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Thank Wetlands for Bird City Texas Designation

Thank Wetlands for Bird City Texas Designation

Last Updated: March 18, 2021 by Steve Alexander | Nature, Birding


Congratulations to the city of Galveston for becoming a Bird City Texas community. Thanks to the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council and others, Galveston joins only a handful of other Texas communities receiving the honor.

Great Blue Heron by Steve Alexander
Great Blue Heron Steve Alexander

What made this designation possible? Jennifer Reynolds, a Galveston County Daily News photographer, answered that question for me. She identified one of the most important reasons Galveston received the recognition: our abundance of local wetlands.

When Reynolds went out to photograph birds for the February article, “It’s official: Galveston is for the birds,” she wondered, “Where do I go in the dead of winter to find birds?” Turns out, she didn’t have to go far. Every one of the birds photographed was in a local wetland – the roseate spoonbill, tricolored herons and great egrets.

Those birds are just three of the 73 birds included in Scott Leslie’s Wetland Birds of North America. In addition to those three, other birds in the book found locally include mallard, great blue heron, snowy egret, yellow-crowned night heron, white ibis, osprey, clapper rail, American oystercatcher, willet, black skimmer, pied-billed grebe, brown pelican, double-crested cormorant, belted kingfisher and red-winged blackbird. For each of the dozens of birds listed, Leslie describes the types of wetlands used as habitat and identifies the resources therein utilized as food.

Snowy Egret and Pied-Billed Grebe
Snowy Egret and Pied-billed Grebe Steve Alexander
White Ibis by Steve Alexandere
White Ibis Steve Alexander

Since wetlands are important to so many birds locally and elsewhere, it’s important we make it a priority to protect them.

White Ibis Steve Alexander
Willet by Steve Alexander
Willet Steve Alexander

The only other Bird City Texas community I’m familiar with is Port Aransas. Like Galveston, it has plenty of wetlands, and I would bet wetlands abound in other Bird City Texas communities.

Lots of wetlands cover Galveston Island, so watch for another blog post soon about what they are and where you can find them.


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Steve Alexander

Steve Alexander teaches wetlands management at Texas A&M University at Galveston and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council. He is the author of Exploring Galveston: A Naturalist's Guide to the Island.

Steve Alexander
2021-03-18T12:12:41-05:00

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