Located in far western Travis County, in the beautiful Balcones Canyonlands region of the Edwards Plateau, Westcave Preserve offers a great chance to see many Hill Country bird species, including the Federally Endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. During this Birdathon, we will bird the dry upland savannas and open mixed-grass prairies, as well as the deeply shaded Ashe juniper-Live oak woodlands, including a section of mesic canyon slopes high above the Pedernales River.

Nearly 170 species have been recorded at Westcave Preserve, including a variety of species uncommon to the Hill Country, such as the Veery, Rock Wren, and Mourning Warbler. During this Birdathon, we will target the Golden-cheeked Warbler, Painted Bunting, Crested Caracara, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Canyon Wren, Summer Tanager, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, and many others. We will also keep our eyes and ears open for neotropical migrants, such as Wilson’s, Black-throated Green, and Yellow warblers; Clay-colored Sparrow; Dickcissel; and Broad-winged Hawk. If we’re lucky, other possibilities include: Zone-tailed Hawk, Blue Grosbeak, Verdin, Orchard Oriole, Common Ground-Dove, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Canyon Towhee. We will also stop briefly at the Chimney Swift tower and new bird blind.

We will walk slowly for 4 hours on terrain which is mostly flat, except for a rock staircase leading into and out of the canyon. We will stop briefly about halfway through the morning for a restroom break at the visitor’s center.

Travis Audubon Society wishes to extend a BIG thank-you to Westcave Preserve! For more information about the Preserve, visit their website at: https://westcave.org/

Please note this Birdathon does not include a visit to the actual grotto, though we will walk a short distance in the adjacent canyon to look for the Canyon Wren, as well as bird species which prefer mature woodlands. Attending a guided hike to the grotto at a later date is highly recommended, not only because of its incredible, lush beauty, but also because of the unusual plant and animal species found in or near the grotto in summer, such as Acadian and Least flycatchers, Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Vireo, Chatterbox orchid, Canyon mock orange, Dwarf palmetto, and Redbay trees.

About the Leaders:

Amy Sugeno was a wildlife biologist for over 16 years before changing careers to become a mental health therapist. She spent most of her biology career working with bats, songbirds and waterfowl, and rare species. Amy leads regular birding walks with TAS and Westcave Preserve, and leads a tour each year at the Balcones Songbird Festival. Amy primarily works as an ecotherapist, leading mindfulness in nature walks and retreats and speaking and teaching about ecotherapy, both in Texas and out-of-state.

Traci Foulkes has lived in the Austin area for over 20 years, though her internships have taken her as far away as Alaska and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where she worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assisting biologists with various projects, guiding canoe tours, monitoring endangered species, and managing migratory waterfowl habitat. She also interned in Washington, D.C. at both the U.S. Senate and National Geographic Society. Traci received her B.A. in Geography at the University of Texas. Traci began working at Westcave in 2014. As the Conservation Specialist, Traci helps facilitate and manage all conservation programs, research projects, habitat and land management activities, actively works to monitor and protect the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and its habitat, and takes an active role in planning and implementing conservation projects and practices at the preserve.

This team will be birding on Tuesday, April 14th from 7:30-11:30 am at Westcave Preserve. Further details will be provided to registrants prior to the Birdathon. Registration for this team is $50 per person, but additional donations are encouraged. Limited to 15 registrants. Please contact Amy Sugeno at amysugeno@gmail.com for questions.

Register here!
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Check out this team’s fundraising page here!