Meetings and Field Trips

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Saturday March 10, 2012

Golden Triangle Audubon

Sabine Woods Work Day

We plan to get the Sabine Woods Sanctuary ready for spring migration. Mostly, it will be trail maintenance both inside and outside the woods. The recent wet, relatively warm weather means we will have a lot more to do than we did last year!  Although we hope to be able to brush hog the larger areas, we will certainly be able to put riding mowers (the heavier duty the better) to good use, and we will probably need push mowers to trim around the trees we have planted in the last couple of years, and parts of the trails where riding mowers are too big.  As always, we will need loppers to trim small branches to keep the trails open.  We have a few hand tools, but it will help if you bring any that you have.  We will be able to use one or two chain saws with experienced operators to deal with the continuing aftermath of Hurricane Ike!  You will want to bring insect repellent, and you may want to bring sunscreen. 

Sabine Woods is 4.1 miles west of Sabine Pass on the north side of Highway 87. We will be there from about 7:30 a.m. but you will be welcome if you arrive somewhat later. We normally work until noon or a little after, and we will provide drinks and lunch. We plan another Work Day for mid-May.  Call 722-4193 with any questions.

 John A. Whittle 

Membership Meeting

Thursday, March 15, 2012

7:00 PM

Garden Center, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont

Southeast Texas Spring Migration

Levie Horton

Birding during the Spring Migration can be hit or miss. One day the  woods are full of birds,the next day they are gone. The songbirds of North America winter on the Yucatan Peninsula and every spring they return flying nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico on flight paths that take them  across the Upper Texas Coast. Levie will present a slideshow of photographs of the many different species you can expect to see during the spring migration  and offer a few tips and pointers on where and when to go birding.

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

Directions to Garden Center in Tyrrell Park.

From the south

Go "north" on US69/96/287 around the south side of Beaumont.

Take Texas 124 (south or west, whichever it is signed) towards Fannett (left turn under the highway).

Travel about a mile to the first light.

At the first light, turn left onto Tyrrell Park Road and go about 1/2 mile.

Turn left into Tyrrell Park through the nice new arch.

Almost immediately turn left at the conservatory into the parking lot for the Garden Center.

 From IH10

Exit at Walden Road on the west side of Beaumont

Go south of Walden Road for about 1/2 mile to the first light

At the light go straight over Highway 124 onto Tyrrell Park Road and go about 1/2 mile.

Turn left into Tyrrell Park through the nice new arch.

Almost immediately turn left at the conservatory into the parking lot for the Garden Center.

Saturday March 17

Field Trip to Bolivar Flats.

Important Note: Galveston County operates a parking permit program on the Bolivar Peninsula. Any one can drive on the beach for free. But if you park on the beach except for a few short stretches, you must have a parking permit on your windshield. The fee for the permit is $10.00 a year and permits are obtainable from most merchants on the Bolivar Peninsula.

     This trip will occur as spring shorebird migration is getting well under way, but while the wintering birds are mostly still present. Bolivar Flats is a hemispherically important shore-bird location. We know that a lot of birders are intimidated by shorebirds, but they are not nearly as difficult to identify as is sometimes alleged! This trip offers an opportunity to compare many of the "true" shorebirds with lots of help in identifying them.

     Meet at the vehicle barrier at 8:30 a.m. From Winnie, take TX 124 south to High Island. At the shoreline, turn right (west) on TX 87 and proceed through Gilchrist and Crystal Beach until you reach the intersection where Loop 108 turns right (north). Turn left (the opposite way to Loop 108) along Rettilon Road. At the beach, if conditions permit, turn right (west) about 1/2 mile to the vehicle barrier. It takes at least one and a half hours to drive from the Golden Triangle; more if you bird on the way! We will leave the vehicle barrier at about 8:45 a.m., although the group will be visually obvious on the flats should you be a few minutes later than that.

      Some walking is necessary on this field trip. How much depends on how much mud flat is exposed, and this depends on both the tide and the winds that have prevailed over the previous day or so. On March 17, there will be a low tide (nominally -0.1 feet) at 6:30 a.m. and a high tide (+1.7 feet) at 2:51 p.m. Usually we stay on dry or moist sand, but sometimes we might want to cross shallow channels.

     Depending on the mud flat conditions, we may visit to the North Jetty to view the birds from that side.

     We expect to stop at Rollover Pass and High Island on the way back. We will check in High Island for any "very early" neotropic songbird migrants.

     Bring drinks and lunch (or buy locally), sunscreen and insect repellent.