Sondra Hernandez Staff writer June 30, 2024

From his back patio in the Harbour Town community on Lake Conroe, Michael Hallett has a direct view of “Bird Island.” 

The piece of land that rises up from Lake Conroe off the Seven Coves and Harbour Town neighborhoods is a roosting spot for a variety of native and migratory birds such as white “cattle” egrets, black cormorants, gray herons, ducks and the Anhinga, a black bird known more commonly as “water turkeys.” 

Hallett’s favorite to watch for is the migratory American White Pelican, a bird that is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He said they come around February and usually stay through May. At times, he’s seen as many as 150 pelicans roosting there. 

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Bird Island’s future

His bird’s eye view of the island also brings concerns about its future and the future of the birds that inhabit it. For the 17 years he’s had waterfront property, he’s watched Bird Island get smaller and smaller due to erosion. 

“If we don’t do anything about it that will be nothing but a giant sandbar over time and the birds will be gone,” he said. “That will be hard to watch this becoming just a sandbar and then we’ll see nothing but boats out here all the time beaching on the sandbar.” 

He estimates the original size of Bird Island was at least 2 acres going back to the 1970s. He believes the island is now less than a quarter of an acre. It was three times that size when he moved in 17 years ago. 

History of Lake Conroe 

According to a history of the lake from the San Jacinto River Authority, the lake was planned and constructed shortly after a record 7-year drought in the 1950s.

Through a partnership agreement, the river authority partnered with Houston and the Texas Water Development Board in 1968 to jointly construct a water supply reservoir, Lake Conroe, on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River.  

The Lake Conroe dam was completed in January 1973 and it was filled by Oct. 31, 1973, after the area received significant rain in 1973. The lake covers a 21,000-acre area.

When Lake Conroe filled, Hallett said there were shallow areas off Seven Coves that created Ayers Island and Bird Island, which rose up from the waters on the east side of the lake. 

In the early 2000s, a bulkhead border was placed around Ayers Island, a recreational spot for boaters. The San Jacinto River Authority, with the permission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, completed the project. 

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Saving Bird Island 

Madi Bullock, has lived in Seven Coves since she was 5 years old, and fishing from the park off Kingston Coves Lane has been one of her favorite hobbies. 

The park is the closest piece of land to Bird Island, and she, too, is disheartened to see it diminish over the years. Bullock, 23, is studying to become a Texas Game Warden at Sam Houston State University, and the restoration of the island has become a cause close to her. 

“The island is mostly without human intervention, but has decreased in size due to increased boat traffic and erosion,” she said. She has particular concern for the pelican migration. 

She fears that if the island is not there, the pelicans will not stop there and change their migratory path. 

She approached Hallett about a year ago to start a community project to restore the island. Earlier this year they launched the website Bird Island Rescue. 

They would like to see a riprap border of broken  rocks around the 2015 perimeter of the island and then have fill dirt added to build the island back up. 

Moving the project forward

“I have contacted numerous organizations such as the San Jacinto River Authority and Texas Parks and Wildlife to raise concerns in hopes that they would support a habitat restoration project,” Bullock said. 

Hallett believes the project is gaining momentum in terms of community support and interest, but they would still have to work with state and government agencies for possible funding and completion of the restoration. 

In the past year, Bullock has spoken with representatives of the San Jacinto River Authority and Texas Parks and Wildlife department. 

“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has been approached several times over the past few years requesting assistance for the Bird Island restoration initiative. The scope of the project would be significant and would require millions of dollars in funding, which TPWD is not able to provide,” according to a statement from the agency. 

Still, the duo has not ruled out fundraisers to aid restoration or possible state or federal grants. 

Earlier this month, Bullock and Hallett met with state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, on the matter and felt like it was a positive meeting. 

“There have been some recent inquiries about the status of the island, from some that want to restore it, and others with concerns about it being a safety hazard,” Creighton said. “We have discussed potential solutions with constituents and the SJRA.”

Hallett said the birds that roost on the island are protected, but the island is not. 

“If we want to protect the birds and we want to keep them here, the only way to do that is to keep the island,” he said. 

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