Gulf Coast Bird Observatory

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Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Protecting birds and their habitats around the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. and in Latin American wintering grounds.

By providing technical assistance, funding and other resources to partners including federal, state and local agencies, private landowners, and especially non-profit conservation groups we have restored 2,500 acres of Gulf coast habitat, supported the development of dozens of public use facilities along the Texas coast, and permanently protected 24,030 acres of habitat in the U.S. In addition to the birds and other wildlife resources, coastal and tropical ecosystems protected by our programs provide services that support economies, public health and community resiliency.

Day 7 of our Oaxaca birding trip. We left our wonderful cabin early this morning, birding our way down the mountain.  ...
10/14/2026

Day 7 of our Oaxaca birding trip.
We left our wonderful cabin early this morning, birding our way down the mountain.  Thera was a lot of saying goodbye to cabin cat and grounds dog!

We made a few stops and got some great birds, including Mexican Hermit, Blue- capped Hummingbird, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Eye-Ringed Flatbill, Tufted Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Golden Vireo, Great Black Hawk, Bat Falcon, Happy Wren, and Cinnamon Hummingbird! And many more!

We had a fabulous lunch along the road, and continued our way to Huatulco, where we will stay for four days. What a fabulous hotel, and a great dinner!

Tomorrow we start birding around this area, so stay tuned!

Day 6 of our GCBO Oaxaca Mexico birding tour! Today we got to sleep in for 30 minutes! Breakfast at 6 AM! Followed by s...
10/13/2026

Day 6 of our GCBO Oaxaca Mexico birding tour!
Today we got to sleep in for 30 minutes! Breakfast at 6 AM! Followed by some of the best window birding ever, right from the restaurant looking out over the cabin grounds. We had some great birds, including Flame-colored Tanager.

Afterwards we leisurely strolled the grounds and got some great birds! The highlight was probably one of the biggest target species for the trip… the Bumblebee Hummingbird! We saw two males courting a female and chasing each other around!  And we made a new friend… who wanted our full attention… pet, finger chewing, playing with sticks… and chasing back-and-forth. The cutest ever little puppy who followed us around. His mama and she lives on the grounds.

We loaded up in our trusty van and Alberto drove us up the mountain. We birded several stretches of mountain roads in a few different locations and we saw some awesome birds. Mexican Violetear, heard a close White-faced Quail-Dove, Garnet-throated Hummingbird, several more Bumblebee Hummingbirds, Red Warblers, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, and Common Chlorospingus.
But the star of the show was the four White-throated Jays! The last 2 put on an amazing show… and with a bird seldom seen or seen well… we even managed killer photos! What a bird and sight!

San Jose Del Pacifico is a well-known town for its international mushroom festival. And shall we say… ”happy” mushrooms 🍄! We enjoyed seeing mushrooms statues all over as we drove back to lunch. Having had five days of early starts, we took a long siesta after a delicious lunch.

Late afternoon with a good drive up the mountain in a different direction we found another wonderful target bird, the Hooded Yellowthroat, up on a hillside in an abandoned cornfield. We then explored some other mountain roads until fog and darkness overtook us.

As mentioned in previous posts the state of Oaxaca is known for wool products, such as the woven rugs. Just before ending our birding for today, a young lady came out from her house, and offered to sell us her handmade wool products. Several of us bought handmade mushrooms, toys, and a lovely hat. Supporting locals is the best thing you can do when traveling.

We ended the day with a lovely mole and chicken dinner, followed by homemade cake, and hat modeling from the gift shop. 😄 What a day!

Tomorrow morning we pack up and bird our way down the mountain, to eventually end up on the coast in Huatulco. Stay tuned for more adventures and birds! 

Day 5! Oaxaca, Mexico, birding tour. Today we started by birding on the hotel grounds which was rather productive. We sa...
10/12/2026

Day 5! Oaxaca, Mexico, birding tour.
Today we started by birding on the hotel grounds which was rather productive. We saw some cool birds like Rufus-backed Robin, Red-lored Amazons, Thick-billed Kingbird, Black-vented Oriole among others.
Leaving the hotel and the city of Oaxaca, we headed to see the largest archeological sites, Monte Alban. This was the ancient capital of the Zapotecs and one of Mesoamerica's first cities, as well as one of the most populous during its peak. Founded around 500 BC, it flourished until 500 AD.
This site was amazing to walk through… even the hair raising stone stairs! Birding was also fairly decent here. Eric is a great bird guide but also a wonderful history guide!

We headed south in the direction of our next stay, and we stopped to have a wonderful lunch along the way. After a while, we started climbing, and drove through the beautiful mountains to reach our cabins near San Jose del Pacifico, elevation 8,000. We will stay here the next two nights and bird the mountains up to 10,000 feet.
When we arrived, most of the area was covered in a cloud fog so we got settled and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the lodge.

Not too many bird photos today either, but we still enjoyed many birds!  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s high elevation adventures! 

Day 4 of our GCBO Oaxaca, MX birding tour with Eric Martinez and Mexico-Birding! Today was another beautiful day but it...
10/11/2026

Day 4 of our GCBO Oaxaca, MX birding tour with Eric Martinez and Mexico-Birding! Today was another beautiful day but it was the day of the skulking birds! We traveled for about 45 minutes early this morning to get to an area called Presa La Mina which is made up of dryer Oak scrub habitat, at the same 5000 feet elevation as the City of Oaxaca. We had some great birding and found our targets species and then some! However, many of those targets are birds that likes to skulk low and deep in vegetation and therefore was hard to see at times and very few bird photos today.
Some of the highlights were Oaxaca Sparrow, Blue Mockingbird, Mexican Squirrel Cuckoo, Black Swift, Short-tailed Hawk, Slaty Vireo was heard only, Ocellated Trasher (one of the hardest birds to see in Mexico), Black-vented Oriole, and Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater. A surprise bird was a very skulky Dwarf Vireo!

We headed for a delicious lunch in Santa Maria del Tule, and walk to the city square to see the 2000 year-old Montezuma Cypress tree. The city and the university is taking many measures to keep this tree healthy.

We headed back mid afternoon to our hotel to take a much deserved break. And then went into the old city of Oaxaca and walked through the beautiful city, seeing cathedrals and other landmarks. We stumbled into a very elaborate wedding and a quinceanera at the square in front of Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán! What lively and lovely celebrations!
We finished the evening with an amazing dinner at the famous Las Quince Letras rooftop restaurant. So today was a mix of birds and culture.

Tomorrow we will be leaving the beautiful city of Oaxaca and head towards the Coastal mountains. Stay tuned!

Join Cin-ty Lee, Andrew Birch, and Ed Yong in their “Bird Yoga” (of the mind 🧠): Flycatcher Identification! This is a gr...
10/10/2026

Join Cin-ty Lee, Andrew Birch, and Ed Yong in their “Bird Yoga” (of the mind 🧠): Flycatcher Identification! This is a great chance to brush up on your ID skills! When you sign up, you can submit your mystery photos and they can help you ID them! Next Sunday at 7:30PM CST (Zoom)🍁

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10/10/2026

Spinning in exictement for World Migratory Bird Day!

Did you know that Wilson’s Phalaropes spin in circles while feeding? These unique shorebirds create tiny whirlpools by rapidly spinning in shallow water, bringing aquatic invertebrates and other small prey to the surface where they can easily sn**ch them up! During their southward migration, this group of Wilson’s Phalaropes used wetlands in Brazoria County as a stopover to rest and refuel before continuing their journey to South America. Our local wetlands play an important role in keeping these incredible travelers fueled for their long journey!

Happy World Migratory Bird Day and thanks to those that help keep these species protected ❤️

Today was day 3 of GCBO’s Oaxaca birding tour! Yes another early breakfast and start! There are birds to be seen! We spe...
10/10/2026

Today was day 3 of GCBO’s Oaxaca birding tour! Yes another early breakfast and start! There are birds to be seen!
We spent most of the day in the amazing Benito Juarez NP - Le Cumbre,  and reached an altitude of about 10,500 feet. The scenery is breathtaking and so are the birds. We saw most of our target species either at the park or surrounding areas.  Early this morning it was nice and beautiful with 50° weather.
We enjoyed an absolutely fabulous lunch at El Colibri restaurant just outside the park. And continue to bird in the general area for the rest of the day.
We saw some fabulous birds, including Rufous-capped Brushfinch, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, Chestnut-collard Swift, Collared Towhee, Dwarf Jay, Gray-barred Wren, Golden-browed Warbler, and not 1 but 6 Red Warblers! And of course, many many more, including a slew of warblers. One of the big surprises was a flock of Evening Grosbeaks at 10,000ft. They are super rare here.
After a brief stop at the hotel we enjoyed another fabulous meal at a very lovely restaurant: Casa Oaxaca.

Tomorrow we head into dryer parts birding some scrub areas for new species. Stay tuned.

Thank you for everyone on the trip that helped contribute photos today and yesterday!

Day two of our Oaxaca Mexico birding tour! Early but delicious breakfast at 5:30 AM, and then we headed east through th...
10/09/2026

Day two of our Oaxaca Mexico birding tour! Early but delicious breakfast at 5:30 AM, and then we headed east through the Oaxacan valley to a very special place that Eric calls home. The town of Teotitlan del Valle is the oldest town of the region and was first settled in 3000 BC. The native tongue of Zapotec can still be heard here.
We birded our way up towards the mountains through the countryside as well as the local reservoir for some absolutely awesome birds and scenery. We then worked our way up all the way to the small village of Benito Juarez at 9500 feet.
Some of the wonderful birds we saw today included Gray Silky Flycatcher, Tufted Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, West Mexican Chachalaca, Plain-capped Starthroat, Dusky Hummingbird, Berylline Hummingbird, Greenish Elaenia, Bridled Sparrow, White-throated Towhee, Slate-throated Redstart, Mountain Trogon, Brown-backed Solitaire, Crescent-chested Warbler, Boucard’s Wren, and more!

We also visited a rug weaving facility where they demonstrated the age old technique of traditional weaving, and patterns, as well as how they use only natural substances to dye the wool. Fascinating and several amazing rugs will soon call Texas home!

This region honors the 26th president of Mexico, Benito Juarez, who grew up as a farmer, but then became president from 1858 until his death in 1872. A Zapotec, he was the first Indigenous president. His name and statues can be found everywhere to honor him.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food has been amazing wherever we’ve eaten!
Stay tuned for tomorrow with another early morning!
We want to thank Eric for expertly guiding while finding the birds and showing us this beautiful place!

October 18, 7:30 PM (CST), Join Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch, authors of the Princeton field guide series on flycatchers,...
10/08/2026

October 18, 7:30 PM (CST), Join Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch, authors of the Princeton field guide series on flycatchers, and Ed Yong, a Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer, for the second annual flycatcher identification tune-up. We’ll review recent advances in flycatcher identification and discuss your mystery photos live, guiding you through the identification process. Register below to receive an invitation to submit a photo for discussion. Register: https://riceuniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pCG_-Fk5RNe3MmqMP-klnw. Order your copy: Field Guide to North American Flycatchers | Princeton University Press

Our GCBO Oaxaca, Mexico 🇲🇽 birding trip starts today! We all arrived safely in Oaxaca City where Eric picked us up and ...
10/08/2026

Our GCBO Oaxaca, Mexico 🇲🇽 birding trip starts today! We all arrived safely in Oaxaca City where Eric picked us up and took us to our lovely hotel. We enjoyed a light meal and a trip meeting. The grasshoppers were tasty! Tomorrow we start birding early early… breakfast at 5:30!!
We look forward to 11 days of birding with Eric Martinez - Mexico Birding Tours!

Address

299 Highway 332 W
Lake Jackson, TX
77566

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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+19794800999

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