An Audubon Bird Sanctuary
Port O'Connor, Texas
Home Page
About Sundown Island
Birds of Sundown
From the Warden
Photo gallery
Sponsors
News Index
Location
How you can help?
Workday schedules
For educators
Related links
Contact us

 Click here for Port O'Connor weather from WEATHER.COM.

Port O'Connor, Texas

© 2000-08 Sundown Island

2009 Annual Sundown Island Bird Count, Alban Heiser Award and Formosa Grant

2009 Bird Census Team; click the photo to view a larger image.
Left to right, back row (Ray Guse, Nancy Posey, Wade Harrell, Petra Hockey, Brush Freeman and Diane Nunley; middle row (Chester Smith and Marcy Spears; front row (Beau Hardegree, Amy Hanna, Andy Kasner, Tim and Peggy (not in photo) Wilkinson and Robyn Cobb) Photo credit: Peggy Wilkinson.

Click on the photo to view a larger image.

2009 Annual Cenus

View Photos taken during the annual census on Sundown.Smugmug.com

July 16, 2009—At the end of May, thirteen volunteers and Chester Smith banded together to complete the 2009 Bird Census.

The annual census takers were:

As last year, when we first arrived there were two Magnificent Frigate Birds circling over water near the island. Frigate birds are seen with some regularity in the Port O'Connor.

The island vegetation was extremely dry because of the current Texas drought. The trees near the ponds and the tractor shed were holding up pretty well.

The largest primary nester on Sundown Island is the Brown Pelican. There were active nests in various stages from new construction with a few sticks to well built platforms, Also observed were nests that appeared abandoned with eggs rolled on the ground. The stage of nesting varied from eggs to large chicks, two-three weeks old.

Beau Hardegree with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remarked that Brown Pelican nesting was generally down on the central Texas coast but that numbers are up on the upper coast. Whether this is due to the drought or human disturbance is not known.

The numbers are down somewhat from last year. However, the census takes place once a year. Many of the birds were already sitting on eggs in February and March. Their chicks would have fledged and left the island. Even if the juveniles remained on the island, only breeding-pairs are counted.

Annual Census 2009

Great Egret chicks; click on the photo to view a larger image.
These are Great Egret chicks. The one on the left is fine, just resting. The one on the right was obviously hungry and not very happy about it. Photo credit: Marcy Spears
Breeding Pairs
2009
Brown Pelican
1,181
Neotropic Cormorant
1
Great Blue Heron
128
Great Egret
155
Snowy Egret
89
Reddish Egret (dark/white)
39
Tricolored Heron
574
Little Blue Heron
11
Cattle Egret
19
Black-crowned Night-Heron
87
White Ibis
52
Roseate Spoonbill
110
Laughing Gull
3,691
Gull-billed Tern
36
Royal Tern
2,290
Sandwich Tern
710
Black Skimmer
176
Total
10,813


Summer Residents and Migrant Birds Observed

Just as interesting as the regular bird count, on the day the counters were there, Brush Freeman and Petra Hockey observed a terrific variety of migrant and summer resident birds.

The birds listed here were found in small patch of Huisache (close to the tractor shed) planted by Audubon volunteers several years ago to stabilize the shoreline and to provide habitat. The Huisache are nearly 13' tall now, consisting of 17-18 thinly leafed plants with some Yopaun (with berries) below the trees. There wasn't time to check other similar areas on the island but it would have been likely that similar migrants would have been noted in other areas on the island.

Click to view a larger image of the Brown Pelican chicks.

Two Brown Pelican chicks taking cover from the heat under one of their parents on the day of the census. Photo credit: Marcy Spears
Other Birds Observed
Magnificent Frigrate Bird
6
Crested Caracara (might be nesting; did so in the past)
1
Rudy Turnstone
8
Sanderling
15
Dunlin
1
Western Sandpiper
3
Least Sandpiper
2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
15
Olive-sided Flycatcher
1
Eastern Wood-Pewee
2
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1
Empidonax Flycatcher, "Trail's" (likely Alder)
1
Empidonax Flycatcher
1
Red-eyed Vireo
3
Philadelphia Vireo
1
Swainson's Thrush
1
Gray-cheeked Thrush
1
Gray Catbird
1
Yellow Warbler
2
Chestnut-sided Warbler
1
Magnolia Warbler
1
Bay-breasted Warbler
1
Scarlet Tanager
1
Indigo Bunting
1
Red-winged Blackbird (breeders)
Many
Boat-tailed Grackle
2
Great-tailed Grackle
Several


If you are interested in more information about colonial water birds on the Texas coast, also visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Texas Coastal Program site. This site includes census data on counts going back twenty or more years.

2009 Bird Census Team; click the photo to view a larger image.
On behalf of the Houston Zoological Society, Jeremy Cecil presents the Alban Heiser Award to his grandfather and Audubon Warden of Sundown Island. Click on the photo for a larger view. Read more about this award.

Alban Heiser Award and Formosa Grant for New Boat Motor

As most of you remember, the Spring Sundown Island Workday was cancelled because Chester had to undergo emergency surgery. But good news comes—especially when you need it!

Chester was in the hospital recovering from surgery when he received the Alban Heiser Award from the Houston Zoological Society. The award also came with a monetary gift of $1,000.
Read more.

In addition, Chester received word from Jim Shephard at the Formosa Plastics Corporation in Port Lavaca that the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, Sundown Island, had been awarded a $17,600 grant for the purchase of a new boat motor for the Audubon boat Egret II. The grant and Heiser award also covered the cost of more top and side curtains for the boat. Sometimes the ride to the island is both bumpy and wet.

Previous news:
How to Help:

Contact Warden Chester Smith for information on how to contribute or volunteer at popsbirds@aol.com. Be sure to visit the Audubon Texas Web site for information about other bird sanctuaries at: Audubon Texas Web site.