13th Annual
Migration Celebration
At San Bernard
National Wildlife Refuge
By Mark Hazelrigg and
Keith Ramos
Migration … Celebration. That
phrase describes what most of us who live along
the river have already been experiencing. The
Purple Martins are here already rearing a new
brood, the male Pelicans are sporting their
mating bumps, the Crested Cara-Cara’s are back
and the Seagulls are announcing the migration in
their own loud way. The Migration has already
started, but the San Bernard National Wildlife
Refuge is gearing up for the 13th
Annual Migration Celebration on the
refuge April 13th, 14th and 15th.
Wolfweed Rookery
at San Bernard Wildlife Refuge
There’s
something interesting for everyone – of any age
– to do. Starting Friday, April 13th, there will
be a dinner at the San Bernard National Wildlife
Refuge. In addition to the meal, there will be a
keynote address by members of: Bat
Conservation International,
Texas
Parks
and Wildlife Dept.
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. You
can also visit the Black Bears, check out the
photo contest awards, participate in a silent
auction and watch the mist netting of bats. You
also have 2 options to view the refuge like you
never have before. First, you can see the Refuge
on afternoon van tours led by local Naturalists
and / or you can see the refuge at night on a
walking tour led by Texas Master Naturalists.
For more information, call 979-288-2501 or
888-477-2505 or visit
http://migrationcelebration.blogspot.com.
Then, on
Saturday, there are more events.
Friends Of the
River San Bernard will have
a booth located at the refuge headquarters all
day Saturday. There will also be a Demonstration
of Raptors and Black Bears by EarthQuest.
There will also be the tours: Van tours, horse
and buggy interpretative tours, Marsh buggy
tours, a guided tour to the largest Texas Live
Oak and self guided walking tours. After the
rain, make sure you wear high top, closed-toe
shoes.
San Bernard Oak
There will be
events geared toward children - like learning
how to catch crabs, and then doing just that,
and other hands-on nature activities.
If you
get a schedule when you come in, you can make
plans to attend some of these presentations:
bird banding, bats,
Texas
reptiles (by biologist Mark Ealy) and A Texas
Naturalist by John and Gloria Tveten. On
Saturday evening, you can attend the Bears
Are Back In
Texas!
presentation by biologist Nathan Garner. And, of
course, there will be food and loads of fun to
enjoy.
Then, if you
haven’t had enough on Saturday, come on back
Sunday for San Bernard Adventures. This
day you can explore the refuge with highly
qualified naturalists.
Space for these
events is limited – so to make sure you have a
spot to do the things you want to, please
pre-register at 888-477-2505 – or sign up on
Friday or Saturday when you get there.
So what kind of
birds/animals can you hope to see when you visit
the refuge during the Migration Celebration
? No promises, but if you look, here’s a
partial list of what you might find:
Roseate
Spoonbills
Bobcats
Bald
Eagles
Mottled
Ducks
Anhingas
Ibis
Least and
American Bitterns
Purple
Gallinules
Rails
American
Alligators
Caracaras
White-tailed Hawks
Warblers
and other songbirds
Herons
and Egrets
Come on out and
visit the F.O.R. San Bernard Booth
at the celebration, and spend some quality time
with Mother Nature and our Friends at the San
Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. Mark your
calendars, and we’ll see you there!
All photos copyright Keith Ramos
Wildlife Refuge Specialist
San Bernard NWR
Least Bittern
photos
reprinted with permission
