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Stanley (Skip) Almoney

Skip_Almoney_PhotoStanley (Skip) Almoney was born and raised in York, Pennsylvania. In 1970 upon receiving his PhD in Nuclear Physics he came to Houston to work as a geophysicist for Texaco. He took early retirement and spends his time with various volunteer endeavors.

He began bird watching in the fall of 1993 and soon after joined the Ornithology Group of the Outdoor Nature Club and served as Vice-Chairman and Chairman. He has birded on seven continents.  He is a certified Texas Master Naturalist and as a member of the Houston Audubon Society, is on its Board of Directors, has volunteered on workdays at High Island and Bolivar Flats and has mentored visitors at Boy Scout Woods rookery. For 8 years he organized field trips for both the Ornithology Group and the Houston Audubon.  He has led and co-led birding trips for Featherfest, Houston Audubon, and the Ornithology Group.

Skip formed a Texas nonprofit corporation, Friends of Mandell Park, to improve, protect and assist in the maintenance of the newly acquired City of Houston’s Mandell Park.  The group raised over 1 million dollars and the renovation is completed.  Skip was president from 2004 through 2014, and served as President/Treasurer from 2016 until he stepped down from leadership positions in November 2019. During the ten years from 2004 to 2014 he has contributed over 1750 hours of volunteer time to Friends of Mandell Park.

In addition to bird watching, he also enjoys bike riding. He and his wife Jonni live in the Houston Museum area and enjoy the many fine dining experiences as well as cooking at home. They both enjoy traveling, ballet, live music and reading.

Upcoming Events

April 2024
April 18 @ 7:30 am - 11:30 am

We will concentrate on gaining a deeper understanding of bird identification. Our approach is to observe differences in body structure, behavior, habitat preferences, and feeding styles of various species of birds. This trip allows us time to observe and discover the distinct characteristics of each species as opposed to generating a list of a larger number of species that we know little about. Notebooks are encouraged! We will proceed from the meeting site down Boddecker Rd through the East End…

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April 19 @ 6:30 am - 3:00 pm

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 as providing nutrients and sediments.  With the change in salinity level comes a different plant community. Though remnant stands of native prairie can be found…

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April 20 @ 8:00 am - 11:00 am

This trip takes you to one of the best locales for finding numerous varieties of waterbirds, East Beach. We begin with a drive down Boddecker Rd through the East End Lagoon Nature Preserve, catching views of a precious and increasingly rare ecosystem. We will explore 684 acres of Galveston’s largest undeveloped habitat including one of the few remaining sizable tracts of coastal prairie. The site contains both tidal and nontidal wetlands, beach dunes, a freshwater pond, black mangroves and upland…

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April 20 @ 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Bird Galveston’s East End with one of the world’s most famous birders! In 1998, Greg zig-zagged 130,000 miles across the USA hoping to reach at least 700 species of birds in one calendar year.

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