ORNITHOLOGY GROUP MARCH FIELD TRIP – BOLIVAR PENINSULA AND TEXAS CITY
Date: Sat, Mar 17
Time: Meet at 8 am
Location: Meet at the Bolivar side of the Ferry Landing Parking Lot on Bolivar Peninsula at 8 am
Fee: none
Contact: Adam Wood at (713) 515-1692 or birdman_570@yahoo.com
Complete Description:
This month’s trip will be to Bolivar and the Texas City Dike. We will be assisting Tom Kihn and Johnnie Greene with the monthly Bolivar bird survey for the first part of the trip. If you want to contribute your birding experience and skills for the purchase and preservation of habitat on Bolivar – here is your chance. The last year-long survey of the flats was conducted in 1982. Dollars plus current bird data are needed by us to complete our campaign to preserve Bolivar habitat. Many eyes are needed to spot, identify, and count the many birds using Bolivar habitat. We are conducting a monthly bird survey of the Bolivar Peninsula to document the number of species and individuals that feed, rest, and nest on the western end of Bolivar, from Retillion Road to the Ferry landing, including all land areas. The survey uses Christmas Bird Count protocol and volunteers, like the Christmas Bird Counts, but no fee is required.
Donations for the Bolivar Peninsula will, of course, be accepted. Then we will head over to the Texas City Dike if the ferry line is manageable, and it is not we will go to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge for the afternoon. You will be led by Tom Kihn, Johnnie Greene, or myself depending on the area in the survey area you prefer to bird. We will then all meet back up at around 11 at La Playita Mexican Restaurant for lunch (703 Madison, Pt. Bolivar), then depending on if birds of note were seen, we will head back to those places as a group to try and re-find those birds and find species missed during the survey. The main focus will be on shorebird identification on Bolivar Flats. However, we will also bird other areas along Bolivar in search of Whimbrel, Northern Gannet, and possibly Surf Scooter. After we are done birding Bolivar and depending on the ferry line, we will either bird Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge or the Texas City Dike. If we bird the Texas City Dike, we will be in search of Sprague’s Pipits, Eared Grebe, Common Goldeneye, American Golden Plover, Upland Sandpiper, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. If time allows, we will go visit the hummingbird garden at Bay Street Park to see if there are any lingering overwintering hummingbirds as well as scope out the lake for more waterfowl and the banks for sparrows.
Be sure to bring: binoculars, spotting scope, a warm coat or jacket in case it is cold or windy, hat, sun block, camera, and water.
Directions: We will meet at the ferry parking lot on Bolivar Peninsula at 8 am. To get there from Houston, go south on I-45 south into Galveston. In Galveston, I-45 becomes Broadway. Take Broadway to basically where it deadends at the Gulf. Take a left at the light and follow the signs to the ferry which will be your second left.
