Summer Species Birds
An annual celebration of a native plant or animal found along Buffalo Bayou, Summer Species includes programs such as walks, talks, hands-on crafts, films, and more. Join us to learn more about who — and what — calls Buffalo Bayou home!
2023 Summer Species: Birds is co-presented with Houston Audubon.
Bird Walks
Discover the diversity of birdlife with a guided walking tour along Buffalo Bayou. Expert guides will help you spot and identify a variety of species and share fascinating insights into their behavior and habitat.
Dates:
June 17, July 15 and August 19
9-10:30am
Buffalo Bayou Park
Meet at the Visitor Center at 105-B Sabine Street
June 10, July 8 and August 12
9-10:30am (note the time may change to 10-11:30am)
Yolanda Black Navarro Buffalo Bend Nature Park
June 24, July 22 and August 26
9-10:30am
Tony Marron Park
Discover the diversity of birdlife with a guided walking tour along Buffalo Bayou. Expert guides will help you
spot and identify a variety of species and share fascinating insights into their behavior and habitat.
We encourage you to wear comfortable shoes and bring water and binoculars. Limited binoculars will be
available.
Cost: $5 per person and free for BBP, HA members and children under 12
Birds Eye View Pontoon Boat Tours
Climb aboard our pontoon boat for a unique and immersive experience observing birds in their natural habitat along Buffalo Bayou.
Dates:
June 14, July 12 and August 9
6-7:30pm
Climb aboard our pontoon boat tour for a unique and immersive experience observing birds in their
natural habitat along Buffalo Bayou. Birding guides will take you on an informative, relaxing, and scenic
journey that allows you to spot a variety of birds from a unique vantage point.
We encourage you to bring your own binoculars. Water, wine, and light snacks will be provided.
Cost: $35/$25 for BBP and Houston Audubon Members (children 4-12)
Bird Books on the Bayou
Join us for a fun, free bilingual story time event for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers (best for 6 months – 4 years) and their parents/caregivers! There will be silly stories, rhymes, and songs all related to our feathered friends. The reading will be followed by a bird-related craft.
June 3, July 8 and August 5
9-9:45am
Barbara Fish Daniel Nature Play Area
Join us for a fun, free story time event for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers (best for 6 months – 4
years) and their parents/caregivers! In conjunction with this year’s Summer Species highlighting birds,
there will be silly stories, rhymes, and songs all related to our feathered friends. The reading will be
followed by crafts.
Cost: Free
Lunch & Learn Series
Join us during your lunch hour to learn all about birds in your neighborhood, how to identify them, and ways to provide a safe environment for a variety of bird species. You are welcome to bring your lunch or purchase a lunch/snack from a food truck on site.
Dates:
June 8, July 13, Aug 10
noon-1pm
The Terrace at the Water Works, 105-B Sabine Street
Did you know that hundreds of bird species migrate through Houston and Buffalo Bayou? Join us during
your lunch hour to learn all about birds in your neighborhood, how to identify them, and ways to
provide a safe environment for a variety of bird species. You are welcome to bring your lunch or
purchase a lunch/snack from a food truck on site.
Cost: $10 for non-members and $5 for BBP and Houston Audubon Members
June 8
Birding with Technology
Birding apps are useful tools for identifying and learning about bird species. Learn about helpful birding apps
that feature sound recognition and can take your bird identification skills to the next level.
July 13
Why Birds Migrate
Houston and the upper Texas coast is an important stopover for migratory birds as it lies along the Central
Flyway. Learn more about the route that these birds take and the fascinating science of bird migration.
August 10
Bird-Friendly Spaces
You can make your home, office, and urban spaces more bird-friendly by planting native trees, shrubs, and
flowers that provide food and shelter for birds. Find out which plantings are recommended and learn how to
create a haven for local and migratory birdlife.
Film Series
Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and settle in for an outdoor film series that celebrates the wonder of birding. Selected films inspire and entertain birders and nature enthusiasts of all ages.
Arrive at 7:30pm to meet Houston Audubon’s raptor ambassadors and other educational animals. Film begins at 8:15pm.
Dates:
June 17, July 15, Aug 19
7:30pm – Meet Houston Audubon’s Raptor Ambassadors and other educational animals
8:15pm – Film Begins
The Water Works – 105-B Sabine Street
Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and settle in for an outdoor film series that celebrates the wonder
of birding. Selected films inspire and entertain birders and nature enthusiasts of all ages.
All films will be in English with Spanish subtitles
Food and drinks will be available for purchase
Cost: Free
June 17
The Big Year – Laugh out loud with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson who cross paths on their
quest to spot as many birds as they can in one year.
July 15
The Birders – This documentary follows bird watchers on both sides of the U.S.- Mexico border who
share their enthusiasm for protecting and preserving some of the world’s most beautiful bird species.
Birders – the Central Park Effect – This documentary chronicles the extraordinary array of wild birds
who grace Central Park and the equally colorful New Yorkers whose schedules conform to the rhythms
of migration.
August 19
Rio – Family-friendly animated film about a rare macaw named Blu who leaves his home in small-town
Minnesota and heads to Rio to help save his species.
The Birds (Presented by BBP’s Currents and Houston Audubon’s Young Professional
Advisory Council) – An Alfred Hitchcock classic. A San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend in
a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly
begin to attack people.
Buffalo Bayou is our beginning. Our backbone. Our bridge.
From a sleepy port town into a thriving cultural and industrial metropolis, Buffalo Bayou has shaped Houston for nearly two centuries. Since 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership has championed this natural resource for the benefit of all Houstonians.
BUFFALO BAYOU AND HOUSTON ARE FOREVER ENTWINED.
This natural, 52-mile waterway meandering in gentle twists and turns from its origins in the Texas prairie and out through the Gulf of Mexico is like a scrawled signature of our city itself, as etched in the lowlands of our landscape as the pages of our history.
It was on the banks of Buffalo Bayou that Houston was founded in 1836, and since then the bayou has emerged — and re-emerged — as a vital conduit for commerce, community, recreation, and repose.
WHAT WE DO
Creating and stewarding a vibrant network of welcoming public spaces.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership is the non-profit organization leading the planning, design, activation, and stewardship of inspiring spaces along the 10-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou from Shepherd Drive through downtown and eastward to the Port of Houston Turning Basin.
Whether it’s reimagining a former barge terminal into a cultural and recreational hub, reinforcing the bayou’s banks with native plants and trees, or constructing the first pedestrian bridge between the historic Fifth Ward and Greater East End — building relationships and mapping change with our communities are essential to our mission.
OUR VISION
We envision Buffalo Bayou as a unifying
and transformative force for Houston.
By drawing people together along and across our bayou — and inviting their ideas and aspirations into the process — we celebrate and perpetuate the vitality and resiliency of our city and its historic waterway.
PLANS AND PROJECTS
ABOUT BUFFALO BAYOU PARTNERSHIP
BUFFALO BAYOU EAST MASTER PLAN
AN INCLUSIVE BAYOU
