Think Globally, Tour Locally
By Lily Auliff

“I want to basically educate and share nature with people who want to learn,” says Jerry Walls.

Walls is among a small number of entrepreneurs who are profiting from the Houston region’s rich ecological capital by leading nature enthusiasts on birding, wildlife, and wildflower tours. Guided outings to Jones State Forest, the Katy Prairie, the coast, urban forests, and more are available.

These eco-tour guides all agree that the area’s resources often go unnoticed. “The Upper Texas Coast is probably one of the top birding spots in the world,” says Don Richardson.

“People go to all these exotic places to see birds, and a lot of those species are right here,” adds Walls. “We have so much to see within a 50-mile radius of Houston.”

Local Nature Tour Guides Bill Goloby (Pinfeathers) pfcompany@aol.com Don Richardson cdplace@concentric.net Jim Stevenson (Galveston Bed and Breakfast) natrix@airmail.net Jerry Walls nature@pdq.net

Walls’ most popular outings are to Jones State Forest to see the endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers and after-dark owl prowls in Montgomery and Harris Counties. Walls also helps visitors identify wildflowers, birds, reptiles, and other critters on the Katy Prairie.

Bill Goloby, who lives in northwest Houston, has been running the Pinfeathers tour company since 1985. His organization offers half- and full-day outings to birding spots around Houston, and weekend or longer adventures to distant destinations. Although Goloby enjoys all of his trips for their variety, his owl prowls and spring migration to High Island are favorites.

Jim Stevenson, founder and director of the Galveston Ornithological Society, organizes birding tours around Galveston and to far-away places. He also runs a modest, birdy bed and breakfast at the quiet west end of the island where birders are welcome to visit or stay.

Richardson, a retiree in Pearland, usually leads tours on a volunteer basis but sometimes accepts a fee. His focus is along the coast, although he also takes groups to Jones State Forest, the Katy Prairie, and even out of state.
Tour participants come from near and far to see the nature the region has to offer.

Walls sees mostly beginning to intermediate birders, who still need some guidance, and “target birders” - those who want to check the red-cockaded woodpecker off their life list. In fact, he has taken groups from Canada, England, The Netherlands, and Japan to Jones State Forest to see that tree dweller. Several amateur nature photographers have also hired Walls to help them scout out specific species.

Goloby and Stevenson host both locals and folks from around the world. And Richardson mostly leads tours organized by local environmental organizations and a senior citizens group. He gets a few customers from out of town as well. “The Chicago Birding Society doesn’t call me, but maybe Mr. and Mrs. Smith from Chicago do,” he laughs.

Various trails led these outdoorsmen to their current careers.

Walls, who also works full-time at a coffee company, and Richardson, an accountant and computer consultant by training, don’t have any formal wildlife education. But both have spent extensive time pouring over books and studying flora and fauna in the field. They have also learned from experienced naturalists, several of whom have “taken them under their wing.”

Goloby has a wildlife science degree. Many years ago, he started taking the biologists he worked with on field excursions, a hobby that would grow in to a business. And, Birding is in Stevenson’s blood. He was born the son of a prominent Florida ornithologist and educated as a biologist.