Texas Border Business
Quinta Mazatlán invites the community to learn about the challenges and conservation efforts shaping the future of Texas’ coastal birds during a special Thursday Night Live presentation, “Coastal Bird Conservation in Texas,” on Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Coastal birds in Texas face mounting threats from all sides, including habitat loss, human disturbance, increased predators, and the accelerating impacts of climate change. Iconic waterbird and shorebird species such as Reddish Egret, Black Skimmer, Red Knot, and Piping Plover are increasingly forced into habitats that are smaller, more fragmented, and declining in quality. This presentation will explore how these pressures affect coastal bird populations and highlight over 20 years of research and monitoring conducted by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. Attendees will gain insight into the conservation work being done across key sites such as the Laguna Madre, Boca Chica, La Sal del Rey, and other critical coastal habitats, as well as the actions that can help protect these vulnerable species.
The program will be presented by Justin LeClaire, an Avian Conservation Biologist with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. LeClaire specializes in managing and monitoring rookery islands in the Laguna Madre for declining colonial nesting waterbirds and tracking shorebird use and productivity at important sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley. In addition to his professional work, he serves as the Field Trip Coordinator for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival and has dedicated thousands of volunteer hours to wildlife research projects, rescues, and eBird reviewing. His deep field experience and long-standing commitment to bird conservation bring valuable perspective to this timely topic.
This program is free with general admission. For more information, call (956) 681-3370 and follow Quinta Mazatlán on social media for updates.
