Notes form Chaetura Canyon – March 2024
We feel like winter is behind us at Chaetura Canyon when March 1st arrives. The third month of 2024 was mild, a bit drier than we would have liked, but perfect for our continuing work on trail maintenance. And the vegetation was becoming a riot of different shades of new green foliage dotted by the bright colors of a spectacular wildflower season.
Freshly-mulched trail and Bluebonnets. Photo by Paul Kyle.
On March 2nd we hosted the TAS Master Birders class for a presentation on Chimney Swifts and a tour of the Sanctuary. A couple of attendees remained afterwards to help with the ice storm recovery efforts. The next weekend, a group of volunteers (mostly from the neighborhood) spent their Saturday morning hauling out the last of the processed slash and mulching the Upper Canyon Trails. The following Monday, Raul (the TAS Brush chipper who resides at Baker Sanctuary) was invited to the Canyon for breakfast and lunch. He and we had our fill by midafternoon when both of the monster brush piles on Hunters Pass and Little Beaver Trail had been reduced to mounds of fine, aromatic Juniper mulch for the remaining trails.
Before chipping. Photo by Paul Kyle.
After Chipping. Photo by Paul Kyle.
In between the volunteer workdays and classes, we continued to plug along on our own by repairing trails, re-lining the parking area with mulch, removing invasive non-native vegetation and generally working to get the Sanctuary back to pre-ice-storm condition. Slash too large to be hauled out for chipping was cut and stacked for use as firewood in future winters. Older remaining brush piles were left intact for use by the wildlife, and several new “Brush Corrals” were constructed. The most industrious project was the start of a new set of steps leading up from the Upper Canyon Rim Trail to the middle gate – a section which had become a slip and slide portion of the main trail system over the past 20 years. Step-building is a relatively quiet, non-invasive project that does not seem to deter or disturb the locals.
Mikael Behrens hosted his third Birding by Ear class of the year on Saturday, March 16th (with more to come in May and June). This time the weather was perfect, and the classroom portion as well as the tour were both held outside. As the group was ascending the steps from the Lower Canyon Rim Trail, a Golden-cheeked Warber began to sing. It seemed to follow the group calling all the way back to the residence and continued to call throughout the Canyon through the end of the month.
A week later, on March 24th, the first Chimney Swift of the season was sighted. By the end of the month our avian species count for the year was up to 45, and Chimney Swifts were regularly seen in groups of half a dozen or more circling and cavorting over the Canyon in the evenings.
The first Morning Canyon Crawl of the year and the Chaetura Canyon Birdathon (both with light breakfast!) will be in April, so check the Travis Audubon Calendar for more info and to register.
Hope to see you in the Canyon Soon!
Paul and Georgean Kyle
Sanctuary Stewards
