Photo credit: Dana Nelson, Cattail Marsh, December 18, 2018
You are welcome to attend monthly meetings, featuring speakers on birding and natural history topics, and including a delicious member-provided evening meal -- with desserts! Our monthly field trips are fun and educational, and focus on locations along the coast, marshes, prairies, and forests of the area.
Membership Meeting
Thursday September 15, 2022 7:00 p.m.
Garden Center, Tyrrell Park, Beaumont
Programs of Shangri-La Gardens and Nature Center
Kathleen Nelligan
Interpretive Programs Manager
This program will describe the Ruby Lake Bird Habitat Restoration Project, and will also share several upcoming programs, events, and opportunities Shangri La Gardens has to offer for the fall.
Kathleen Nelligan is the Interpretive Programs Manager with Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. She is responsible for curating opportunities for people to connect with the natural ecosystems and local history of the Gardens. Kathleen develops and facilitates a wide range of educational programs and frequently collaborates with the Education Department, Horticulture Department, and Visitor Services Department to develop expressive programming with impactful experiences. Kathleen received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, and earned an M.Ed. in Environmental Education as well as an M.S. in Park and Resource Management from Slippery Rock University.
We will plan on having the doors open by 6:00 p.m. and the program will start at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments, provided by Port Arthur Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be available from 6:15 p.m.
Note about Highway 124 Bridge
The Highway 124 bridge over Hillebrandt Bayou is currently closed. To get to Tyrrell Park from Highway 69, it is necessary to take IH-10 west towards Houston and exit almost immediately at the Walden Road exit, turning south (left) on Walden Road. Cross over Highway 124 onto Tyrrell Park Road and after 3/4 mile, turn left into Tyrrell Park as usual. The Garden Center is on the left, just inside the park.
Saturday September 17, 2022
Jefferson County Fall Migration Count
This is an all-Jefferson County Count. Contact John Whittle at gtaudubon@aol.com for details or to volunteer to help. Even if you can join us for part of the day, you can be of help. Several of our regular participants are unable to help this year, and therefore we have several areas not covered so far. If you want to cover some of the urban areas, we can use you.
Saturday September 24, 2022
Field Trip to Smith Point Hawkwatch.
Our leaders will be there from about 8:30 a.m. Hopefully, this will be close to a peak in this year's Broad-winged Hawk migration, but there will always be some hawks. Any day from mid-September through mid or late October should produce a good number of migrating hawks.
To reach the Smith Point Hawk- watch site from Winnie, take Highway 124 south towards High Island. After 12 miles, turn right on FM1985 and follow it about 14 1/2 miles until it meets FM562. Follow FM562 14 miles to Smith Point. Continue straight until almost reaching the bay, and turn left, bearing left again to the parking area next to the Hawkwatch Tower on the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area. It takes at least 90 minutes from the Golden Triangle to reach the site, more if you stop to bird. This Field Trip is much more a come and go as you wish trip, and help on hawk identification is always available on the tower during Hawkwatch season!
Our leaders may lead a group into the nearby woods looking for migrants, but you may stay on the tower if you wish. Mosquitoes are not normally a problem on the tower. Availability of food and fuel is essentially non-existent in Smith Point, so bring your lunch!
The Smith Point Hawkwatch is conducted every day from August 15 through the end of October by the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory.
Historically, the peak of Broad-wing Hawk migration was September 25, although in recent years at Smith Point, it has tended to be later and less uniform, and sometimes large numbers of Broad-wings have passed through in the first few days of October. Should a cold front pass through, the days immediately following usually have a north wind, and more migrating hawks of all species on those days.
Previous years' results are at http://hawkcount.org, so you can do your own analysis! The exact peak day probably depends more on the weather on the migration path from Pennsylvania down to east Texas, and particularly on the two or three days prior. However, predicting is very difficult as there are few Hawkwatches between Pennsylvania and Texas to let us know where the en route hawks are. Almost all migratory hawks come from areas north of Pennsylvania. Broad-wings breed over almost all of the eastern half of the United States, including the Golden Triangle and the southern tier of Canada, even as far west as British Columbia. For more information, contact Field Trip Chair Steve Mayes (gtaudubon@aol.com).