FeatherFest Chronological Events by Day
Sunday, April 15, 2012
| Register |
Event descriptions below include the birds and habitats most likely to be seen, the recommended skill level, what to bring, and mode of transportation in hopes of preparing you for the most enjoyable experience possible. Activities with a 5-star designation are led by recognized birding and photography experts and showcase Galveston birding at its best.
Skill levels are: 1 for Beginner Birder/Photographer; 2 for Intermediate; and 3 for Advanced.
All trips, including walking and boating events, will depart in front of Old Galveston Square, 2215 The Strand, downtown Galveston, unless otherwise noted. Please assemble 15 minutes ahead of the listed departure time, as trips WILL leave on time! Except for Drive Your Own Car trips, the listed times relate to departure from and arrival back at Old Galveston Square. Boat and kayak trips will occur as scheduled, based on weather conditions. Please check with the Registration Desk for status.
-----------------------
What’s Hot on Sunday 
Price: $55
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Field Experts: Steve Gross, Mike Austin, Louise Zemaitis
Bring water, snacks
Bus & Walk
Skill Level: All
This fast-paced event will visit Island sites where birding over the prior three days has been the best, recognizing that weather conditions may be different. It’s a shorter version of the ever-popular Galveston Complete Birding Sampler.
Targets: sandpipers, plovers, herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, gulls, terns, ducks, early migrating songbirds and much more!
-----------------------
North Deer Island Rookery by Boat
Price: $50
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 7:30 a.m. –11:30 a.m.
Field Experts: Stennie Meadours, Stephan Lorenz
Bring water, snacks
Short Walk to Dock & Boat Trip
Skill Level: All
On this fabulous boat ride to the rookery on North Deer Island in West Galveston Bay, you will hone your skills for identifying bay birds in flight: white and Brown Pelicans, Royal and Caspian Terns, cormorants, gulls, plus pods of dolphins.
North Deer Island has 1.7 miles of protected shoreline which supports habitat for the threatened Reddish Egret and White-faced Ibis and 16 other bird species. This rookery is located in Galveston Bay between Tiki Island and West Galveston.
The SS Seagull II will drift around this protected, no-trespassing rookery, observing thousands of nesting herons, Reddish Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and other wading birds in their full breeding plumage. The viewing distance will be determined by the tides and prevailing winds.
On the way to North Deer Island, you’ll have an opportunity to see many species of birds at the Harborwalk Marina freshwater ponds. While you’re stopped at the marina to bird, you’ll also be able to purchase snacks and use restrooms. Your trip leader will decide how long to spend at the marina based on the birds.
The boat is a 45-passenger catamaran and there is no restroom on board. Please meet your trip liaison in the bus loading area to walk over to the dock as a group.
Saving North Deer Island Bird Rookery: Texas Parks and Wildlife video
North Deer Island: Houston Audubon webpage about North Deer Island and the shoreline restoration project
-----------------------
Galveston Complete Birding Sampler
Price: $55
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 7:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Field Experts: Professor Dick Peake, Jim O’Donnell
Bring water, snacks, lunch
Bus & Walk
Skill Level: All
Explore the entire island on a fast-paced trip. Dr. Peake a wintering island resident himself, knows the birding spots well, and will take into account the weather, tides and what he has seen just prior to or during the festival to decide what to view and where to go. In that regard, the tour is not fixed rigidly in advance, but is more a birding adventure.
Targets: sandpipers, avocets, stilts, waterfowl, prairie birds, sparrows, raptors, herons, egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and dowitchers. If early migrant songbirds are on the Island, Dr. Peake will find them!
-----------------------
Wintering and Migrating Shorebirds Workshop
Price: $20
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Expert Presenter: Alice Anne O’Donell
Skill Level: All
Participants new to coastal birding and novice birders will find this workshop the perfect opportunity to learn about shorebirds. This workshop will focus on identification of wintering and migrating shorebirds seen on the Upper Texas Coast. Slides of common shorebirds found this time of year will be presented and tips on becoming a better coastal birder will be shared.
For the best experience, we suggest you combine this workshop with the Wintering and Migrating Shorebirds Field Trip.
-----------------------
Advanced Birding with Kevin Karlson
Price: $55
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Bring water, snacks
Field Experts: Kevin Karlson, Bill Saulmon
Bus & Strenuous Walk
Skill Level: 2, 3
This field trip is an opportunity for FeatherFest guests to spend time with Kevin studying bird morphology, habits and identification in more depth than during his other weekday events. The trip will cover selected locations on Galveston Island.
Targets: everything from possible migrant songbirds, shorebirds, herons, egrets, waterfowl, whistling ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Mottled Ducks, assorted other dabblers, raptors, terns, gulls, and maybe a few seabirds.
-----------------------
Birding by Kayak…Your Own or Rent One
Price with Own Kayak: $20
Price with Rented Kayak: $40
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 8:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Bring water, snacks
Field Experts: David Singleton, Adam Wood
Meet at Site & Kayak
Skill Level: All
Drive your own car to the nature center at Galveston Island State park and bring your own kayak – or rent one of ours – for an easy, delightful natural experience. Enjoy birding at water level while slowly exploring the bay waters 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 Spoonbills and shorebirds; the elusive resident Saltmarsh Sparrow; and waterfowl and overhead raptors like ospreys, White-tailed Kites and Northern Harriers, looking for cotton-tailed rats and rabbits. You may get lucky and see a raccoon cleaning his food at water’s edge and perhaps even a coyote.
Guests are advised to wear sunscreen, lace-up, closed-toed shoes, and fingerless cycling gloves. Be ready to get a bit muddy, and bring a water-proof bag for your gear.
Rented kayaks are two-seaters so you will be paired with another registrant. Guests renting kayaks will be supplied and required to wear a life jacket. If you bring your own kayak, please bring your own life jacket, as you will be required to wear it. If you don’t have one, please let us know. Driving directions will be emailed to you and also available at the Registration Desk. If you’re coming from FeatherFest HQ or downtown, please allow 30 minutes to drive to the park.
-----------------------
Texas City Dike & Other Man-made Structures
Price: $40
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Bring water, snacks, lunch if over Noon hour
Field Experts: George Regmund, Gay York
Bus & Frequent in-and-out Walk
Skill Level: All
The Texas City area abounds with bird-friendly, man-made structures. There are colonies of Cave and Cliff swallows nesting under several I-45 bridges. Catchment ponds for the refineries could still hold some Eared Grebes, plus late wintering waterfowl, and usually Roseate Spoonbills and herons. The Texas City Dike, which protects the port of Texas City, projects approximately 5 miles into East Galveston Bay, almost to Pelican Island. The newly built recreational area along the dike is an excellent vantage point to see birds that prefer a true marine environment.
Some late wintering loons, gulls and terns will likely be present, plus some bay ducks, mergansers, and others. Afterwards, drive along Skyline Highway on the top of a levee, for an outside chance to spot the white morph of a Great Blue Heron. If time permits the trip will seek out one of several colonies of Monk Parakeets colonially nesting atop the power transmission towers, and perhaps an Anhinga along the freshwater canal at Highland Park.
-----------------------
Wintering and Migrating Shorebirds Field Trip
Price: $30
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Bring water, snacks
Field Expert: Alice Anne O’Donell
Bus & Walk
Skill Level: All
Early stage birders will find this event the perfect opportunity to learn about birding and experience the fun of FeatherFest! It is recommended that you attend the Wintering and Migrating Shorebirds Workshop beforehand, so you can take what you learned into the field.
-----------------------
Beach Exploration Galveston Island State Park
Price: $20
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 10:30 a.m. – Noon
Bring water
Meet at Site & Walk
Skill Level: All
Drive your own car to the Nature Center in Galveston Island State Park where a Texas Master Naturalist will meet you for your guided, leisurely walk to do some beachcombing. Learn about the importance of our dunes and “life at the edge” ...what’s above and below the sand and in the water. Galveston Island State Park is 2,000 acres and one of the area’s premier ecological jewels.
Driving directions will be emailed to you and also available at the Registration Desk. If you’re coming from FeatherFest HQ or downtown, please allow 30 minutes to drive to the park.
Targets: gulls, terns, Willets, Sanderlings, Black-bellied Plovers, herons and “peeps.”
-----------------------
Early Migrant Songbirds Workshop
Price: $20
Date: Sunday, April 15
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Expert Leader: Alice Anne O’Donell
Skill Level: All
Participants new to coastal birding and novice birders will find this workshop the perfect opportunity to learn about songbirds. The workshop will focus on identification of wintering and early migrating songbirds seen on the Upper Texas Coast. Slides of common songbirds found this time of year will be presented and tips on becoming a better birder will be shared. For the best experience, take in conjunction with the Early Migrant Songbirds Field Trip.
-----------------------
Early Migrant Songbirds Field Trip
Price: $30 Date: Sunday, April 15
Field Trip: 12:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Bring water, snacks
Field Expert: Alice Anne O’Donell
Bus & Walk
Skill Level: All
Early-stage birders will find this event the perfect opportunity to learn about birding and experience the fun of FeatherFest! It is recommended that you attend the Early Migrant Songbirds Workshop beforehand, so you can take what you learned into the field.
-----------------------
For Further Information
Email: NatureTourismGalv@juno.com
FeatherFest Hotline: 832.459.5533 or 1.888.425.4753
Nature Tourism Info: 409.789.8125
Mail: Galveston FeatherFest, P.O. Box 1468
Galveston, TX 77553-1468
FeatherFest is a project of the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council which supports nature tourism and education, and promotes the value of area natural habitats.
www.GalvestonNatureTourism.org
|
