[Tweeters] Austin Texas Trip

[LMarkoff]

I lived in Austin for 7 years.  I avoided birding places in or close to the city because of the noise, tough to hear the birds.  You also have to deal with lots of traffic.  But Phil’s suggestion of Hornsby Bend and Commons Ford Park is a good one.  He’s spot on about the heat.  Wherever you go, get there at dawn.

 

And if you have time, and are able to hike a bit, you might try Barton Creek Wilderness Park where you might get lucky and see a Limpkin.  Limpkins have exploded and an amazing range expansion is happening.  They are popping up all over the central/eastern part of the country.  Here are a couple of ebird reports of the Limpkin at Barton Creek WP dated today.  

 

https://ebird.org/checklist/S114931109

https://ebird.org/tx/checklist/S114930567

 

Best wishes for a happy and safe trip, 

 

Lori Markoff

 

From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Philip Dickinson
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 4:05 PM
To: Kellie Sagen <kelliekvinne at hotmail.com>
Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Austin Texas Trip

 

I have birded several places around Austin over the years during family visits. As Gary said, it will be hot for several weeks (currently over 100), so get out very early in the morning wherever you go. My top two recommendations are Hornsby Bend and Commons Ford Park, and they are the top two species-wise in Travis County. Roy Guerrero Metro Park is also along the river close in town, or just an early morning walk along the trail on the south side of the river in town near the bats. Balcones Canyonlands is great, but chances will be remote to find Golden-cheeked Warbler or Black-capped Vireo in late summer. McKinney Falls SP just south of town is another possibility. If you want to go north to Williamson County, you could try Lake Creek Trail-West or Berry Springs. I suspect that Devine Lake and Granger Lake would too hot in August.

 

Phil Dickinson

 

On Mon, Jul 11, 2022 at 9:34 PM Kellie Sagen <kelliekvinne at hotmail.com <mailto:kelliekvinne at hotmail.com> > wrote:

Hi Tweets,

I am heading to Austin, TX in a few weeks to see the Mexican Free-tailed bat colony under the Congress Ave Bridge and want to do some birding during the few days I’m there. If anyone has recommendations of good spots in that area, I would love to hear them.

Happy Birding!

Kellie Sagen 🦉
Lake Stevens, WA
_______________________________________________



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20220712/faa45e5c/attachment.html>