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Sabine Woods Sanctuary is Expanding!

The Texas Ornithological Society's Sabine Woods Sanctuary has long been considered one of the most productive migrant stop-overs along the entire Texas Coast for spring and fall migration. Spring brings warblers, thrushes, tanagers, vireos, orioles, flycatchers, etc. Large oaks, mulberry trees, ponds and areas of thick undergrowth provide a protected stopping point on the Gulf ...

The Road not Normally Taken

Abilene Texas might not be the first location a birder would think to take a birding trip. It might not even rank in the top 50 for most Texas birders. But, why do we bird in the first place? Ask ten birders that question, and you will get ten different sets of answers. For most of us, it boils down to the following reasons: 1) birds are just fun to watch 2) finding a rarity is ...

Winter Meeting 2021 - Day 1

Friday, January 13, was the first day in the field for attendees of the 2023 TOS Winter meeting which is being held in Abilene. It was a good day with great birds found by all the groups! Sparrow Identification at Maddin Prairie, Native Prairies Association of Texas property: We thought we might have a Baird’s Sparrow, but it turned out to be a very yellow Savannah Sparrow. T ...

Remembering Steve Gross

With the help of good friend Dave Dolan, TOS recently completed the Steve Gross Memorial at the TOS Hooks Woods Sanctuary in memory of our late past-president. I was asked to write this article as Steve was my friend and mentor, but that's just not true. Jim Hailey was my mentor; Steve Gross was my guru. Steve and I traveled throughout Texas and Idaho together birding, eating, ...

Learn Our History!

Under the “About Us” tab on the Texas Ornithological Society (TOS) website, the box at the top states that TOS was founded on, 1953. Its purpose is “to promote the discovery and dissemination of knowledge of birds; to encourage specifically the observation, study and conservation of Birds in Texas; to encourage the formation of local birding clubs; and to stimulate cooperation ...

Happenings at Hooks Woods

Our efforts to improve Hooks Woods for birds and birders continue. I am happy to report that a memorial to Steve Gross, past president of TOS, is finally underway at Hooks! It is long overdue, but a very nice bird blind is being built as I write this. It is going in at the end of the last boardwalk and will have multiple viewing positions with multiple small drips and a small p ...

We Belong

Back in the early days of bird watching (you remember of course) it was grown-ups who pursued the avocation. Eventually, as the older birders - whose hair has gone silver and whose hearing has... well... gone - approach the age when birding becomes difficult, a need arises to infuse the birding community with younger participants. Thus your TOS Membership Committee is in pursui ...

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Texas Ornithological Society

Welcome to the Amazing World of Texas Birds!

If you love birds, Texas is definitely the place for you! With eight different geographical regions to explore, each offering its own, unique wildlife environment; more than 660 species to be discovered; and a location adjacent to the tropical regions of Mexico and Central America, you never know what you might see when you grab your binoculars and head out!

Texas Ornithological Society is proud to promote the discovery, knowledge, observation and conservation of birds in Texas since 1953.