An Audubon Bird Sanctuary
Port O'Connor, Texas

© 2000-08 Sundown Island

Join us for Spring Workday
Saturday, February 22, 2003

Update from Chester Smith
February 12, 2003

Bring your binoculars. Petra Hockey, our famous master birder, is going give ya'll a bird identification walk and tour of the island!

Charlie and I went to Sundown Island Wednesday morning. The "big cabin boat" was sure nice to have with the cool weather and windy conditions on Wednesday!

The Great Blue Herons and Reddish Egrets are already nesting. It is very early for them! We wired the tractor for the Fire Ant pesticide spreader. We are expecting about 40 people on Saturday—29 of them from our good friends at Devon Energy!

I'm Looking forward to some work but a lot of fun on beautiful Matagorda Bay!

Hannah plants seedlings for nesting habitat, next to one of the new ponds, Spring Workday, 2002.

Join us for the Sundown Island Spring Workday, scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2003.

Nearly 20 different species call Sundown Island home during breeding season. The endangered Brown Pelican and threatened Reddish Egret are the primary focus of the workday as volunteers help prepare the island. Planned activities include:

• Planting seedlings (more trees and bushes are needed as nesting habitat for Reddish Egrets and other birds).
• Building nesting platforms (the Brown Pelicans have successfully adopted these platforms that keep the chicks off of the ground away from snakes and fire ants).
• Treating for Fire Ants.
• Working on piping between the windmill and the ponds.
• Beach cleanup to remove fishing line and other hazards to birds.

The Mesquite, Hackberry, Salt Cedar and Lantana that were planted during the Fall Workday are all doing well.

Update from Chester Smith, February 4, 2003:

Kingfisher Marine pulled one of the towers east, to "high sand hill," which will be better for bird nesting. They also dozed a pond near the other tower. Tim Wilkinson ran PVC pipe to the new pond. We will line and finish the pond on Spring Workday.

Want to participate? Click here for details.