HOUSTON ARBORETUM – BUFFALO BAYOU CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Date: Sat, Dec 29
Time: starts at 6:30 am
Location: Locations for this count include: Houston Arboretum, Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, Art Storey Park,
Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, Bear Creek Park and Buffalo Bayou. Please contact organizers for assignment, place, and time.
Fee: $5 fee per person; pre-register at www.houstonarboretum.org/cbc/txbfintro.htm
Contact: To register, join a team, and be assigned an area, contact Lucien Bouffard at (713) 681-8433 ext. 0377 or (713) 366-0377 or Michael Williams at (832) 723-0653 or txbfcbc@houstonarboretum.org. Also visit www.houstonarboretum.org for details.
If you live within the count area, you may instead be a backyard feeder watcher for free and submit your observations via an online data form.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – ARMAND BAYOU NATURE CENTER
Date: Sat, Dec 29
Time: 6:30 am
Location: meet at Armand Bayou Nature Center Auditorium
Fee: $5 Audubon fee for ages 18 and up
Contact: please RSVP to Christine Battan at (281) 316-0808 or cbattan@hmns.org; information at www.abnc.org

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – BOLIVAR PENINSULA
Date: Sat, Dec 22
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: please call
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Bill Graber at (409) 866-5452.

Complete Description:
The count circle includes High Island and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and is regularly one of the top 20 counts in the country.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – ATTWATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Date: Wed, Dec 19
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR; please call for exact location
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Sumita Prasad at (713) 666-3297 or sumita@alumni.utexas.net.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – GALVESTON
Date: Tue, Dec 18
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: please call for meeting location
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Dwight Peake at (409) 740-4621

Complete Description:
This count includes Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary and Horseshoe Marsh Bird Sanctuary.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – MAD ISLAND MARSH
Date: Mon, Dec 17
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: please call
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Brent Ortego at (361) 576-0022, ext. 24 or brent.ortego@tpwd.state.tx.us

Complete Description:
Most of the count is on private land and participation in the Christmas Bird Count is the only way to gain access to some very productive wildlife lands. The diversity of the Christmas Bird Count is great and most sections have multiple exclusives. The Christmas Bird Count features extensive native grasslands, brushlands, floodplain forests, beaches, and coastal marshes.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – FREEPORT
Date: Sun, Dec 16
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: please call
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Mike Austin at (281) 992-8888 or mausti5@houston.rr.com.

Complete Description:
For many years, the Freeport Count was usually the top count in the nation and finds the largest number of species of any on the Upper Texas Coast. It still usually ranks among the top five with an average total of 217 species. An amazing variety of habitat produces rare winter birds such as Summer Tanager, Masked Booby, and assorted warblers. The Freeport Christmas Bird Count works through its co-compilers and is divided into ten areas with their own leaders and unique habitats.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – HOUSTON
Date: Sat, Dec 15
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: please call for meeting location
Fee: Yes, small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: David Sarkozi at (713) 412-4409 or david@sarkozi.net.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – BRAZOS BEND STATE PARK
Date: Sat, Dec 15
Time: meet at 6:30 am at BBSP Nature Center, depart at 7 am
Location: Brazos Bend State Park Nature Center
Fee: Yes, small fee, usually $5 per person; but Park entry fee will be waived for the count
Contact: Fred Land at (972) 628-3136 or fredland@sbcglobal.net or Bill Godley at (281) 341-6684 or fribbish@msn.com.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT – SAN BERNARD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Date: Fri, Dec 14
Time: usually 6:30 am or 7 am; please call
Location: San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge; call for specific meeting place
Fee: Yes; small fee; usually $5 per person
Contact: Ron Weeks at (979) 299-0066 (evenings) or empidonax@sbcglobal.net or
Jennifer Wilson at (979) 849-7771.

OUTDOOR NATURE CLUB NOVEMBER FIELD TRIP – RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Date: Thu, Nov 29 – Mon, Dec 3
Time: please call or check the website for time and schedule
Location: Rio Grande Valley; please check website for details
Fee: Yes; please call for details
Contact: www.outdoornatureclub.org or Calvin Blakley at (281) 358-5407

Complete Description:
Join the Outdoor Nature Club in the Rio Grande Valley with leader Derek Muschalek for a weekend of birding and butterflies. Check the website or call for further details.

MERCER ARBORETUM – LUNCH BUNCH: BUTTERFLY GARDENING
Date: Wed, Dec 12
Time: 12 – 2 pm
Location: 22306 Aldine Westfield Road
Fee: none; but reservations required
Contact: register at (281) 443-8731; information at www.hcp4.net/mercer

Complete Description:
Learn about attracting butterflies to the garden and which butterflies are seen in our area. This talk will focus on the butterflies and their needs. Bring a sack lunch to enjoy. Please call ahead for reservations.

JESSE H. JONES PARK AND NATURE CENTER – AN OLD-FASHIONED CHRISTMAS
Date: Sat, Dec 8
Time: 4 – 7 pm
Location: Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center, 20634 Kenswick Drive
Fee: none; but reservations required beginning Nov 12 for Harris County residents and Nov 19 for non-Harris County residents
Contact: register at (281) 446-8588; information at www.hcp4.net/jones

Complete Description:
Experience the Christmas traditions of earlier times as the Redbud Hill Homestead comes to life with the holiday customs of the 19th century. Enjoy heritage music, a holiday craft, lighting of the tree, wassail and cookies, and an early visit from Saint Nicholas. All ages. Reservations are required.

HOUSTON ZOO ZOOPENDOUS SATURDAYS – PET PRESENTS (AGES 6 – 10)
Date: Sat, Dec 8
Time: 8 am – 12 pm
Location: Houston Zoo, 1513 N. MacGregor
Fee: $40 per child; pre-registration and pre-payment required
Contact: register at www.houstonzoo.org or (713) 533-6550

Complete Description:
Your children will have fun creating new and unique pet presents while you do your holiday shopping. Create and wrap tasty treats and toys for your dog, cat, or bird while learning how the Houston Zoo makes everyday a holiday for all of our wild residents. Seasonal snacks included.

ORNITHOLOGY GROUP DECEMBER MONTHLY MEETING – BIRD PAINTINGS IN THE BOOK GREAT TEXAS BIRDS
Date: Mon, Dec 3
Time: 6:30 – 7 pm Learning Corner, 7 – 8:30 pm Program
Location: Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet (at Hillcroft)
Fee: none
Contact: Bernice Hotman at (713) 782-7889 or www.ornithologygroup.org

Complete Description:
Speaker: John P. O’Neill
Topic: Bird Paintings in the book Great Texas Birds
Mr. O’Neill’s first painting was of a bantam rooster that he copied from a card and gave to his mother when he was 5 years old. He has since made the study of the birds of Peru one of his lifelong pursuits, and has been in Peru almost every year since 1961, often to lead major expeditions into totally unknown parts of the country. In his pursuit of the birds of Peru, he has been fortunate to discover 13 species of birds new to science – more than any other living person. The latest was a spectacular new species of barbet found in an extremely isolated cloudforest in the headwaters of the Rio Cushabatay. However, in this meeting, Mr. O’Neill will discuss John O’ Neill’s Great Texas Birds, a book of 48 paintings of Texas birds that was ten years in the making.

LAKE HOUSTON PARK – WHAT ANIMAL AM I? (AGES 6 – 12)
Date: Sat, Dec 1
Time: 11 am
Location: 22031 Baptist Encampment Road, New Caney, TX, 77357
Fee: $3 per person park entry fee; reservations required
Contact: register at (281) 354-0173

Complete Description:
Join us for a fun, interactive and educational program. Participants will learn about various types of animals and have a lot of fun while doing so. Parents are encouraged and welcomed to attend if they wish.

FRIENDS OF SHELDON LAKE STATE PARK – NOVEMBER MEETING
Date: Tue, Nov 27
Time: 7 pm
Location: 15315 Beaumont Hwy
Fee: none
Contact: (281) 764-1492 or www.foslsp.org