POC Library Program - The Majic of Chester Island

Audubon has been committed to conserving and protecting bird habitat in Texas for almost a century and today leases or owns 177 islands along the Texas Gulf Coast. In partnership with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program and Houston Audubon Society, they steward these islands by patrolling and monitoring bird populations during nesting season and managing the habitat during the non-nesting season. Chester Island in Matagorda Bay is a National Audubon Society-managed colonial waterbird sanctuary. Chester Island, previously known as Sundown Island and known locally as Bird Island was renamed after warden Chester Smith who managed the habitat for 25 years until his death in 2011 at age 90. He was instrumental in bringing back the brown pelican and attracting thousands of nesting birds. Chester Island is home to at least 18 species of birds, including one of the largest breeding colonies of Brown Pelicans on the Texas coast. The island was created in 1962 from dredging where the Matagorda ship channel and the Intracoastal Waterway intersect.