Last year, Shell Oil Company achieved WHC certification for the Wildlife at Work habitat program at its Woodcreek Campus. The site, located within the Energy Corridor District in Houston, TX, maintains a balance between urban development and nature by conserving its natural forested and wetland areas, creeks, and detention pond.
Led by Social Investment Specialist Mary Margaret Hamilton, the Wildlife Team at the Shell Woodcreek Campus is involved with a number of wildlife enhancement projects: installation of nest boxes for cavity-nesting birds, improvements to woodland habitat, enhancement of aquatic habitat, control of invasive species, and management for native plants.
Shell has expanded its Woodcreek Campus to 90 acres in recent years and has increased its efforts to better conserve and manage natural habitat. The Woodcreek Campus site is a home to many species of birds, like the Red-tailed Hawk, as well as other native wildlife.
In October 2010, an injured Red-tailed Hawk was found at the Shell Woodcreek Campus. Members of Shell’s Wildlife Team contacted one of their community partners, the Wildlife Center of Texas, and enlisted their help. The Wildlife Center of Texas has conducted lunch-and learns at the Woodcreek Campus where they presented education and outreach programs about native wildlife to Shell employees.
Red-tailed Hawks are well adapted to urban settings, like the Woodcreek Campus. They have very broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. These birds are usually spotted soaring in wide circles high in the sky. Most have rich brown feathers and a streaked belly. Their tails are cinnamon-red in color, which gives rise to its name.
When the injured juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was found, it was underweight and in poor condition. Over the course of several months, the specialists at the Wildlife Center of Texas rehabilitated the hawk through proper feeding and exercise until it regained its strength and was restored to good health.
After four months of rehabilitation, the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was released at Bear Creek Park, which is located very close to the Shell Woodcreek Campus. Before its release, the hawk was banded. All bands are provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory and are inscribed with a phone number and a unique 9-digit number. Banding allows researchers to gather information about migration patterns, life span and survival rate, reproductive success, and population growth, just to name a few.
Thanks to Shell and the Wildlife Center of Texas, the Red-tailed Hawk can fly once again. Click here to see the banding and release of this Red-tailed Hawk.
Thanks to Shell for this effort and especially for their effort to support to support predators. Existance of a healthy population of predators is a good indicator of an ecosystem’s general health. If they have red-tailed hawks are hunting their campus, it is a fair statement to say Shell’s efforts are paying off.