Saturday, April 13, 6:30 AM – 1:30 PM (Rain date April 14)
$75 per person, max. 12 people
This Birdathon event will be held at the Browning Ranch, a 977-acre private ranch in Blanco County, and led by Shelia Hargis and Scott Gardner, ranch manager. The ranch has a variety of habitats including habitat for Golden-cheeked Warblers, a wonderful spring and creek, and grasslands. We’ll visit all of these habitats as well as the long-established Great Blue Heron nest rookery. In addition to Golden-cheeked Warblers, other breeding birds we will very likely encounter include Great Blue Heron, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Canyon Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Lesser Goldfinch, Lark Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Summer Tanager, and Painted Bunting. We’ll also watch for interesting bird behavior. This might be as simple as feeding behavior or as complex as interactions between two or more individuals or species. Given some of the species will be engaged in breeding activities, this should be an exciting time to keep watching, beyond identifying the bird. Stopping to watch and appreciate bird behavior will increase your enjoyment and understanding of birds. This is especially fun and enlightening for our common birds that we tend to ignore because we think we “know” them.
The CL Browning Ranch was recently protected in perpetuity with a conservation easement through The Nature Conservancy of Texas. Learn more about this wonderful place at https://www.clbrowningranch.org/. If slowing down in a gorgeous part of the Hill Country and spending time getting to know how birds live their lives sounds appealing, this is the Birdathon walk for you! The walk is open to all levels of birders. The trails at Browning Ranch are rocky and uneven, so the walk will be moderately strenuous. Contact Shelia at shelia.hargis@gmail.com with any questions.
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