AAUW Corpus Christi Branch held a meeting on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the YWCA from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  We had 21 members and six guests in attendance.  President Catherine Cox opened the meeting with a welcome and an introduction of guests.  Vice President Mary Sherwood introduced our speaker, David Sikes, who has a journalism degree from the University of Houston and who was the Outdoors columnist for 23 years at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.  David has received numerous awards for his writing, wildlife photography, and conservation efforts.  He is currently an editor and the board secretary for Wildlife in Focus,  a nonprofit organization with the mission to preserve and protect the native wildlife and their habitats in South Texas.

David shared stories and photographs from his days working at the Caller-Times.  He underscored the importance of conservation efforts and mentioned several organizations that are involved in those efforts, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas Fish and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, and Wildlife in Focus.  David also shared an array of his stunning photography that included migratory birds seen about this time of year in South Texas, as well as fishing photographs and other wildlife.  He noted that several good locations for birding in South Texas include Blucher Park, Packery Channel Nature Park, the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center in Port Aransas, and Hazel Bazemore Park.

You can see more of David’s work at his Facebook site: David Joseph Sikes.