Herb and Adell Reves of Katy, Texas and part-time residents of Port O’Connor, celebrated 60 years of marriage on August 26, 2021. They were married in Calvary Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 26, 1961. God has blessed them with two amazing sons and their beautiful wives, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Herb and Adell love Port O’Connor and its people and have called it their “home away from home” for over 50 years. Herb is a semi-retired Baptist Minister and Chaplain and Adell is retired from Katy ISD.

Migration is one of the great wonders of the bird world. Despite all of the studies being done and all of the knowledge we have already gained, there is still much that we don’t know about this phenomenon.

Perhaps the greatest mystery is how young birds who hatched over the spring and summer are able to find their wintering grounds all on their own. Imagine a child traveling hundreds of miles to a precise location he’s never visited before, all without directions. Its incredible that these animals know exactly where they’re supposed to go and which routes to take to get there.

The young birds of many species make this journey alone. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, many small songbirds, and Common Loons are a few examples. Their parents, along with the other birds of their species, travel in the same direction, often towards the same place, but they do so alone and not in a flock. The young birds don’t have anyone to show them where to go, but they still somehow make the journey.

The method behind this navigation is still unknown to us, though we have been studying it for years. A 1964 experiment used Common Starlings, which migrated southwest through the Netherlands to winter in France and Britain. A.C. Perdeck caught thousands of birds in the Netherlands and transported them south-southeast of the capture site for release in Switzerland. The juvenile birds continued flying southwest (their original direction of flight) and flew for a similar distance as they had first intended. This indicated that the birds had an inherent instinct to fly in a certain direction for a certain distance. The starlings are only one example, however, and different species have reacted in different ways to similar experiments.

One of the most well proven methods of migration navigation is the use of stars. Night-time migrators, perhaps looking at constellations, bright stars, or some other indicators are able to use the sky as a compass. This method isn’t flawless, though. The stars can often be covered by clouds and storms, and now humans further muddy the sky with our bright lights, satellites, and cell towers. The birds, who’s instincts tell them to fly towards the light, are drawn towards skyscrapers and lit windows where they crash and fall. This is why we recommend turning off all excess lights at night during fall and spring migration.

Here on the Gulf coast of Texas, we happen to live in a very important bird flyway. Birds, heading from Canada and the Eastern US fly through our neck of the woods as they funnel down towards Mexico. For example, a Prothonotary Warbler who has spent the summer in Minnesota will likely fly almost directly South to Louisiana. When it hits the Gulf Coast, it will turn West and follow the shoreline through Texas, Mexico, and into its winter habitat in South America.

If you want to help migrating birds, turn off your excess lights at night. Keep your cats indoors and away from the weary travelers. Because so many birds are coming through our area during this season, its up to us to make this habitat hospitable to them.

PORT O’CONNOR — James Michael Burnett, 70, died unexpectedly the evening of October 3, 2021 as result of a motorcycle accident.

Mike is survived by his wife and partner of forty-plus years, Arlene “Sam” Hambly Burnett; his sisters Gail Burnett DiGeronimo, and Sue Burnett/Tom Hoke, and his brother Patrick Burnett, his nephew Chris Stadler/Kristie Scott, great nephews Jax and Jett Stadler; niece Angela DiGeronimo/Ailee Laham, great niece Maya Laham and great nephew Michael Laham; nephew James Hoke and great niece Alice Hoke; niece Molly Hoke/Jonathan Fleming, and great nephews Clayton and Wyatt Fleming, and many cousins and other family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Margaret Inez Williams/James August Burnett Jr., his grandparents John Taylor Williams/Minnie Lea Grant, and James August Burnett Sr./Juanita Chapmond.

Mike was born on April 5, 1951 in Olney, Texas. His family moved to the Houston area in 1958. During the 1960s, Mike stayed for a time in Port O’Connor where his grandfather John Williams was minister of First Baptist Church. Mike got his high school G.E.D. from San Jacinto Junior College in 1970. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1971 to 1973, and attended Polaris Electronics and Guidance System School and also worked in Electronics and Fire Control Systems. He became a certified scuba diver in 1980.

In 1984 he received his certification as a Mortimer-Filkins Court Test Administrator/Evaluator from the Texas Adult Probation Commission/Texas Alcoholism Commission. He completed his Chemical Abuse Counseling Certification at the University of Houston from 1985-1986.

After the US Navy, he worked for 31+ years at Johnson Space Center as a Metrology & Calibration Technician from 1973 until he retired from Lockheed Martin in 2003, and Mike & Sam moved to Port O’Connor that year.

Mike was a proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous and would have celebrated 38 years of sobriety on October 28, 2021. He lived his life by the principles of this program and had a lasting impact on so many people through the fellowship of AA.

In Port O’Connor, Mike & Sam joined the Texas Master Naturalist program, which led Mike to many successful years as a turtle patroller on the Texas coast, looking for endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtles and their nests. Mike was an avid beach-comber and fisherman. He got his Guide Captain license after moving to Port O’Connor. He enjoyed flounder gigging and any kind of saltwater fishing, and maintained a small “Beach-Combing Museum” in his shop building in Port O’Connor; he was known far and wide as the “Texas Sea-Bean King.” He & Sam travelled every October for many years to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to attend the International Sea-Bean Symposium, and also to Galveston, Texas, when the Symposium began alternating between the two locations. He loved riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, “Mariah”, and rode all over the U.S., including Alaska, on his bike. He rode with “The Click” motorcycle club of Victoria, Texas, and was a member of The Woodlands Harley Owners Group in The Woodlands, Texas. He was just a few miles from his home in Port O’Connor after a 10-day ride with The Woodlands group when he hit a deer and passed away as a result of his injuries.

No funeral is planned; Mike will be cremated as per his wishes. An informal gathering of friends and family was held on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at St. Francis Episcopal Church parish hall to celebrate his life.
“True to every trust and faithful until death” – these are words Mike saw on one of his many motorcycle trips; on returning home, he told Sam he thought there was nothing more a man could hope for than to have these words describe his life. He was a kind, humble, giving man with a beautiful soul, who impacted the lives of so many on his journey. He will be deeply missed.