Smith Point Hawk Watch Bird Trip
Friday, September 27, 2019 – 8 am – 6 pm
Mary Ann Beauchemin will lead our annual Hawk Watch birding trip for seniors to the Smith Point Hawk Watch on the last Friday of September at the height of the raptor migration season. Falcons, Hawks, Kites, Eagles & Vultures gather here before crossing Galveston Bay. Other migrating birds like Hummingbirds, Warblers & Vireos are found here eating as much as possible before they migrate south as well. When time allows, we also stop later to look for nearby shorebirds and look for other birds around Shoveler Pond at Anahuac NWR.
This trip will be open to any Nature Discovery Center Member who is age 50 or over by September 27, 2019.
Age requirement: age 50 or over (county bus requirement)
NDC Membership required: If you are not already a member, you can join when you sign up for the trip.
Advance registration required – become a member online and REGISTER HERE or call us at 713-667-6550 to sign up.
Special Note: The county requires the name and number of an emergency contact for you who will not be on the trip with us. This information will be required when you register.
Donations to the Nature Discovery Center to help cover staff time to organize and conduct this trip are appreciated!
General Info: Once again, our thanks go to Steve Radack and Harris County, Precinct 3, for the use of their free Seniors’ bus for this trip. County regulations require that you must be at least 50 years old on or before the day of the trip to be eligible to ride on the bus. We’re sorry for any inconvenience to younger folks, but it is a county regulation.
We will leave at 8 am and will return about 6 pm. As Hawks utilize rising thermals from the heated ground to soar, we will not need to arrive at Smith Point until about 9:30 or 10 am. After 2 or 3 pm it usually slows down. At that point we can take a little tour around Smith Point itself to look for other birds and migrating butterflies and if there is time, move on to Anahuac until it is time to return to the Nature Discovery Center.
There is no bathroom on the county bus, but there will be a port-a-potty at the Smith Point Hawk Watch. We will also make a bathroom stop when we turn off of I-10 in the morning and if we get to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in the late afternoon or on the way back home.
The Nature Discovery Center will provide water. Bring your own snacks, lunch, drinks, lots of insect repellent, binoculars and field guides. (If you need to borrow a pair of binoculars please let us know when you register.)
This trip will go regardless of the weather. Dress and be prepared accordingly.
The trip will depart at 8am from Evergreen Pool parking lot (on Evergreen Street at Newcastle in Bellaire – across from Russ Pitman Park) and return by 6pm.
