Join Virginia Rose, founder of Birdability, and Pam Smolen, chair-elect for Houston Audubon, on our first FeatherFest accessible field trip to Smith Oaks!
From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain; the highest point-of-land on the immediate coast from Mobile Bay to the Yucatan Peninsula. This is High Island, which is now a wooded beacon amongst the coastal marshland providing food, water, and places to rest for weary Gulf migrants. The daily afternoon arrival of neotropic migrants often includes dozens of species, along with local and resident waterfowl, raptors, seabirds, shorebirds, and passerines. Weather fronts in April and May can easily produce over 100 species (including 30+ species of warblers) in a single day!
A community of Texas birders of the Houston Audubon Society (HAS) created several sanctuaries in the area. In time, High Island’s beacon pulled in birders from around the world for a few weeks. This visit will be to HAS’ premier Smith Oaks Sanctuary. One of the best features is a man-made reservoir Clay Bottom Pond. Colonial waterbirds, who prefer islands for nesting to deter mammalian predators, found the U-shaped Island in the middle the pond perfect for a rookery. Nine species of heron, egret, spoonbill, ibis, cormorant, and Anhinga nest within inches of each other. The High Island rookery offers birders a close view of the annual dramedy of waterbird nesting activity including vibrant breeding plumage, mating hustle and nestlings.
After a visit to the Rookery, if time permits, the group will visit the area around Smith Oaks Pond and the boardwalks in the woods on the west side of the sanctuary to catch migrating songbirds such as warblers, thrushes and vireos. Target species include Magnolia Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush and Red-eyed Vireo.
Read more about High Island and Smith Oaks on the Houston Audubon website. Watch a video about the Canopy Walkway.
Smith Oaks has permanent ADA accessible restrooms which are accessible from two ADA parking spots. The remainder of the parking lot is stabilized crushed stone. We can work with participants to move vehicles as needed. While portions of Smith Oaks have steps and obstacles, this trip will focus on ADA trails and boardwalks.
Participants can expect water fountains, ample shade, and a smooth, wide and properly sloped boardwalk. The railings are placed to increase viewability for seated visitors. There are no steps, no gates bollards or obstacles. The Canopy Walk is well maintained and is somewhat busy, depending on the day and time of day. The walk is still navigable despite crowds. Noise is not an issue. There are no potential safety concerns.
The Canopy walkway is accessible from the parking lot without using steps. It also has benches near the beginning of the walkway and at the end overlooking the Rookery. The west side of the sanctuary has a boardwalk that we will be birding from. To get to the west side of the sanctuary you need to cross a parking lot which is stabilized crushed stone. We will also bird a short distance along a wide, flat path.
Check out the Kathrine G. McGovern Canopy Walkway at Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary in High Island on the Birdability Map.
At the end of the field trip we can take a minute to describe other accessible areas of the High Island Sanctuaries for interested participants.
If you are a disabled person and have questions not addressed in the provided description, please email Julie Ann Brown at dir@gintc.org.
If you are a participant with a disability or other health concern and the cost of this trip makes it inaccessible to you, please reach out to Julie Ann Brown at dir@gintc.org to request a sliding-scale option.
Bring: water, lunch, sunscreen, insect repellant, hat
Driving and parking directions will be emailed prior to the festival. Note: Smith Oaks is not near public transit. No visitor center or meal services are available, no bird blinds and limited benches along the boardwalk.
Included in this field trip is access to the Birdability workshop on Friday at 2:30pm at no additional charge. You will receive an automatic email asking if you would like to attend the workshop.
