Events

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Bluebird Symposium and Silent Auction
8203 Millennium Forest, The Woodlands
(just west of The Woodlands High School off Research Forest Dr.)
8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Our best small-group event for Texas Bluebirders. Professional speakers, ability-friendly setting. Bring binocs, camera ID-guide for sightings at garden and pond. Enjoy every minute!
Backyard Birder. Dorothy Border's "Chronicle Blog"
Registration form: 2008flier.pdf
Coordinator: Linda Crum, txorganicgardener@gmail.com or 281.292.4193

More Events

News & Announcements

Texas Blueberry Festival - Wow!

TBS welcomes 32 new memberships and one renewal from its efforts at the popular Texas Blueberry Festival, June 14, 2008, in Nacogdoches. New offer! Renewal and nestbox for $25. Barb Ohlman, Ron Tom, and Pauline Tom assisted "One Nestbox" booth coordinator Norm Shoemaker. View http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/2588486681_e123d86a86_m.jpg.

SPECIAL THANKS

... to new member Matt Jordan for ferrying nestboxes from Kyle to Carmine, to Richard & Ann Thames for providing a ferry stopover, and to new member Lucinda for ferrying those nestboxes from Carmine to The Woodlands for one of Linda Crum's presentations.

... to "One Nestbox" Local Coordinators and volunteers at recent festivals:

Lysle Mockler, Ellis County Lawn & Garden Expo.

Linda Crum, The Woodlands Earth Day: Bill Griffith, Vanessa Voisinet, Bill Jones, Betsy Jones.

David Gwin, College Station/Bryan Earth Day: Ron & Pauline Tom, Jackie & Alexis Girouard, Brazos Valley Audubon members.

Barb Ohlman, Wills Point Bluebird Festival: Bruce & Bev Frantz, Linda & Robert Almes, Lysle Mockler, Scott Strickland, Norm Shoemaker.

Pauline Tom, Smithville Wildlife Expo: Ron Tom.

... to presenters offering TBS' signature "One Nestbox" membership/nestbox exchange at one or more programs: Judy Hetherington, LeAnn Sharpe, Linda Crum, Pauline Tom.

... to past TBS board member Mary Leyendecker for editing website updates between newsletters.

... to Julie Vaughn, Van Zandt Publications editor, for reprinting TBS material in the annual "Bluebird News" promoting the Wills Point Bluebird Festival.

... to Wills Point Bluebird Festival Committee for providing TBS with a large space in the center of the street at the entrance to the festival.

... to TBS Ambassador (Keller) Barb Ohlman, and new member Jan Bills for collating and stuffing new member packets.

... to Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau/Marie Richards for donating a large box of plastic clip-on name badges when the supply they sent for NABS 2006 ran out.

... to Barbara Vinson (renewed!) for agreeing to monitor and care for the nestbox trail that TBS installed at Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory in Austin (2001) in a joint project with Travis Audubon Society and HBBO. Barbara and Travis Audubon Society have funded some nestbox replacements. Barbara also has donated attractive water-proof signage. Barbara reports her weekly visits to NestWatch (www.nestwatch.org)

Nature Quest promotes Bluebirds

Nature Quest (NQ) and TBS VP LeAnn Sharp are a winning combination! At NQ events April 22-23, attendees were excited about learning what kind of birds they have nesting in the bird houses in their yards. Says LeAnn, "76 people attended my Bluebird Program for the Retired Teachers Association on April 28th." LeAnn's careful "Show and Tell" of the baby titmice in June Osborne’s nestbox at Neal’s Café won hearts. She'll be recommended as a speaker for other groups, affirm folks now eager to help spread bluebirds across Texas. From these three presentations, LeAnn Sharp had 95 attendees and welcomed 32 new members into TBS. Congratulations!

TBS logo shirts available

ThreadsOnTheWeb (http://www.companycasuals.com/texasbluebird/) accepts individual orders for TBS logo shirts - not only imprinted t-shirts, but also embroidered knit shirts in a variety of whites and pastels! The t's are available left chest; full front; and left chest + full back.

The TBS logo showed great on www.myfoxaustin.com in one of two news clips (April 25, 2008) on the Buda Wiener Dog races. Pauline Tom wore her TBS shirt to the pre-event coverage to promote TBS / bluebirds. It worked!!!

Data Entry System for Nesting Data Now Open!

www.nestwatch.org opened its pilot season in April 2007 and Texas Bluebird Society encourages all Texans to enter data on each of their nestings.

Nesting data can be shared with scientists and others through www.NestWatch.org , "a continent-wide effort to better understand the impacts of environmental change on bird reproduction." The system collects data throughout a nesting cycle of any bird (whether in a nestbox, natural cavity, or in the open.)

Texas Bluebird Society made arrangements with CLO to promote NestWatch.org in Texas during this pilot year. TBS suspended plans to collect on-line nesting data for a "TransTexas Nestbox Network." Now, NestWatch is the depository.

There is no fee associated with NestWatch.org. It's funded by the National Science Foundation.

"The data you submit will be part of a permanent historical record and a legacy of your important nest monitoring efforts, that will be used by researchers well into the future."