Chester Island Bird Sanctuary

04/05/2026

🐦✨ Only 10 Days to Go! ✨🐦
The Texas Mid‑Coast Birding Festival is almost here—April 9–12!
We’re counting down to four days of exclusive birding tours, expert-led experiences, and free educational programs.
From coastal hotspots to private‑access habitats, this is your chance to see the Mid‑Coast like never before. 🌿🦩

Registration is filling fast—don’t miss your chance to join the flock!
👉 Sign up today and get ready for an unforgettable festival in Port Lavaca. www.texasmidcoastbirdingfestival.com

04/05/2026

Chester Island is currently full of nesting birds, and well-camouflaged eggs are on the ground. For their protection, Chester Island is closed to the public, and these birds are protected by federal law.

We can all help by:

- Staying off Chester Island
- Keeping a safe distance from nesting birds
- Remembering to Fish, Swim, and Play from at least 50 yards away.

Birds help make Port O'Connor a special place to live and enjoy. By doing our part, we can help keep it a safe home for the birds.

03/14/2026

02/17/2026

White Pelicans enjoying the sunshine…

11/12/2025

10/18/2025

Trash pickup workday on Chester Island…. Thank you, Volunteers!!! Collaborating with

07/03/2025

Happy 4th of July! If you visit Saturday Beach or Sunday Beach in POC this week, and see fenced-off areas… this is because Shorebirds are currently nesting in these areas – including Wilson’s Plovers, and Least Terns. So please remember to Share The Shore with our Coastal Birds!
Audubon Texas National Audubon Society

06/29/2025

05/23/2025

Thanks to this amazing team for your help in counting our birds for the 2025 Texas Waterbird Society…

05/19/2025

Roseate Spoonbills

05/06/2025

Thank you Formosa Plastics Corporation, USA for your support over the years… 

Formosa Plastics Corporation, U.S.A. is proud to be a Reddish Egret Sponsor of the City of Port Lavaca’s 1st Annual Texas Mid-Coast Birding Festival. Audubon Texas Coastal Stewardship Wardens Tim and Peggy Smith Wilkinson and Formosa Plastics Vice President of Business Development Jack Wu enjoyed sharing fond memories of Peggy’s father, former Audubon Warden Chester Smith.

Chester saved the Brown Pelican from extinction. Formosa began working with Chester in the 1980s to install geotubes and plant vegetation to prevent Sundown Island—now known as Chester Island Bird Sanctuary—from eroding in order to protect nesting pairs.

With support from Formosa and conservationists, Chester’s Island increased nesting pairs from about 10 to more than 2,000. The Brown Pelican was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species list in 2009.

In May 2023, the Texas Waterbird Survey recorded more than 22,000 nesting pairs of colonial waterbirds on the island.

➡️ Learn more about this incredible legacy: https://tx.audubon.org/news/stories-chester-island

*Bird images courtesy of Audubon Texas