South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary Report

Partner Content 

 The June Report

SPI-BNCAS guided field trips were scheduled by Naturalist, Javi Gonzalez. The staff and volunteers guided the trip.

Field Trips:

6/8 – Santa Maria ISD – (50) Kinder – 5th

6/9 – Upward Bound Math & Science -Brownsville – (43) 10th-12th

6/16 – Bumble Bees Daycare – (14) plus chaperones

6/22 – Faulk MS – TSC Texas Ace Program – (25) students/teachers

6/23 – McAllen Home School Group – (22) students/parents

6/30 – Willacy County Schools (Raymondville, Lasara, Lyford) – 25 students/teachers

Coastal Nature Camps: Session 1 (6/13-16) & Session 2 (6/27-30)

The curriculum for the 4-day, 4-hour per day camps where campers learned about all aspects of coastal nature; starting with environment observations and water quality testing, to conducting bird surveys, fish surveys, making mammal track plaster casts, learning about alligators, conducting pollinator to plant matchups, and helping plant new trees and habitat on site.

Humanitarian Experience Tours – Saturdays through the Summer.

Every Saturday through the summer guides are open to youths from the Humanitarian Experience, a missionary organization. They enjoy a guided tour and learning a quick alligator lesson.

Great Texas Birding Classic Results (6/10) 

Happy to announce that our youth birding team, “The TOS Shorebirdies” won 1st place in the Lower Coast region’s “Roughwings” category.

The event made the front page of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press newspaper.

The Big Sit team won 2nd place, and the teams plan to attend next year.

June Birding Tours

June is the slowest month in terms of birding tours attendees and bird diversity on the wetlands. Most wading birds leave the site to go nest on spoil islands on the Laguna Madre. About 22 species are seen on site. Some do nest in the wetlands or close by. Out of the 10 guided tours in the month, about 43 attendees were spotted.

Volunteer Coordinating Volunteers/Hours:

Birding Guides: (3) volunteers.   

Greeters: (8) Greeter shifts x 4 volunteer hours = 32 volunteer hours a week.

Habitat: (1) volunteer. 

39-42 volunteer hours a week

 This report was prepared by Birding Center Naturalist, Javier Gonzalez.

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Island Matters | P.O. Box 2778 | South Padre Island, TX 78597