Birding the Balcones Canyonlands/Water Quality Preserves-Part 4

Partnering with  Travis Audubon, the City of Austin Wildlands Division and Travis County offer a series of Friday morning birding hikes on Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and Water Quality Protection Lands. After the September hike at the well-known Commons Ford Park (BCP), these hikes will be held on properties not usually accessible to the public.
 
Each trip will be led by Jim O'Donnell, wildlife biologist with the COA BCP and Black-capped Vireo expert. Additional support will be provided by COA volunteer hike docents. Hikes will be held on the 3rd Friday of each month, in the morning, currently scheduled through February, 2014. Hikes are free, limited to 15 participants, and do require registration. You will be sent specific location informant, maps, etc, the week before the hike.

This will be a chance to improve your birding knowledge and see the birds change through the seasons.   With practice, you will not only be able to rapidly identify more species of birds, but also build a greater sense of awareness of the natural world.  While long considered a birder’s paradise, central Texas has something for both the novice naturalist and the expert.  Its unique history has marked its landscape in interesting ways.  This hike will pass through rich shrublands, golden-cheeked warbler habitat, and grassy hillsides while offering some of the best scenic views of Austin.  Guides will discuss the preserve’s history and how it is expressed in today’s natural communities.

These properties are rarely hiked, and trails may be rough to non-existent. The morning may include "bushwacking" through fields of native grasses and oak and juniper thickets. Please come properly dressed with good footwear and plenty of water! Ages 12 and up.