The 715-acre Baker Sanctuary provides mature hardwood-juniper woodland habitat for the Golden-cheeked Warbler, an endangered songbird. Baker Sanctuary is open to Travis Audubon members and their guests. The Jackie Arnold Education Center provides space for classes and meetings. The historic Baker cabin is in the sanctuary, as is the Baker family cemetery. A trail system is marked for hikers and birders.
Donate to Baker Sanctuary Baker eBird List
Explore the Trails
Travis Audubon members and their guests can hike or go birding on Baker Sanctuary’s trails. Please note: Dogs and mountain bikes are not allowed at Baker Sanctuary, as they disturb nesting birds.
Print the Baker Sanctuary trail map here. Before heading to Baker Sanctuary, where cell service can be limited, members should look up the gate code on their member portal. The gate code is also emailed to members monthly.
Member Access To Baker Gate Code
For members, here are some helpful tips for accessing Baker Sanctuary:
- Parking lots: Members can now park on the south side (12221 Lime Creek Road) or the north (12308 Lime Creek Road).
- Automatic gate to enter and exit: When you arrive at the preserve, enter the gate code to access the parking lot. When you’re ready to head out after hiking or birding, the gate will automatically open as your vehicle approaches it. If you walk or bike to the preserve and open the gate to get in, you will need help to get out. Bikers and hikers without vehicles, please contact Chris Murray, the Land Manager, at chris@travisaudubon.org prior to your visit to coordinate your entry and exit.
Home of the Golden-cheeked Warbler
The Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA) is a migratory bird that nests only in 29 counties in Central Texas. The males arrive around mid-March and begin establishing territories. The warblers need the Ashe juniper bark that strips easily for nest material and the insects that live in the canopy of oak trees and other hardwoods for food. The females arrive around the end of March, and egg laying begins in early April. By the end of July, the warblers fly to the mountainous areas of southern Mexico and to east-central Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The main cause for the decline in the GCWA is the loss of breeding and nesting habitat. Other causes of warbler decline are breeding habitat degradation caused by grazing and range improvement, construction of dams that flood the breeding habitat, oak wilt, parasitism of nests by Brown-headed Cowbirds, fragmentation of breeding habitat, and the lack of hardwood recruitment into the woodland canopy due to overbrowsing by White-tailed Deer.
The GCWA was federally listed as an endangered species in 1990 and was added to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s list of endangered species in 1991. Because of its endangered status, the GCWA was among several plant and animal species included for protection under a regional habitat conservation plan called the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan (BCCP). The primary goal of this plan is to assemble and manage over 30,000 acres in northwestern Travis County, called the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) system, to protect viable populations for the species addressed in the plan. The Travis Audubon has committed its Baker Sanctuary to the BCP system and is one of several managing partners in the BCP. The Sanctuary uses a U. S. Fish and Wildlife-approved management plan that specifies activities aimed at ensuring the continued survival of the Golden-cheeked Warbler.
Travis Audubon was organized in the 1950s and its members were among the first to recognize that the Golden-cheeked Warbler’s habitat was disappearing through urban development. Travis Audubon members searched for suitable land to begin a sanctuary and in 1966 purchased 94 acres.
In 1972, Chell Baker, who owned land adjacent to the original 94-acre sanctuary, deeded his 536 acres to the Travis Audubon with a life estate for himself, his sister and a friend of his. The third acquisition of land came in 1987 when Nelma Gholson and Carolyn Chamberlain donated 50 acres to the Travis Audubon in memory of Grover Hatfield, Jr. In March of 2007, Travis Audubon acquired 9.83 acres adjacent to the parking lot on the original 94-acre sanctuary from Ruth Fredericksen.
Monitoring Bird Populations
Our largest preserve, Baker Sanctuary, is 715 acres of ashe-juniper woodland, prime habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and many other species. We manage this land, but we also monitor it to see how bird populations are doing, and figure out which conservation techniques could lead to better outcomes for species in need.
Please visit our Travis Audubon Fire Management Position statement to learn more about the woodlands of Texas Hill Country and wildfires.