Calendar
Sip hot chocolate as you stroll through the beautiful Houston Zoo grounds and take in the sights and sounds of the season. Interact with Candy the Zoo Lights Zebra presented by H-E-B, get a selfie on a giant ice throne, and take a socially distanced photo with Santa as he prepares for the holidays in his workshop!
Stroll through a 125-foot-long, Infinity Tunnel of Light, see dragons come to life in the 4-D Enchanted Forest presented by King & Spalding LLP, and experience “snow†in Texas!Â
TXU Energy Presents Zoo Lights
November 14, 2020 – January 10, 2021
5:30-10:30 p.m., last entry at 9:30 p.m.
Buy early for the best price! Tickets will NOT be available for purchase at the gate.
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS
Note: Ticket prices are the same for adults and children. Children ages 1 and under are free. Members save $3 per ticket when you log in to purchase.
Find additional information in our Zoo Lights FAQ section below.Â
For the safety of Houston Zoo staff, guests, and animals, visitors 10 years and older are required to wear facial coverings that cover their nose and mouth.
Houston Parks Boards have something to celebrate that’s historic: Bayou Greenways 2020, a 150-mile, 8-year, $220 million endeavors that are transforming our city. This year, Houston Parks Board is celebrating with a Week of Thanks, with creative and engaging activities every day starting Monday, November 16, and a special culminating moment at noon on Thursday, November 19 that Houston Parks Boards are striving to make the happiest time of your week.
This year’s event, though it’s not Houston Parks Board usually luncheon, is not only a crucial part of supporting Houston Park Board mission work, it is an opportunity to come together virtually to celebrate this incredible project that is benefiting millions of people every day.
Register below and join Houston Park Boards on November 19 as they celebrate this momentous achievement.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
© David Hanson. Photographed during a survey at Baytown Nature Center.
Next survey of the fall 2020 season: Thursday, October 15, 2020. Remember to wear your masks and Houston Audubon will try to social distance the best we can. One significantly different change is Houston Audubon will not be sharing scopes so if you have a scope and want to use one bring it. Houston Audubon will meet at 8:00 AM in the parking lot behind the entrance building.
Houston Audubon in partnership with the Baytown Nature Center is leading a monthly count at the Baytown Nature Center. David Hanson is the leader. The survey is usually conducted on the third Thursday of each month, September through May, and results are posted on eBird. The survey normally begins at 8 AM. Meet in the parking lot behind the 6th entrance building at or a little before 8 AM.
Entry fee waived for count participants: There is no entry fee for the participants of the bird survey. Please inform the gate attendant when you arrive and then meet behind the entrance building.
The Baytown Nature Center is a 450-acre site on two peninsulas surrounded by three bays. More than 300 species of birds depend on this area for migration, feeding or nesting. This former residential subdivision now features picnic shelters, fishing piers, pavilions, and scenic overlooks. There’s also a butterfly garden and bird sanctuary. The Baytown Nature Center is an official site on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and is part of the Houston Christmas Bird Count.
DIRECTIONS
From Houston: Take I-10 East to the Baytown Spur 330 exit (2nd exit after the San Jacinto River Bridge). From Spur 330 take the Bayway Drive exit and turn right at the traffic signal. Proceed south on Bayway for about 2 miles to the Baytown Nature Center entrance on the right (watch for stone entrance sign).
From the south on TX 146: Cross the Fred Hartman Bridge on TX 146; continue on TX 146 to TX 330 Spur north; go 1.9 miles and exit at Baker Rd/Wade Rd; turn left onto W. Baker Rd.; travel ½ mile and turn left onto Bayway Drive; go 1 mile to the entrance of Baytown Nature Center on the right.
Raptor Photography Shoots
Hawks, falcons, owls and more await you at Houston Audubon’s Raptor Photo Shoots. You will have the opportunity to photograph Houston Audubon’s education raptors in an intimate setting at both the Houston Audubon Raptor & Education Center and at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. Whether you use a simple point and shoot or serious photography equipment, you will enjoy meeting and learning about these awesome birds. Raptor Shoots are typically from 8 AM – 10 AM but times will be confirmed by email for each session depending on sunrise. Light refreshments will be served on the deck for all to enjoy during the shoot. Space is limited to 20 participants. The fee is $40.
Owl Prowls begin with a lively program on owls including a rare opportunity to meet live, rehabilitated owls. Then Houston Audubon go out on wooded trails in search of wild owls. The programs are held both at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary and at the Raptor and Education Center.
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Fee: $10.00 adults; $6.00 children (ages 3-17), payable in advance.
What to Bring: Dress for walking in the woods – including insect repellent. Adults may bring a flashlight. Please do not leave any valuables in your vehicle.
Weather: Houston Audubon will call you the afternoon of the prowl if stormy weather forces us to reschedule.
This walk has a capacity of 10 people.
Time:Â 10:30 to 12:00 pm
Parking:Â City Lot H
Location:Â The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park (105 Sabine St.)
Enjoy a free walking tour in Buffalo Bayou Park highlighting the landscape and ecology of 19th century Texas that created Houston, as well as the importance of prairies in rebuilding this astonishing and all but vanished ecosystem.
Owl Prowls begin with a lively program on owls including a rare opportunity to meet live, rehabilitated owls. Then Houston Audubon go out on wooded trails in search of wild owls. The programs are held both at Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary and at the Raptor and Education Center.
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Fee: $10.00 adults; $6.00 children (ages 3-17), payable in advance.
What to Bring: Dress for walking in the woods – including insect repellent. Adults may bring a flashlight. Please do not leave any valuables in your vehicle.
Weather: Houston Audubon will call you the afternoon of the prowl if stormy weather forces us to reschedule.
Photographed at Hogg Bird Sanctuary by Ben Hulsey
Leader: Skip Almoney
Note: Due to the pandemic, we will practice social distancing. Please bring a face mask with you.
About the Survey
Houston Audubon Society is conducting a monthly survey at Hogg Bird Sanctuary. The surveys are held on the first Monday of the month. Skip Almoney is our leader. The Hogg Bird Sanctuary is adjacent to Bayou Bend and shares its parking facility at 1 Westcott Street. Meet at the parking lot at the dead-end on the south end of Westcott Street. We meet at 7:30 AM in the parking lot. If the gate is locked, we can park in the upper parking lot and then walk down to the lower parking lot to meet. Everyone is welcome — beginners, experts, or even if you’re just curious. Please bring binoculars. If you don’t have any, let us know in advance and we’ll provide them.
The Eastern Glades portion of Memorial Park is also included in the survey. The Eastern Glades will be a pretty short survey (30 minutes to an hour max). We should finish both by 9:30. If you can’t stay that long, no problem. Right now the Eastern Glades is still under construction, and our access is limited. However, in 2020 there will be a nice boardwalk and lake, so it should eventually become a great birding area. For more information about the Eastern Glades, please see below.
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If you have any questions or need a pair of binoculars for the survey.
About Hogg Bird Sanctuary
The Hogg Bird Sanctuary is located at the south end of Westcott St., just off Memorial Dr. It is across Buffalo Bayou from River Oaks Golf Course. It shares the parking lot with Bayou Bend. It has been managed by Houston Parks and Recreation Department since its origin on October 21, 1958. The Hogg Bird Sanctuary is a special place, being a small natural area essentially unchanged by development. It is more a sanctuary than a park and contains no recreational equipment. It remains a natural area with many native plants. It also has quite a few non-native invasive plants. Efforts to control the invasives are continuing. For example, most of the large rain trees have been removed, but new growth trees continue to be a problem.
The First Monday Bird Survey began in 2010. At that time it was fairly difficult to get around in the area. Since then the Houston Parks and Recreation Department has continued to create and maintain a number of hiking trails, resulting in a much more accessible sanctuary. The bird population varies as seasons and weather change. The average number of species seen during a survey is 23. The total number of species recorded is over 60. Included are mostly local nesting species such as Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, White-winged Dove, Northern Mockingbird, Pileated, Downy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, to name a few. Because much of the boundary of the sanctuary is Buffalo Bayou, a few waterbirds have been recorded such as Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Belted Kingfisher, two varieties of cormorants, etc. There have been a few migrants, but it is difficult to know if they will nest or move on to Minnesota or the Arctic. A nesting Red-shouldered Hawk was a favorite until the sycamore branch that held the nest broke.
Please join Outside Nature Club for the Houston Ornithology Group monthly meeting, online via Zoom (and perhaps also at Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet St, Houston).
6:30 pm Social
7:15 pm Program by Kendra Kocab, “Birds and more in Southeast Asia”
This is not an Armand Bayou Nature Center event but is done in partnership with the Houston Audubon Society. The Audubon Society invites birders of all ages and skill levels to participate in this international event. Birders will rise with the sun and spend one day counting every bird they see. This is the largest avian census and not possible without volunteers just like you!
Armand Bayou Nature and Houston Audubon Society also need lots of feeder watchers within the circle so if you can’t make all day and would still like to participate, please sign up to be a backyard feeder watcher/counter, at the same email address.