Friday, May 9, 6:30 AM – 1:30 PM
$75 per person, max. 12 people
This field trip will be led by Shelia Hargis. In 2021, Shelia began teaching the Watching Birds class which focuses on bird behavior. During our walk together, we’ll identify the species we’re watching and take this as far as we can to include sex and age. Then, we’ll take note of the behavior the birds are engaged in. This might be as simple as feeding behavior or as complex as interactions between two or more individuals or species. We’ll discuss why the bird is engaged in the behavior. Sometimes, this is very obvious; other times, it is not obvious at all and may be unknown to science. No matter how far we can take this, 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 walk will take place at CL Browning Ranch, a private ranch near Johnson City, in Blanco County. Learn more about this wonderful place at https://www.clbrowningranch.org/. The ranch has a variety of habitats including habitat for Golden-cheeked Warblers, a wonderful spring and creek, and grasslands. This will be a prime time to see migrating birds as well as many breeding birds. In addition to Golden-cheeked Warblers, other breeding birds we will very likely encounter include 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. If slowing down 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. Registration is required and limited to 12 participants. 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.
