flycatcher, but we may visit the Teal Slough/Deep Marsh area if there are reports of concentrations of birds there. There are several Bald Eagles, adults and immatures, around, and a Golden Eagle has been seen at least twice. Also, there are numerous hawks, mostly Red-tailed Hawks, in a number of different color morphs. The area also has a good population of Crested Caracaras. We may also bird some of the rice field areas in Chambers County mostly north of IH-10. We ran this trip last year, and it was spectacularly successful in finding more than 35,000 geese, seven Bald Eagles and one Golden Eagle among other species.

 We plan to meet at the temporary Visitor Information Station just beyond the entrance at 8:00 a.m. Harris's Sparrows have been reported from this area again this year. It is anticipated that this field trip will require very minimal walking, and all roads that we will be allowed to use will be easily passable in ordinary vehicles.

 To reach Anahuac NWR from Winnie, take Highway 124 south to FM1985. (It is 11 miles from IH-10 and half a mile less from Highway 73.) Turn right (west) on FM1985 and proceed another 11 miles to the well marked Anahuac NWR Access Road on the left (south). The entrance to the Refuge is just over three miles down the access road.

Bird Cam Available for Use by Members

In July, Wild Birds Unlimited made available a Bird Cam for use by members of Golden Triangle Audubon. Harlan Stewart kindly took it, wrote directions of how to use it, and bought a bag to make it easy to carry. We will have a sign-up sheet in case anyone knows which month they would want to use it.

Jana Whittle