This trip to a private ranch was offered last year as a pre-festival trip. It was such a success that we are offering it twice this year - as a pre-festival trip and a post-festival trip so you can either begin or end your FeatherFest adventure at Hall's Bayou Ranch! Hall’s Bayou Ranch encompasses over 25,000 acres of private land that begins at Halls Lake near Alvin TX and flows southeasterly into West Galveston Bay. It is somewhat secluded and…

Clear Creek winds its way from Clear Lake through League City in Galveston County, providing beneficial freshwater riparian edge habitat to a wide variety of bird species and other wildlife. This pre-festival trip explores some of the hidden gems in the Clear Lake Loop of the Upper Texas Coast – Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, beginning with the beautiful Dr. Ned and Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Center. We’ll hike along the trails there looking for spring migrants such as…

In northeast Harris County, Lake Houston dams the confluence of the two forks of the San Jacinto River, Luce Bayou and Cypress Creek. The mighty San Jac watershed bottomlands hold a bounty of flora and fauna along its courses. Beaver and river otter share Lake Houston with alligator and banded water snakes to name a few. Overhead gulls, pelican and waterbirds move in groups plying the water of the lake for fish. In the spring, the dawn song from the forest is large and loud. Target local nesters include Brown-headed Nuthatch, Red- headed Woodpecker, Bald Eagle, Anhinga and Pine Warbler. Neotropic nesters we hope to encounter: Prothonotary Warbler, Swainson’s Warbler, Painted Bunting, Hooded Warbler, Purple Gallinule and Yellow-billed cuckoo. This habitat also serves the avian migration north, with respite for Blue Grosbeak, Black-throated Green Warbler, Swainson’s Hawk, Western Sandpiper and many others.

We visit two sites within the City of Pearland to observe how one city’s mission, “To protect, manage, and enhance the City’s natural resources, provide citizens with outdoor recreation opportunities, and to further the public’s understanding and appreciation of its natural resources through education and hands-on experiences”, has been taken to the next level. From 50 acres of constructed storm water wetlands to 140 acres of parkland managed entirely for nature and wildlife, the concept of bringing nature to everyone…

This pre-festival trip will explore some of the best birding spots on the Clear Lake Loop of the Upper Texas Coast - Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. This area contains a variety of habitats, including approximately 60 acres of oak woodlands, riparian edge habitat along the bayou, freshwater ponds, wetlands, and bay waters. This amazing habitat diversity attracts a wide variety of resident and migratory bird species, as well as other wildlife such as turtles, deer, alligators, and swamp rabbits. We'll…

For over forty years Armand Bayou Nature Center has been a leader in habitat restoration. Join us for a behind the scenes adventure of their wildlife treasures. This tour will deepen your appreciation for the richness of life that exists right here next to the fourth largest city in the country.

Two of the most iconic birds in North America visit Armand Bayou every winter and spring.  The American bald eagle and osprey spend November through April hunting and fishing the productive waters of the bayou.  Once threatened by the use of pesticides, the recovery of these species is a great testament to the value of clean water and habitat preservation. This is an incredible viewing opportunity, located in Houston’s backyard.

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.

Boy Scout Woods, Smith Oaks, The Rookery, and more! The accident of geology makes the Upper Texas Coast a beacon to weary neotropical migrants finishing a 10+ hour, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached just 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain where it became covered with 20-30-foot oak trees, creating a vast canopy. This created High Island, which is now a refuge…

Join Greg Miller and Winnie Burkett at what is called “one of the finest migratory locations in North America” – the southern end of the Bolivar Peninsula. Shorebirds, terns, herons, egrets, and other water birds will give participants an unforgettable field experience. Bolivar Peninsula stretches east of the confluence of the Galveston Bay system and the Gulf of Mexico. This Gulf coast barrier peninsula is the result of natural processes and human activity. The peninsula’s natural features pull in fisherman,…

This Nature Conservancy preserve is 2,303 acres of coastal prairie at the intersection of urban expanse and rural beauty. The coastal grasslands found here are vital to the natural resilience of the Gulf Coast—prairies and marshlands act as a natural buffer during storms and hurricanes, absorbing and dispersing water from storm surges and floods. The sponge-like qualities of the prairie are also important for filtering the freshwater that flows into the Gulf of Mexico—more than three million gallons enter the…

Join Jon Dunn, one of North America’s most knowledgeable ornithologists, for a birding tour of Galveston Island.  Jon has extensive knowledge of the identification and distribution of North American birds, co-authoring the sixth and seventh editions of National Geographic Society’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America, and the Peterson Field Guide to Warblers. Jon is joined by one of Galveston’s local birding experts Alice Anne O’Donell. You will explore the many habitats that birds live and migrate through on the…

We begin the field trip with herons and egrets, migrating shorebirds and waterfowl in the wetland areas on the west end of Galveston Island. We may encounter Clapper Rail, Black-necked Stilt, Common Loon, diving ducks and “peeps.” There is also excellent viewing of American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, dowitchers, gulls and terns that gather on the private piers on Sportsman Road.

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…

This first-time FeatherFest field trip is designed for those who love to bird but prefer less walking. Enjoy this leisurely bus ride through central Galveston Island, south to north, to areas where birds normally congregate, stopping at various locales allowing easy access off the bus. We start at a beachfront pool that attracts gulls and terns. Moving towards the West Bay, brings us to open areas where migrating shorebirds stop to forage. We then head through fresh and briny marshes…

This is your opportunity to explore “the other side” of Galveston Bay. We head over the causeway bridge to explore birding areas on the Mainland side of Galveston Bay in the Tiki Island, Texas City, and La Marque areas. One of our best kept secrets and most under explored areas, participants will be surprised at the number and variety of birds seen on this outing. Birding locations may include some privately-owned land with fresh water ponds that provide easy observation of migrating shorebirds and ducks. American Golden Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Wilson’s Phalarope are often seen at this location during migration.

The accident of geology makes the Upper Texas Coast a beacon to weary neotropical migrants finishing a 10+ hour, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached just 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain where it became covered with 20-30-foot oak trees, creating a vast canopy. This created High Island, which is now a beacon to weary Trans-Gulf migrants. This area provides wooded habitat…

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!

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 be seen in large numbers if mudflats are available, and flocks of egrets and herons feed in the marsh. And if we look up, we…

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, Gulf Coast Program Manager for the American Bird Conservancy, 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 designation in the birding world as a Globally Important Bird Area and is an International Site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve…

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…

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 to San Luis Pass so that he’ll be able to take you to all the best birding spots on the Island. Get ready to see…

Boy Scout Woods, Smith Oaks, The Rookery, and more…with birding expert Jon Dunn! The accident of geology makes the Upper Texas Coast a beacon to weary neotropical migrants finishing a 10+ hour, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached just 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain where it became covered with 20-30-foot oak trees, creating a vast canopy. This created 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.

Love walking the beach shore and seeing all the "peeps" run back and forth from the waves? Get the basics down on shorebirds and waterbirds on this field trip along some of the great shorebirding sites around the Galveston area.  Topics may include birding basics, identification, eBird, species life history, and more.  Bring your questions and optics, we'll scope out the birds and have a good time! This is a meet-at-site trip. Driving directions will be provided prior to the…

We begin the field trip with herons and egrets, migrating shorebirds and waterfowl in the wetland areas on the west end of Galveston Island. We may encounter Clapper Rail, Black-necked Stilt, Common Loon, diving ducks and “peeps.” There is also excellent viewing of American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, dowitchers, gulls and terns that gather on the private piers on Sportsman Road.

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.

Have you ever wanted to practice nature journaling, but found it difficult to know how to start? Or maybe you already love drawing, but want to learn some new tips and tricks to enhance your practice? This nature journaling workshop is designed to break through the trepidation of the “white page” and get you journaling right away.

This field trip searches for the spring songbird richness found on West Galveston Island, with a special emphasis on warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks and buntings. Guests will walk through Lafitte’s Cove Nature Preserve, Galveston’s crown jewel for migrating songbirds. Several species of vireos and warblers were seen in the oak mott last spring. Freshwater ponds at the entrance to the preserve provide up-close views of migrating shorebirds, ducks, both species of dowitchers and yellowlegs, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers, Marsh…

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.

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 for late afternoon to catch any lingering migrants and catch afternoon arrivals who have spent 10+ hours flying nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. From…

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.

Don’t miss this popular field trip to the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, which is designated an Internationally Significant Shorebird site and contains more water than land within its 44,000+ acres. We’ll leave dark and early on our bus trip to the refuge, crossing San Luis Pass at sunrise and making a quick stop to check for rails in the lagoons. As we continue westward along the Bluewater Highway, we’ll check the small lagoons along the way for nesting herons and keep an eye out over the wetlands for raptors.  We’ll continue along the levee road that follows Oyster Creek, offering the possibility of Ospreys, White Pelicans, and lingering winter waterfowl.

Join Jon Dunn, one of North Americas most knowledgeable ornithologists, for a birding tour of the Bolivar Peninsula. This peninsula stretches east of the confluence of the Galveston Bay system and the Gulf of Mexico. This barrier peninsula is the result of natural processes and human activity. Its natural features pull in fisherman, beach combers, shell collectors and birders. Thousands of Houstonians seek out Bolivar’s beaches every weekend but on any given day the birds far outnumber the humans. The…

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…

Boy Scout Woods, Smith Oaks, The Rookery, and more! The accident of geology makes the Upper Texas Coast a beacon to weary neotropical migrants finishing a 10+ hour, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached just 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain where it became covered with 20-30-foot oak trees, creating a vast canopy. This created High Island, which is now a refuge…

Join Greg and local birder Mike Austin on a trip guaranteed to expose you to many island habitats and what ought to be a significant variety of species! Well known by the locals, these less familiar hot spots have proved fruitful time and again. We’ll begin at Lafitte’s Cove walking the paths in search of migrating and nesting songbirds in the oaks and wading birds in the ponds. From there, we journey east to pick up herons and egrets, migrating…

This first-time FeatherFest field trip led by Richard Gibbons, Gulf Coast Program Manager for the American Bird Conservancy, is geared for those who come to the Texas Gulf Coast to focus on bird species with range limits in this area. We focus on local specialties such as Roseate Spoonbill, Wilson’s Plovers, Horned Lark, Seaside Sparrow, etc. Richard will take you to the places these birds are most likely to be. He has worked as an ornithologist for more than two…

Join birding guide Christina Baal for a trip to one of the largest migrant traps on the East end of Galveston Island. The Texas A&M Wetlands Center hosts mature oaks, hackberry, and mulberry trees as well as small freshwater and retention ponds. This attracts dozens of neo-tropic migrants including warblers, buntings, tanagers, and orioles. The well-kept paths of the Wetlands Center proceed from the west tip of the island inland to the eastern edge of university housing. This path provides excellent…

We begin the field trip with herons and egrets, migrating shorebirds and waterfowl in the wetland areas on the west end of Galveston Island. We may encounter Clapper Rail, Black-necked Stilt, Common Loon, diving ducks and “peeps.” There is also excellent viewing of American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, dowitchers, gulls and terns that gather on the private piers on Sportsman Road.

The spectacle of a water bird nesting rookery is a birder “must see.” North Deer Island has 1.7 miles of protected shoreline which supports nesting habitat for the threatened Reddish Egret and 16 other bird species. Rookeries dot the Texas Gulf coast. Among the best in Texas is 144-acre North Deer Island shared by nesting herons, egrets, ibis, cormorants, shorebirds and seabirds. You’ll witness the sight, sounds and smells of thousands of Brown Pelican (approximately 40% of TX coastal nesters),…

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.

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 Life Science and Exhibit Operations team manages a diverse collection of tropical species within the Rainforest biome as well as the 7 species of penguins…

Join two of our favorite local leaders 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…

This field trip searches for the spring songbird richness found on West Galveston Island, with a special emphasis on warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks and buntings. Guests will walk through Lafitte’s Cove Nature Preserve, Galveston’s crown jewel for migrating songbirds. Several species of vireos and warblers were seen in the oak mott last spring. Freshwater ponds at the entrance to the preserve provide up-close views of migrating shorebirds, ducks, both species of dowitchers and yellowlegs, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers, Marsh…

This is your opportunity to explore “the other side” of Galveston Bay. We head over the causeway bridge to explore birding areas on the Mainland side of Galveston Bay in the Tiki Island, Texas City, and La Marque areas. One of our best kept secrets and most under explored areas, participants will be surprised at the number and variety of birds seen on this outing. Birding locations may include some privately-owned land with fresh water ponds that provide easy observation…

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.

The accident of geology makes the Upper Texas Coast a beacon to weary neotropical migrants finishing a 10+ hour, nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico. From under an ancient sea, a salt dome emerged. After a few thousand years the dome reached just 38-feet above a pancake-flat coastal plain where it became covered with 20-30-foot oak trees, creating a vast canopy. This created High Island, which is now a beacon to weary Trans-Gulf migrants. This area provides wooded habitat…

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.

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.

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.

We are excited to offer this first-time FeatherFest field trip with two festival favorites – Kristine Rivers and Mark Scheuerman! Join them for a rare look at these two remarkable properties that are not open to the public.

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 Jon Dunn, one of North Americas most knowledgeable ornithologists, in exploring areas of Galveston Island that bring together our most prolific species, shorebirds. As a leader for Wings Birdwatching Tours for 45 years, he has acquired extensive knowledge in how to parse out and identify the many varieties. While viewing these birds, Jon will help you learn the finer points of identifying them. Come out and enjoy a casual morning of birding to end your FeatherFest experience with Jon…

Galveston Island State Park protects 2,000 acres of upper Gulf Coast barrier island ecosystem. Barrier islands like Galveston move and change constantly with the action of waves, wind, and tides to support a mosaic of coastal habitats, including beaches, prairies and wetlands. These habitats host a surprising variety of wildlife. Join Kyle O’Haver Assistant Park Superintendent, on a trip that will cover his favorite areas of the park. These areas are host to salt marsh wetlands and prairie. Wetlands form…

This is your opportunity to explore “the other side” of Galveston Bay. We head over the causeway bridge to explore birding areas on the Mainland side of Galveston Bay in the Tiki Island, Texas City, and La Marque areas. One of our best kept secrets and most under explored areas, participants will be surprised at the number and variety of birds seen on this outing. Birding locations may include some privately-owned land with fresh water ponds that provide easy observation…

Our spring migration adventure begins at our first birding stop at a coastal Marsh in Sabine, TX. Here we will look for resident Seaside Sparrows, lingering Nelson’s sparrows that over wintered, marsh and sedge wrens among other marsh inhabitants. Next stop - the Texas Ornithological Society's (TOS) Sabine Woods Sanctuary and then we will bird our way to McFaddin Wildlife Refuge. Along the way, we'll also visit Sea Rim State Park. Throughout this field trip, we will see a wonderful diversity of habitat and bird species. Glenn might alter the day's itinerary based on reports of what's been seen where on the days leading up to the field trip. He'll take you where the birds are!