Here Come the Birds
By Lily Auliff

Each spring, local birders are treated to an amazing spectacle, says Fred Collins, Director of the Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire and avid birder. Hundreds of thousands of birds will migrate through the area, some stopping to rest here after long flights across the Gulf of Mexico. May 12 marks International Migratory Bird Day, set aside to recognize our traveling feathered friends.

“Migration in our area starts in the latter half of March. It slowly builds and peaks the last week of April and the first week of May,” says Collins.

About 140 species pass through the Houston region each year, the majority being neotropical migratory birds. Neotropical migratory birds winter in the American tropics – mostly in Central America and parts of Mexico – and spend the summer in the United States and Canada.

“Houston has a wide variety of habitats that are important to migratory birds,” says Collins. “Up on the north side we have piney woods, and to the east side there are some unique bottomland habitats. Out on the west side are some remnant prairies, and down on the south side you find coastal plains that are excellent habitats. Even in the city, we have an exotic urban forest that produces some interesting groups of birds.”

Most neotropical migrants leave their southern homes in the evening and arrive in the Houston region the next afternoon. “They usually begin their journey at nautical twilight, about 45 minutes after sunset,” says Collins. “They fly all night over the Gulf, and depending on the winds and weather conditions, usually arrive here the next day.”

“The best viewing conditions are during or immediately following rain showers, or on days that there are north winds or a combination of rain and north winds,” he notes. “That stops migration and brings the birds down for us to see.”

Warblers are the favorites among local birders, according to Collins. “There are about 30 species of warblers that pass through the Upper Texas Coast every year. They’re bright colored birds, often referred to as the butterflies of the bird world. They’re quite gorgeous and they can be quite abundant during migration.”

Unfortunately, scientists have observed between a 25 and 40 percent decline in migratory bird numbers over the last three decades. “Nobody knows exactly why,” Collins explains. “It could be a cyclic situation, but we don’t really know.”

“We do know that there has been a lot of forest fragmentation in both their breeding grounds and their wintering grounds. We know that there are a tremendous number of obstacles for them to overcome in migration. We know that there has been a tremendous explosion in the cowbird population, which typically parasitizes these neotropical migrants. We also know that there are a lot of new predators, like fire ants, that probably impact these birds significantly. It’s a very complex issue.”

For those interested in birding, Collins says that the Outdoor Nature Club’s ornithology group is probably the most active bird watching group in the area. Many local nature centers have birding programs as well. “There are a lot of opportunities to get involved with groups like that,” says Collins.