Save the Birds

Pelicans and other water birds receive life-saving care at Houston SPCA after December freeze

Following December's late freeze, Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center of Texas has been taking in ill or injured juvenile brown pelicans and other water birds to nurture back to health.

The birds' injuries have included mild frostbite, emaciation, and parasites. When pelicans have to dive deeper into frigid waters during the winter months when food is scarce, it can cause frostbite.

Currently, several pelicans are on antibiotics and eating anchovies as well as smelt, while others are receiving pain medication and tube feedings due to injuries sustained in the wild.

Even though it's warmed up a bit, residents should continue to keep an eye out for native wildlife that may be ill, injured, or orphaned.

If any are spotted, bring them to the Wildlife Center as soon as possible. More information on what to do with injured wildlife can be found at HoustonSPCA.org.

The Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center of Texas is one of the nation’s largest wildlife rehabilitation centers. They care for more than 12,000 ill, orphaned, and injured wild animals annually.

Follow @WildlifeCenterofTexas for the latest updates on all things wild. To support wildlife in need, visit here.

Photo courtesy of Houston SPCA

Water birds, like this black-crowned night heron, are also being treated.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”