This photo was taken by Steve Tripp, of Devon, just as they arrived on Sundown Island on day two of the dock construction. The Pelicans have already assumed ownership!

November 12, 2003

Photo Galleries: Building a dock and Workday Activities

At the end of October, 42 volunteers gathered to work on the Sundown Island Audubon Bird Sanctuary located just off the ships' channel, about twenty minutes from Port O'Connor. This was one of the most productive workdays ever held on Sundown Island!

Volunteers treated for fire ants, picked up and bagged mounds of debris left over from Hurricane Claudette, planted two new plots of trees/bushes, moved trees from one plot partially destroyed by Claudette, fertilized new plants, moved heavy trash that washed-up during the hurricane, burned wood debris, worked on tractor shed improvements...and built a dock!

The Sundown Island dock is not a fishing pier! No one should dock their boat there or go on the island without the express permission of Audubon Warden Chester Smith. The purpose of the dock is to make it easier for the Warden to bring
volunteers to the island and to unload supplies and equipment. Before the dock,
volunteers had to jump out of the boat into knee or waist deep water and then line up "brigade style"to pass equipment, supplies and other materials from the boat to the shore. During the summer this is NOT so bad, but during the winter when the water is cold, brrrr!

Most of the large wooden signs (there were six) indicating "Audubon Bird Sanctuary, No Landing and No Trespassing" were destroyed during Hurricane Claudette, but Sundown (Bird) Island remains a closed bird sanctuary. Please continue to respect this protected sanctuary that is a critical nesting location for the Brown Pelican and other colonial water birds.

Audubon and Chester Smith would like to wholeheartedly thank all who helped make this dock possible:

On the October workday, Captain Allen Harris (Seadrift) brought the Back Bay Tours' boat to transport volunteers to the island. The Audubon boat, the Egret III, made two trips to pick up volunteers. Jimmy and Chuck Smith (Alamo Beach) and Don Russell (Port O'Connor) generously donated their time and their boats to help bring volunteers to work.

Devon Energy, a Sundown Island sponsor, sent twenty-one (wow!) Devon employees, friends and family to help with the workday. Project coordinators Barbara Van Horn, Steve Tripp and Lynn Travis (Houston) organized the effort. Devon provided approximately 70 trees/bushes that were planted for breeding habitat. Volunteers planted Mesquite, Hackberry, Salt Cedar, Wesatche (huisache, or sweet acacia tree), and Lantana. The Pelicans and the butterflies love the Lantana, and these trees/bushes have done fairly well on Sundown Island in the past. Devon provided lunch for all the Sundown volunteers and sponsored "The Most Interesting Beach Finds Contest"

Petra Hockey, an expert birder from Port O'Connor, brought her spotting scope so that volunteers could observe some of the permanent residents as well as new fall arrivals. On a pond close to where we landed, Petra spotted basic (winter) plumaged Northern Shovelers, plus a few Blue-winged Teal and one female Gadwall. There were also several Willet in the pond and one Black-necked Stilt. Petra pulled a lot of trash out of the middle of the island where the other folks did not go for fear of snakes. She and other volunteers planted new trees and hauled heavy buckets of fertilizer to the new plant plots to give the new plants a jump start.

Ed and Linda Olson (Palacios), long-time supporters of Sundown Island, brought eight family members and friends to help work on the dock, plant new trees and participate in beach clean-up activities. The Olson family received an award from Warden Chester Smith for "Outstanding Service"to Sundown Island during the Spring 2003 workday activities.

The next workday is scheduled for February 2004. If you would like to volunteer or send a donation to the Sundown Island Bird Sanctuary, contact Chester Smith at 281.427.4902 (Baytown) or 361.983.2903 (Port O'Connor), or by e-mail (popsbirds@aol.com), or U.S. mail: Chester Smith, Sundown Island Bird Sanctuary, National Audubon Society, P. O. Box 373, Port O'Connor, Texas 77982.

For information about other Texas bird sanctuaries, wildlife conservation efforts or Audubon events, be sure to visit the Texas Audubon Web site at http://tx.audubon.org/.