The Birds of Galveston

The Birds of Galveston. Nature at the Beach. Galveston is a narrow barrier island that hugs the upper Texas coast. This slender sliver of sand and beach hosts a precious diversity of wildlife, especially birds. Sandpipers, plovers, herons, egrets, waterfowl, gulls, terns, hawks, falcons, warblers, and vireos are examples of birds that congregate on the island in staggering numbers. As did John James Audubon when he visited the island in April 1837, one can still marvel over “the Snipes innumerable, the Blackbirds, the Gallinules, and the Curlews that surround us.” , , When Audubon visited he found an island vegetated only with grasses, cacti, and dune and marsh plants. With settlement came trees and shrubs. Today the island supports not only birds typical of a barrier island but forest species as well. , , Many of these forest birds are migrants that cross the Gulf of Mexico during spring and fall. These neotropical migrants depend on the island for food and shelter as they pass through during their seasonal journeys to the tropics in Central and South America. Birders from around the world travel to Galveston to witness this miracle of migration and the seasonal passage of hundreds of thousands of warblers, tanagers, orioles, and buntings. , , Visit East End Lagoon Park and Nature Preserve, Corps Woods, and Galveston Island State Park to experience the spectacular birds of our island. Your first glimpse of a Roseate Spoonbill, Ruddy Turnstone, or Black-necked Stilt will be vividly etched in your memory, and the sight of a Painted Bunting singing from the top of a toothache tree will remain with you for a lifetime. Even a few minutes along the Galveston seawall can be rewarding with thousands of Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans swirling over the Gulf within arm’s reach, and you might spy a Peregrine Falcon swooping down from a nearby roost to snare an unsuspecting pigeon. , , No day in Galveston is without birds. Each offers a new and exciting panoply of birdlife, each moment worthy of being experienced and cherished in its own right. Therefore we welcome you to return to our island again and again to experience its people, its beaches, its history, and, yes, its birds.