Martin Hagne was born and raised on the Swedish west coast, where his grandfather instilled a love for nature at an early age. He moved to the United States, and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, in 1979 and turned his focus towards wildlife viewing and conservation concerns. Martin serves as the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory in Lake Jackson, TX. Previously he served as the Executive Director of the Valley Nature Center in Weslaco, Texas, a non-profit environmental education facility, for 13 years. He has also worked as a Field Biologist doing baseline studies for many years, including avian, reptile and amphibian, mammal, threatened and endangered species, and habitat studies. Martin has served on several national, state, regional and local environmental appointments, committees, and boards. He also leads birding field trips both in the U.S. and foreign locations. Birding, nature viewing, native plants, conservation issues and environmental education are great passions for Martin.
Galveston Birding and Nature Photo Festival
Martin Hagne
Upcoming Events
Come join us for a day in Brazoria County, birding some lesser-known hotspots (although that does not make them any less birdy!) Local birders enjoy these sites year-round and especially during spring migration. What to Expect: We will stay flexible with our route depending on weather, bird activity, and other considerations, but we will likely begin by birding the marsh along Crab Road in Surfside. This tidal salt marsh habitat is ever-changing, attracting a different variety of species depending on…
Find out more »Get ready to see the full avian diversity Galveston Island has to offer with guides who bird the Island regularly! This trip promises to be a fun-filled way to begin the festival, with destinations possible anywhere along the full length of the island. To see the maximum number of birds, the itinerary will be decided on the fly, based on scouting expeditions in the days prior.
Find out more »Bird banding allows the Gulf Coast Bird 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 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!
Find out more »Bolivar 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 the birds far outnumber the humans on any given day. The peninsula holds habitat zones that drift between brackish and briny depending on the tides. These habitats serve as…
Find out more »Come join us for a day in Brazoria County, birding some lesser-known hotspots (although that does not make them any less birdy!) Local birders enjoy these sites year-round and especially during spring migration. We will stay flexible with our route depending on weather and bird activity.
Find out more »