Notes from Chaetura Canyon – July 2024

By Georgean and Paul Kyle Photos by Paul Kyle Even though Hurricane Beryl skirted Central Texas to the east, it provided a return to mild temperatures in mid-July as well providing…

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Notes from Chaetura Canyon – June 2024

June brought an end to the mild temperatures, and we climbed over 100 degrees on eleven days.  Still, there were a few cloudy and relatively cool days when we…

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May Notes from Chaetura Canyon

By Paul and Georgean Kyle Sanctuary Stewards We had our hands full in May with finishing the rebuilding of the accessibility ramp, re-painting and generally sprucing up the residence and the…

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Notes from Chaetura Canyon – February 2024

We managed to squeak through the month without a single freeze.  In fact, we had several days in the 80’s with one day reaching 88.5 degrees.  The wonderful rains…

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Notes from Chaetura Canyon – January 2024

By Georgean and Paul Kyle Sanctuary Stewards Since the late 1980s we have started each month with an avian Point Count:  visiting five set points on the property for 10 minutes…

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Celebrate Dr. Blair’s Birthday with a Scavenger Hunt

UPDATE (3:00 PM) All eggs have been found. Thank you to everyone who participated! Did you know that this weekend would be Dr. Frank Blair’s 110th birthday? Let’s celebrate his legacy at

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Our Strange Summer of Swifts and other Updates from Chaetura Canyon

There are 18 Chimney Swift towers on the Chaetura Canyon Sanctuary. Most are monitored only periodically and then nesting success is evaluated after the swifts have departed for South…

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Blair Woods and the History of Ft. Colorado

By Mark Wilson, Travis Audubon Board Member Travis Audubon’s Blair Woods Preserve is a wonderful oasis in the middle of the Austin urban environment. Open to all…

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Barn Restoration at Blair Woods

By Flo Rice The barn at Blair Woods is thought to be about 110 years old and was originally used as a dairy barn when the Moehr family…

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Spring Migration at Blair Woods

By Emily Novak Each month, a survey is conducted to track the bird species that are using the ecosystem and resources that are found at Blair Woods….

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Boy Scouts Build Chimney Swift Tower at Baker

Many thanks to Carter Corley, his parents Shannan and Curtis, and Troop 202 for installing Baker Sanctuary’s latest Chimney Swift tower! The project was undertaken to fulfill requirements for Carter’s…

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Peanut Butter for the Masses!

We have great habitat for birds at Chaetura Canyon that provides shelter and food.  However, we are real suckers for having them feed up close and personal – basically…

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The Saga of Rico Mauve

by Chris Murray, Land Manager The Ecuadorian-American poet Gerardo once wrote in his masterpiece, “Rico Suave” – ‘And there’s not a woman that can handle a man like me That’s…

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