While attending school getting his Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology, Jeff conducted tropical fish counts and identification for Texas Parks & Wildlife and NOAA. He is a Dive Master and Scientific Diver. He’s been birding for 17 years mainly in Texas. His Texas list is at 566 and his Galveston County list is at 326. He lived in Galveston from 2007 – 2015 and now lives in Austin.
Focusing on discovering migrating songbirds on Galveston’s West End, this trip will feature warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks, and buntings. Located at the intersection of two important migratory flyways, Galveston Island provides critical resources and cover for birds as they journey northward. During stormy weather, fallout events are common, as birds seek shelter and much-needed rest at the first sight of land. Our first stop will be at Lafitte’s Cove Nature Preserve, Galveston’s crown jewel during spring migration. We will…
Find out more »Join author Jennifer Bristol on an exploration of the historic cemeteries of Galveston. These unexpected birding spaces offer easy walking and quality bird watching, while diving deep into the human history of the island. Participants will explore three cemeteries on this outing, each offering a variety of habitats attractive to birds and birders alike. There is no better time to explore these spaces than spring when the bold colors of the wildflowers showcase the stark white and gray headstones. Please wear…
Find out more »Join Cullen Ondracek and Jeff Sexton for this open-ended trip geared for those who come to the Texas Gulf Coast to focus on bird species with range limits in this area. These include local specialties such as Roseate Spoonbill, Wilson’s Plovers, Horned Lark, Seaside Sparrow, and White-tailed Kite. We will also attempt to find any rare species currently being reported. We will visit several top birding sites on Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, with exact locations to be determined by…
Find out more »Galveston is a Gulf coastal island renowned for its many habitats. On the Gulf beaches, you’ll scan out on the swells and incoming surf for rafts of waterfowl and seabirds. Walking along the beach the edge of the surf is active with the antics of the island’s year-round and migrating peeps, Reddish Egret, Great Blue Heron, and shorebirds foraging on “what the tide brung-in.” Away from the water among the dunes of San Luis Pass, East Beach and GISP, Savannah Sparrow and Horned Lark flit about. Beyond the dunes are briny ponds holding roosting seabirds, Nelson’s and Seaside Sparrows, rails, coots, and water birds. In the bay and tidal marshes migrating and nesting herons, egrets and cormorants in their breeding best, forage. The avian fauna is always in flux with the advance and retreat of the tide moving the food chain in and out. Among the tidally influenced habits and the open coastal prairies and oak mottes migrating songbirds need to refuel and find fresh water.
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