The Texas Gulf Coast Field Research Station (TGC) was established in southern Texas in 1987 and is co-located with the Corpus Christi Ecological Services Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on the campus of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Staff of TGC have ready access to the Laguna Madre; bays, estuaries, and brackish wetlands of the gulf coast; freshwater wetlands, grasslands, and farmlands of the coastal plains; and riparian corridors of the Rio Grande and rivers of the central Texas coast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains national wildlife refuges all along the Texas coast and the lower Rio Grande Valley, and the U.S. Navy operates several military bases, portions of which function as wildlife preserves, in southern Texas. 

The primary research focus of TGC is migratory birds, their habitats, and population stressors.  Statewide, more than 600 species of birds occur in Texas, more than in any other state. Many of these occur in southern Texas, where a number of factors contribute to the extraordinary avian diversity of the region. Coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico harbor a myriad of waterbird species, and the convergence of migration corridors in the Central Flyway funnels migrants twice annually along the gulf coast. In addition, southern Texas is located in a zone of overlap of avian distributions, where eastern species reach their western limits, western and southwestern species are at their eastern limits, and tropical species occur at their northern limits. 

The Texas Gulf Coast Field Research Station is among a relatively small number of USGS facilities nationwide that are strategically situated to support avian research in southern latitudes, where their staff can concentrate investigations on issues related to migratory bird species on their winter ranges. Field station staff have special expertise in the winter ecology of redheads, the winter ecology of western burrowing owls, and avian diversity and distributions along the upper Rio Grande near Laredo (Webb County), and grassland birds in winter. 

The redhead is a migratory diving duck species that is hunted in parts of the Central Flyway, and it is a trust resource of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Redheads annually migrate to spend winters in a few coastal areas.  About 80% of the entire redhead population of North America traditionally winters on the Laguna Madre of Texas and its nearby sister lagoon in northeastern Mexico, the Laguna Madre of Tamaulipas. It is commonplace for flocks of many thousands of redheads to be seen on the Laguna Madre from November through February.

Examples of scientific publications authored by staff of the TGC on the winter ecology of redheads have examined:

• use of saltwater and freshwater habitats
• time and activity budgets
• effects of redheads on water quality of coastal ponds
• foraging behavior
• importance of shoalgrass rhizomes as main food
• mineral composition of feathers for population discrimination
• salt gland development

The migratory western burrowing owl is designated as a National Bird of Conservation Concern by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for which it is also a trust resource. The subspecies is considered to be endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico. The winter ecology of the western burrowing owl was a poorly investigated aspect of its annual life cycle. Examples of scientific publications authored by staff of the Texas Gulf Coast Field Research Station on the winter ecology of burrowing owls have examined:

• winter foods
• rodent prey species new to the diet of burrowing owls in North America
• characteristics of winter roost sites
• use of roadside culverts and artificial burrows as roosts
• ectoparasites
• changes in distribution relative to land use patterns

The lower Rio Grande Valley is recognized internationally as a diversity hot spot for birds.  The upper segment of the Rio Grande in Texas between Falcon International Reservoir and Del Rio before the 1990s was not at all known for its high avian diversity, in large part because this reach of the Rio Grande has been poorly investigated scientifically. Historically, this river segment was largely ignored by ornithological expeditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and there have been very limited visits by scientists conducting systematic biological surveys since then. Staff from the Texas Gulf Coast Field Research Station were able to implement bird surveys in several locations in Webb County within this relatively unknown reach of the Rio Grande. Species notably rare or with restricted ranges that were encountered included muscovy duck, masked duck, least grebe, red-billed pigeon, green parakeet, elf owl, ringed kingfisher, brown-crested flycatcher, clay-colored robin, gray-crowned yellowthroat, white-collared seedeater, and Audubon’s oriole. Examples of scientific publications authored by staff of the Texas Gulf Coast Field Research Station on the birds of the upper Rio Grande include:

• white-collared seedeater distribution
• regional avian diversity and conservation planning
• night birds (owls and nightjars)
• relationship of bird diversity and characteristics of stock ponds

Migratory grassland bird species, trust resources of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have experienced precipitous population declines in the past several decades.  Field station staff recently have completed five years of field work on the ecology of grassland birds wintering in coastal prairies within military air fields of the U.S. Navy. This long-term work has focused on assessing densities and species composition of grassland birds in native and exotic-dominated grasslands; comparing insect, arthropod, and seed abundances in native and exotic-dominated grasslands; and evaluating effects of burning and mowing on birds and small mammals.

Partners whom the field station has collaborated with in joint research undertakings include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Defense Partners-in-Flight Program, the U.S. Navy, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Ed Rachal Foundation, the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Inc., The Nature Conservancy of Texas, the Welder Wildlife Foundation, the City of Laredo, and the City of Port Aransas.

The TGC, because of its strategic location and its staff’s research expertise, is well-positioned to tackle emerging issues of the 21st century which will potentially affect migratory bird resources of the western Gulf of Mexico and the borderland region. Foremost among these issues is climate change and its interactions with other stressors, especially land use changes and continued habitat fragmentation. A related issue is the danger posed by increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes to extremely limited critical habitat for certain endangered species, such as whooping cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and a few key coastal areas for piping plovers in winter. Global warming may also introduce the possibility of increased exposure to diseases brought on by northward range expansion of tropical species. Other emerging issues are: competing demands on limited fresh water in rivers and effects of reduced flows on riparian corridors and estuaries; effects of invasive exotics, especially introduced grass species; construction of onshore and offshore wind farms and communication towers; and construction of the security fence along the international border.