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Resort Becomes Observation Point for
‘Gulls Galore’ Project

Lighthouse Inn Guests Become Amateur Ornithologists to Help Cornell University Scientists Study Gulls

Some might say that the Lighthouse Inn at Aransas Bay, the new 78-room Victorian-style boutique hotel on the Texas Gulf Coast, sits in the catbird seat.

Situated directly on the Central Flyway, the superhighway for migratory birds, the hotel is amidst an area that draws thousands of birding enthusiasts each year.  And Lighthouse Inn guests now have the opportunity to participate in scientific bird studies conducted at Cornell University.

Registered guests may help Cornell Lab of Ornithology (www.birds.cornell.edu) researchers study the populations and habits of birds for a scientific report due next year.  The researchers have acknowledged the hotel grounds as an observation site and the hotel will provide volunteers a Gulls Galore study kit, which includes a gull identification guide and a tally sheet to record data.  Hotel staff will transmit the amateur ornithologists’ information to Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.

“Our location on the Central Flyway means Texas is a paradise for birds and birders.  Nature tourism is the fastest growing travel segment in Texas, so it was a natural for us to coordinate with Cornell to offer the Gulls Galore citizen-science project to visitors,” said Ann Wiesenberger, general manager. “It’s great family fun to observe the birds’ behavior, and you feel good about contributing to research that could help conservation efforts.”

From Gulls Galore, Cornell researchers are trying to understand when gulls of different ages are seen together.   Scientists have learned that, in Europe, gulls of different ages spend time in different locations – that is, they are segregated by age (much like teens and adults at a mall).  They’ve come up with several ideas about why gulls are not always seen together and the data help test those hypotheses.

 “Not only are the data crucial to better understanding birds, they also help make nonscientists more comfortable with science projects and how they relate to everyday life,” says Dr. Melinda S. LaBranche, leader of the project.  “What The Lighthouse Inn is doing by enrolling its guests as observers for the study is unique and is an idea we’d love to see others adopt.”

The hotel is well positioned to provide the research location as more than 75 percent of all bird species known to exist in the United States live in or migrate through Texas. Each year, more than 75,000 tourists visit the Rockport-Fulton area on the Gulf Coast to view migrating birds and nesting whooping cranes, adding $5 million to the local economy.

 “We’ll begin with Gulls Galore to assess interest, but we intend to work with Cornell and other institutions, including birding organizations, travel agents and tour operators to leverage our location and support nature tourism,” Wiesenberger said.

In mid- to late-September, Ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate through the Gulf Coast and more than 100,000 broad-winged hawks migrate overhead. Most of the world’s population of whooping cranes visits the Gulf Coast, beginning in October, to winter in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, and tourists can view the cranes by boat tours offered through The Lighthouse Inn.  October to late March the Laguna Madre, extending from nearby Corpus Christi to Brownsville, is host to millions of migrating Canada geese, mallards and pintails.

The Lighthouse Inn is in Rockport on the Texas Gulf Coast between the Copano and Aransas bays at 200 S. Fulton Beach Road, six blocks east of State Highway 35.  For information and reservations call 866-790-VIEW (8439), visit www.lighthousetexas.com.

Edited by Dave Shultz

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