PARK RE-OPENED SEPTEMBER 12TH

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January 03, 2023

A Banner Year for Birding at Cullinan

The word is out that Cullinan Park is a must-visit birding destination, and the eBird statistics confirm it. Birding was great in 2020 as people flocked to the outdoors during the pandemic lockdown with a total of 222 species observed and a total park bird list of 264 species. We thought that would be hard to beat, but 2022 ended with stellar numbers including 287 total species and 250 bird species observed this year, earning Cullinan the ranking of 18th top eBird hotspot in Texas out of 6,253 – truly incredible for an inland location. Most of the top hotspots are located near the coast where shorebirds add to their numbers. Fort Bend’s Brazos Bend State Park ranked 28th with 233 species. The full list of top birding hotspots can be seen here:

Tinyhttps://ebird.org/tx/region/US-TX/hotspots?yr=cur

 

What made 2022 such a great year? Here are a few reasons:
  • A whopping 1,625 eBird checklists were submitted. The park is birded almost every single day, typically by multiple birders with a large number of dedicated local birders, birders who travel from around the state to bird at Cullinan, and birders who make it a point to visit the park when in the Houston area. More birders = more birds observed.
  • Two bridges over Oyster Creek were completed this summer, opening up a new trail on the airport side of the creek which has been very productive and yielded new species.
  • The Bird Viewing Area created in Nov/Dec of 2021 began attracting birds, and our photographers captured some great photos at the drips – especially during Spring and Fall migration.
  • Our 2022 Photography Contest entries and winning photos were incredible and drew even more interest in the park.
  • The summer drought caused White Lake to dry up, creating mud flats that attracted migrating shorebirds never seen before at the park.
  • A total of 20 new species was recorded in eBird in 2022, far surpassing the 6 added in 2021, 13 in 2020, and 5 in 2019. Of those, 14 had photographs submitted.

 

20 New Species in 2022

1. Rusty Blackbird

1 Dec

Henry Jerng

11. Semipalmated Sandpiper

23 Jul

Ricko Wardhana

2. Western Tanager

28 Oct

Robbin Mallett

12. Stilt Sandpiper

18 Jul

Jorge Pérez Reyes

3.  Band-tailed Pigeon

26 Oct

David Dovalina

13. Willet

1 Jul  

Ute Welk

4. Broad-tailed Hummingbird

17 Oct

Robbin Mallett

14. Limpkin

23 May

Kerry Padilla

5. Barn Owl

23 Sep

Bill Scott

15. Bobolink

2 May

Steve Welborn

6. Rufous Hummingbird

19 Aug

James Barnes

16. Grasshopper Sparrow

17 Apr

Robert Opperman

7. Reddish Egret

19 Aug

Robert Opperman

17. Pacific-slope Flycatcher

12 Mar

David Lewis

8. Buff-breasted Sandpiper

28 Jul

Albert Ribes

18. Buff-bellied Hummingbird

29 Jan

James Barnes

9. Semipalmated Plover

27 Jul

Albert Ribes

19. Brown Pelican

10 Jan

Albert Ribes

10. Baird's Sandpiper

24 Jul

James Barnes

20. Brewer’s Blackbird

6 Jan

David Goff

 

Cullinan Park 2022 Top eBirders

RANK

EBIRDER

TOTAL SPECIES

1

Albert Ribes

202

2

Henry Jerng

187

3

Robert Opperman

176

4

Robbin Mallett

169

5

David Goff

147

6

Mark Scheuerman

137

7

Suzanne Mottin

135

8

James Barnes

134

9

Lisa Purnell

133

10

Nigel Purnell

123

 

Cullinan Park All-Time Top eBirders 

RANK

EBIRDER

TOTAL SPECIES

1

Albert Ribes

259

2

Henry Jerng

244

3

Robbin Mallett

223

4

Ryan Shaw

209

5

James Barnes

206

6

Robert Opperman

201

7

Bill Schneider

198

8

Janey Woodley

197

9

Bernd Gravenstein

192

9

Mark Scheuerman

192

 

Thanks to all the new birders, avid bird chasers, nature photographers and nature enthusiasts who enjoy our birds and other wildlife. We greatly appreciate your sightings, incredible images and love for Cullinan!

 

Sidebar Article

eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related science projects, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed annually by eBirders around the world and an average participation growth rate of approximately 20% year over year. It tracks bird sightings and makes it easy to compile statistics. A collaborative enterprise with hundreds of partner organizations, thousands of regional experts, and hundreds of thousands of users, eBird is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The eBird app can be downloaded for free and used to track bird sightings and contribute to citizen science. For details, visit https://ebird.org/about

 



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