Galveston remains as beguiling as during John James Audubon’s visit in 1837, a seductive ribbon of sand that still offers sanctuary to “the Snipes innumerable.” This is not to....(continued) Galveston remains as beguiling as during John James Audubon’s visit in 1837, a seductive ribbon of sand that still offers sanctuary to “the Snipes innumerable.” This is not to say that contemporary Galveston resembles that described in Audubon’s letters. Yet nature often perseveres, retaining a toe-hold despite the shifting sands. In the past 150 years a city has risen...a seawall constructed...a ship channel dredged. Yet the essence of Audubon’s Galveston remains, reflected in a birdlife that blankets the senses. The Great Galveston Birding Trail is the next iteration of an experiment that began in the early 1990s. At that time Ted Eubanks, founder of Fermata and Trails To Go, developed the world's first birding trail for Texas Parks and Wildlife. The trail, the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, set the standard for birding trails that now cover the globe. As technology has advanced, however, the opportunities for birding trails have only expanded. What could be more appropriate than having the first birding SmartTrail be developed by that same person? Here you have it; the Great Galveston Birding Trail for iPhone and Android. For those who have never used a SmartTrail (a web-enabled trail), the concept is simple. This trail illustrates 17 key birding sites on Galveston Island. The trail provides a description of each site, a few of the birds you can expect to see, GPS directions to each site, hyperlinks to important information and phone numbers, and directions to adjacent sites. No matter where you are (literally), the Trails To Go app will show you the nearest site and how to get there. Grab your binoculars and field guide, download the Trails To Go app, and let's go birding! Nothing could be better than a day outdoors on glorious Galveston Island! Suggested Resources: Birdlife of Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast by Eubanks, Behrstock, and Weeks (Texas A&M Press) Finding Birds on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast) by Eubanks, Behrstock, and Davidson (Texas A&M Press) The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (Upper Texas Coast) map published by Texas Parks and Wildlife (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wildlife/wildlife-trails/coastal) TEXBIRDS Birding List Archives (daily bird sightings for Texas) (http://lists.texbirds.org/texbirds.html) Texas eBird (Cornell's eBird portal for Texas) (http://ebird.org/content/tx/about) All About Bird (Cornell's On-Line Bird Reference Site) (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189) Galveston.com (http://www.galveston.com/default.asp)