Houston Audubon Protection and Outreach Program


ABC’s partnership with Houston Audubon (HAB) along the upper coast of Texas is one of our regional internship-based beach-nesting bird protection and outreach programs. Together, HAB and ABC will protect and monitor a Least Tern colony in Bolivar Flats (an ABC-designated Globally Important Bird Area) and nesting Black Skimmers across Galveston Bay on the Texas City dike. Protective signs and symbolic fencing (see picture below) will be erected at these locations and ongoing surveying and nest monitoring (i.e. nest fates and failure causes) will continue throughout the breeding season.


Protective sign for Least Tern colony at Bolivar Flats on the upper coast of Texas
  
Pictured left to right: Marc Reid, HAB, Sanctuaries Manager; Kacy Ray, ABC, Beach-nesting Bird Conservation Officer, and Gordon Ross, ABC-HAB intern finish up with an early season Least Tern survey at Bolivar Flats.

Public outreach will be performed by the intern at the nesting site locations (i.e. Bolivar Flats and Texas City dike), as well as at Houston Audubon’s Boy Scout Woods educational complex, headquarters of the High Island Sanctuaries (an ABC-designated Globally Important Bird Area). The High Island Sanctuaries are extremely important habitat for migratory birds, as well as colonial nesting waterbirds (The Rookery at Smith Oaks ), attracting visitors from around the world. This partnership is uniquely positioned to deliver educational messages about beach- and island-nesting birds to U.S. visitors and those from across the globe.


Educational outreach flyer explaining behavioral signs of disturbance, what happens if birds are disturbed and how to avoid disturbing nesting birds.


Kacy Ray of American Bird Conservancy has the opportunity to perform some education outreach about Least Terns at Bolivar Flats, an ABC-designated Globally Important Bird Area.

Partners:  Houston Audubon