TOS Weekenders

UPCOMING WEEKENDER: WALKER COUNTY

REGISTER ON APRIL 10-12 HERE.

TOS Board member, Janey Woodley, invites you to join her May 29-31 to explore the Sam Houston National Forest in search of the much sought after Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  We’ll also spend some time exploring Huntsville State Park to help bump up your Walker County species count.  Besides Red-cockaded Woodpecker, other likely species will be Pileated, Red-headed, Red-Bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Bald Eagle, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Duck, Fish Crow, Great-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and many others.

The cost is $110* per person, with a maximum of 15 participants. Should there be more than 15 registrations, a random drawing will be held to select the names of those who will attend. A maximum of two people can register at the same time. We have 10 rooms reserved with a group rate of $108 per night at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Huntsville, breakfast included.

This Weekender will require, potentially, up to 3 miles of walking on uneven and some unpaved trails on Saturday. Friday and Sunday will require around 1+ miles on mostly paved surfaces with some trail hiking possible as well.

For those interested, we will meet on Friday at Huntsville State Park at 1:00 pm and bird until around 3:00. There is a $7.00 day use fee to enter the Park unless you have a State Park Pass.  After checking into our hotel that evening, we will meet for dinner at a local restaurant. Following dinner there will be short presentation on our target species, Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

Saturday we will meet in the hotel dining area for breakfast then carpool to Sam Houston National Forest to visit several known RCWO nesting areas beginning with the NFS Cagle Campground boat ramp on Lake Conroe. Saturday evening, we will meet for dinner at a local restaurant to recap our adventures.

Sunday morning, we will again meet for breakfast in the hotel. The agenda is TBD depending how our day goes Saturday. I believe we will see several RCWO’s on Saturday. So, we will likely return to Huntsville State Park to explore another area of the Park before heading home around noon.

Registration will open April 10 for three (3) days. The maximum number of participants is 15. These will be selected from a random drawing when registration has ended. Payment will be due upon registration. Those not selected will immediately be refunded.

REGISTER ON APRIL 10-12 HERE.

Weekenders are designed as fundraisers for TOS, and as opportunities for participants to learn about a specific area or about a certain family of birds, such as shorebirds or raptors, paired with field trips to put that knowledge to work. Participants gather on Friday for a presentation, go on a field trip on Saturday with a wrap-up field trip on Sunday ending around noon.

If you have an idea or request for a Weekender, or if you want to volunteer to lead a three-day excursion yourself, please let us know at info@texasbirds.org.