During  this field trip we will visit some areas not normally publicly accessible.  Virginia Point is a historic peninsula location across Galveston Bay comprising the wonderful 3,000 acres of mainland bay margin which SCENIC GALVESTON, Inc. (SG) has acquired for permanent conservation protection.  Visitors coming into or out of Galveston on I-45 (the O’Quinn Estuary Corridor) see the results of this non-profit’s work on both flanks, and those areas are open to the public.

We'll spend the majority of the morning birding Cattail Marsh in Beaumont. This 900-acre freshwater marsh complex provides great habitat for many migrant and breeding species. Birding the boardwalk and driving the levee roads around the marsh, provides close views of many species. Soras, Purple Gallinules, and Least Bitterns can be unusually numerous. Migrant shorebirds can...

Our trip begins with a bus ride to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory to watch migrant songbirds being caught in mist nets and banded by professional bird banders. This project establishes baseline data for the GCBO property on both resident and migratory bird populations. Banding allows the observatory to obtain information about the physical condition of migrants at this intermediate location between the coast and the bottomland forests lying well inland. Both coastal woodlots and inland bottomland forests are known to be extremely important stopover habitats for nearctic-neotropical migrants that move through the Gulf of Mexico region. Birds that are captured for banding can provide valuable information about their relative physical condition. What a unique opportunity….and that is just the start of this exciting field trip!

Join Richard Gibbons, Director of Conservation for National Audubon, on a trip to one of the finest migratory locations in North America – the western end of the Bolivar Peninsula. Here are the Houston Audubon Horseshoe Marsh and Bolivar Flats bird sanctuaries. This combination of salt marsh, mud flats and beachfront hold the highest rated...

The estuaries of Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge are an important nursery for the fish and shellfish species found in the Gulf of Mexico. Beyond the estuaries, the saltwater marshes ease inland. Fresh water from an occasional storm and the inflow from rivers and creeks helps to keep saltwater out of the freshwater marshes, as well...

Greg is so much fun to bird with that we have added a trip focused on just Galveston Island! We’ll let Greg decide where he wants to go depending on what he’s scouted out before the festival. He’ll check out Corps Woods, Lafitte’s Cove, the East End Flats, Sportsman Road, and sites all the way...

Boy Scout Woods, Smith Oaks, The Rookery, and more…with birding expert Kevin Karlson! 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...

Enjoy zipping along on a quiet and easy electric bike that allows you to get up close and personal with the resident and migratory birds species seen at this time of year. This nearly effortless ride allows you to immerse yourself in the natural beauty of our wetlands and beaches.

Join leading bird guides Louise Zemaitis and Michael O'Brian as they focus on Galveston’s amazing shorebird diversity in this first-time FeatherFest field trip. At each stop, Louise and Michael will spot species of interest, and discuss intricacies of shorebird identification, which is notoriously tricky. You’ll have the opportunity to see up to 20 species of...

Galveston’s West End has drawn birders from all over the world for nearly 100 years. In addition to estuarial saltwater marsh, it contains freshwater ponds, pockets of scrubland, mudflats, and sandy beach habitat. This combination attracts a wide variety of shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, and more. We will begin the trip by viewing tidal pools...

Drive your own car to the Galveston Island State Park for a delightful, natural experience. Enjoy paddling in a provided kayak while slowly exploring the open lagoons and marshes of Galveston Island State Park, one of the area’s premier ecological jewels. This 2,000-acre public park offers a multitude of habitats that support a wide variety of birds: waders like herons, egrets, Roseate Spoonbill and shorebirds; waterfowl and overhead raptors like Osprey; White-tailed Kite and Northern Harrier. If you have time after the event, visit the two birding observation towers.

Join Clayton Leopold on a guided tour of the birds of Moody Gardens. This unique combination field trip will include a guided tour through the canopy level of the Tropical Rainforest exhibit as well as a viewing of the Penguins in the Aquarium Pyramid. You will learn everything you wanted to know about how our...

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...

Galveston Island has all the habitats associated with a barrier island – beach, uplands, fresh water ponds, brackish lagoons and wetlands. Join local father and son team, Allen and Michael Hardee, on this “birdy” trip as you learn to identify Black Skimmers, gulls, terns, sandpipers, plovers, herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, ducks and much more.

Back by popular demand, for this trip, you will be guided by one of our most experienced birders and all-around nature lover, Glenn Olsen. Glenn leads nature tours in the US and overseas but he calls the upper Texas coast home. His extensive knowledge of local birding areas is sure to yield excellent views of migrating warblers as they move through our area on their way to nesting habitat. As a bonus, Glenn is also a Texas Master Naturalist and has served as the president of the Native Plant Society of Texas. His knowledge in these areas should greatly enhance your trip experience. Our group will focus on techniques for improving field identification skills. We will be traveling by bus and places visited will depend on weather patterns and reports from the previous day’s birding activities.

This trip takes you to a private property owned by the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) and not generally open to the public. GBF has conserved over 13,000 acres of critical coastal habitat in and around Galveston Bay. For decades, groundwater pumping in the region caused massive subsidence and contributed to the loss of wetlands. That coastal erosion meant wetlands around the bay sank into the water. Like many parts of Galveston Island, Sweetwater Preserve has sustained severe erosion. A 1,000-foot oyster reef project is part of larger restoration efforts in which the foundation has planted marsh along the shoreline. The reef protects the marsh from more degradation and protects the 464-acre property. This property includes a mixture of habitats including coastal prairie, estuarine marsh, salt flats, freshwater wetlands, brackish wetlands, and coastal woodlots.

We offer this trip to those who would like a slower paced trip to Houston Audubon’s two world famous sanctuaries, Smith Oaks, and Boy Scout Woods. Although this is still a mostly walking trip, we will allow  time to stand and/or sit to observe the splendor that is High Island birding. We schedule this trip...

On this field trip, you'll be birding prairies, woodlots, and marshes of Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve with Karla Klay. Join Karla for a birding adventure at Artist Boat’s Coastal Heritage Preserve. Explore the marshes, prairies, and oak motts across the Preserve via walking. Spring migration on the Preserve has hosted up to 103 species identified in a 24-hour period. The spring prairie is famous for heaps of Indigo and Painted Buntings, Dickcissel, Bobolink, and more feasting on dew berries. The spring “Peake” woods host warblers, tanagers, and orioles. From different vantage points, one can find shorebirds, terns, and pelicans in the marshes and over the bay. At dusk we will watch the dramatic sunset across the prairie and preserve. It’s all absolutely spectacular!