Created by Jane Tillman, 2020

Check first due to COVID 19 closures. As places reopen, capacity may be limited.

  1. Hornsby Bend is the premier location. 2210 FM 973 east of airport.

From 71 East turn north onto FM 973 and go about a mile. Turn left into the Wastewater Sludge Treatment Facility and go through guard gate. Continue on road to the ponds which veers slightly left and up a hill. Do not go anywhere that says authorized personnel only.

Best way to get oriented to Hornsby is to go on a monthly field trip offered the 3rd Saturday of every month at 7:30 a.m. Meet at the Hornsby Bend Center for Environmental Research which is the building just north of the entry road past the guard gate.

Wide diversity of ducks, shorebirds, waders, songbirds, raptors.

Platt Lane is one mile north of the guard entrance on FM 973. Turn left onto Platt and continue down road to end where you can park by an old house, and walk through a closed metal gate down the river trail to the Colorado River.  (Now open as of mid-May, 2020)

  1. Big Webberville Park, 2305 Park Lane, Webberville, TX

A county park on the Colorado River. Biggest claim to fame is nesting Bald Eagles viewable with a scope in distant trees on horizon. Apparently they did not nest here in 2020. Eastern Bluebirds and several woodpecker species including Pileated make appearances.  Park opens at 8 a.m.

  1. Commons Ford Park, 614 North Commons Ford Road, Austin, TX

Off Bee Caves (2244) and Cuernavaca in western Travis County.  Good for nesting Northern Parulas in parking lot by creek, kingfishers at the river, and prairie birds in the restored prairie, including Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. A good place to bird year-round. Might see Ringed Kingfishers down by Lake Austin.

  1. Reimer’s Ranch in far west Travis County, 23610 Hamilton Pool Rd, Dripping Springs, TX

Good for occasional western species like Verdin and Black-throated Sparrow. The river trail has woodpeckers and raptors. It is a bit of a trip out there so take a picnic.

  1. Balcones Canyonlands Refuge. The Friends group has several birding outings every year https://www.friendsofbalcones.org/ and a Songbird Festival each April which provides a great opportunity to see Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos.

The refuge Headquarters is northwest of Austin, Texas.  It is located on FM 1431 approximately five miles west of Lago Vista, one mile east of the intersection with Cow Creek Road/CR328. There is a trail at the headquarters. Best thing to do is visit their website to learn more.

Doeskin Ranch is on RR 1174. If you are coming from the south, it is about 1.5 miles north of the intersection of RR 1174 and Cow Creek/County Road 328. If you are coming from the north, it is 2.3 miles south of the intersection of RR 1174 and RR 1869. It is on the east side of the road. The lat/long for Doeskin Ranch is 30.621001 and -98.074192. Lots of bird activity along the various trails including Painted Buntings.

Warbler Vista – east of refuge headquarters is a spot to listen for Golden-cheeked Warblers. Personally I don’t care for Warbler Vista. There is too much road noise. I much prefer Doeskin.

Warbler Vista Directions: The Deck and trails are located on FM 1431. If you are coming from the Austin area, go west through Lago Vista. The Warbler Vista Unit is about 1.3 miles past the high school and the entrance will be on your right. If you are coming from the west, Warbler Vista is 3.5 miles east of the Refuge’s Headquarters. The lat/long for the Warbler Vista Unit is 30.505992 and -97.979623.

  1. The Austin Capitol Grounds during spring migration can be good.

Park in one of the state parking garages on the weekend and look in the trees. Western Kingbirds sometimes nest there. While not a favorite of mine, it can be good in migration.

  1. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on La Crosse Avenue in south Austin has lots of trails.

In late April look for Painted Buntings. In the gardens Black-chinned Hummingbirds nectar and nest.

  1. Contemporary Austin’s Laguna Gloria at 3809 West 35th Street, Austin, 78703

A pleasant place to walk and look and listen for resident songbirds like Northern Cardinals and Carolina Wrens, joined by migrants in the tall oaks. Wood Ducks, Osprey and Belted Kingfishers can sometimes be seen down by the lake.

  1. Mayfield Park and Preserve, 3505 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703

Adjacent to Laguna Gloria, has typical resident species joined by wintering Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Blue-headed Vireos.  Golden-crowned Kinglets have been fairly reliable there in winter.

  1. Camp Mabry

Get to Camp Mabry by taking MoPac /Loop 1 and exiting at the 35th St./Camp Mabry exit.  After exiting, head west and go about 0.5 miles, following the signs to the Texas Military Force Museum (aka Camp Mabry).  Then, take a right and enter Camp Mabry.  You must stop at the guard station where all drivers must have a current driver’s license and passengers must have a valid ID.  Once you pass through the guard station, follow the road for about 0.3 miles and turn right at the Picnic Area sign.  Follow the road to the covered picnic area and park there.  There is a small pond there. But the bigger better pond is just south of that. You can walk or drive to it. Osprey, Belted Kingfisher, cormorants, Great Egrets, Wood Ducks can all be found there in season. It is very birdy.

  1. Mills Pond at Wells Branch off Wells Port Drive, 15108 Wells Port Dr, Austin, TX 78728

An excellent migrant trap during spring migration. Has a bird blind with a stock tank just down from the spillway tucked into some trees, which is a nice place to sit and be quiet. It is easy to miss the turn off Wells Port.  This was the place to go in spring migration 2020.

  1. A great place to see Wood Ducks and Least Grebes is the Triangle Pond off West 45th just west of Guadalupe.

From West 45th turn north onto Triangle Avenue and park on the street. Walk east to the pond. The Central Texas Rehab Hospital is on the corner of West 45th and Triangle Avenue. Don’t park in their lot.

  1. The Mueller Development at the old airport has two ponds – one is park-like and the other is

more natural next to a restored prairie. Both are good places to get some exercise while birding.

  1. Emma Long Metropolitan Park on the west side of Austin off FM 2222, 1600 City Park Rd, Austin, TX 78730

is a good place for Golden-cheeked Warblers on Turkey Creek Trail  during mid-March through May particularly. If you pay the $5 fee weekdays/$10 fee on Friday-Sunday, you can go down by the lake and enjoy many woodpeckers, House Finches and Eastern Bluebirds. Good spot for Summer Tanagers and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in summer.

Specialty Birds

Purple Martins- Virginia Avenue above Barton Springs Road has a Purple Martin Colony. Also Hornsby Bend has a colony by the CER building.

Chimney Swifts – visit Travis Audubon’s Chaetura Canyon for a special summer event to watch the birds come into roost. Watch the Travis Audubon events calendar for dates. Chaetura Canyon is only open for special events. It is located in Apache Shores off 620 south of the Mansfield Dam. Also in fall there are Swift Watch parties around town to watch migrants go to roost in old incinerators such as the one at O’Henry Middle School in Tarrytown.

Vermilion Flycatchers – not an easy bird in any season. Pace Bend Park close to Mudd Cove has had them recently. 2011 Pace Bend Rd N, Spicewood, TX 78669

Parking Lot Birds

In summer Western Kingbirds often nest in oak trees in retail parking lots.

Common Nighthawks frequent big box store parking lots at night in summer. Listen for them making a “peent” sound.

Monk Parakeets are being seen more and more all over town. The Intramural fields 4901 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78751 have historically been a good spot to see them as have the grounds of Martin Jr. High in east Austin.

How to Be a Better Birder

The best way to learn more about how and where to bird is to take a Travis Audubon field trip. They often fill early if registration is required, but the beginning birder field trips on the first Saturday of the month do not usually require registration. Visit http://www.travisaudubon.org and look at the calendar to find field trips.

In addition to Travis Audubon field trips, often the City of Austin Wildland’s Conservation Guided Hikes offers birding walks as does the Friends of the Balcones Canyonlands Refuge. If you live up towards Georgetown join Williamson Audubon Group which has several field trips.