The bird lady of TC

Trudy Belz always has birds on the brain. Whether its the hummingbirds in Sundance Gardens near Bay Street Park in Texas City or an injured pelican in need of care, momma bird Trudy is always on call and a defender of all things fowl.

Her home is a bird’s safehouse, and, by the looks of things, word has gotten around to the feathery mob through the years.

She’s always been a caregiver of sorts for animals, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that she got into bird-caring business. Our feathery friends are sure glad she did, noting that nearly 600 birds a year come to Trudy for care.

She is also the grand dame of local birdwatchers. The Texas City tourism department owes her a lot, especially in 2004 when she found a bird name Pinkie.

The young Great American Flamingo, not native to this part of the world, was spotted in May of that year off the Texas City Dike.

Trudy called out how rare such a visit was. For weeks, thousands of people made the pilgrimage to Texas City to take photos or just simply gander at the flamingo that was eventually nicknamed Pinkie.

But it’s her work on a small part of heaven at Bay Street Park that Trudy’s unsung efforts are most appreciated, if not often heralded. Located on the park’s northwest corner, Sundance Gardens is a place where hummingbirds come to play and all forms of wildlife can find solace.

It’s also not a bad spot for humans to sit and ponder life.

While a city park, much of the care for Sundance falls on Trudy, who figures she has put in more than 7,000 hours of loving care for the park since it was completed.

Few who enjoy what Sundance has to offer realize much of the natural beauty found in Sundance is because of Trudy’s efforts. But the folks who run the Texas Master Naturalist State Program Office sure do.

Last month, the group awarded Trudy the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in recognition of her volunteer efforts.

Funny, it took us humans nearly 16 years to recognize the efforts the birds have appreciated all along.

T.J. Aulds is the mainland editor for The Daily News. Each week his column focuses on everyday people who make living in Galveston County and Galveston Bay area better. If you know of someone who should be profiled e-mail tjaulds@galvnews. com.