By Leslie Menikoff

Flo Rice has an infectious love for nature and volunteering. Born in Dallas, she moved to Austin in 1962 when “the only thing that was really in the skyline was the UT tower and the capitol.” She went to UT and then worked as an architect. Upon retirement, Flo started her volunteer work in earnest. After a trip to Costa Rica where she was “birding, birding, birding,” I had the privilege of speaking with her to learn more about her and how she gives back to our city.

What is it that drew you to birding?

“I’ve always gone camping and hiking, but birding is this whole other layer of interest. It embellishes that enjoyment. I can remember hiking around and being outside, and I’m sure there were birds singing and flying around and I wasn’t aware. It tunes you into a whole other level of activity that I had been oblivious to. Even just hearing birds and seeing them, it just draws you in, wondering: What are they doing? What is the activity that’s going on? Are they foraging for food? Are they gathering nesting material? Birding has so many layers of intrigue…It can also be kind of daunting. It’s a challenge, but I think that’s part of the fun, too. It’s not necessarily easy. You sort of have to work at it, both studying and being out in the field.”

How did you get started birding?

“I started birding about ten years ago. I went with a group of friends to High Island. I wasn’t really much of a birder before then. I tried birding before, but it didn’t really take. But I went to High Island with some people, and they were all better birders than me, so I was kind of challenged. You know, their abilities to get on the birds. I struggled some to get on the birds but we had a really good fallout that year. We had lots and lots of warblers and other beautiful, colorful neotropical birds, so that was the hook. And once I did that, I decided I wanted to bird all the time, so I started taking a bunch of Travis Audubon classes and then continued on from there.”

I understand you serve on the Board of Travis Audubon, how else are you involved?

Active at Blair Woods, Flo “helped plant the initial pollinator garden” in 2019. Her background in architecture is what drew her to join the TAS board in 2020, as the organization hopes to build a permanent facility at Blair. She has “been working with the Blair core team and Blair build team which is planning for that future project.” In the meantime, Flo has volunteered her time to help with trail improvements, as well as the renovation of the old barn. She adds, “we’re under construction right now… to improve access to the pond, water feature, pollinator garden, and other areas of the preserve.”

Do you volunteer anywhere else?

Flo became a Capital Area Master Naturalist in 2019, a Texas Parks and Wildlife program which promotes conservation, restoration, and education outreach. A “big gardener,” she’s had a plot at Deep Eddy Community Gardens for almost 20 years. She observes, “it has really good, well-draining soil and good sun, so it’s a nice place.” Spoken like a true gardener! Volunteer hours are required both there and at her other garden, New Day Community Garden. At the latter, all gardeners help to maintain the donation vegetable beds. The produce of which is donated to Casa Marianella, an organization that supports displaced immigrants.

Do you have a favorite spot where you like to bird?

“I like Hornsby Bend a lot just because it has so many different kinds of habitats. It has the ponds where you can see all the shore birds and the ducks, and then Platt Lane has the more wooded area that goes along the edge of the river. It’s also not very well trafficked, so lots of times you can go out there and kind of feel like you have the place to yourself. I also go to Blair Woods pretty often, too. It’s not very big and it doesn’t have quite the diversity that Hornsby does, but it’s not very well trafficked either, so lots of times you can go there and have this nice, little quiet preserve to yourself. I like those kinds of places.”

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Flo has two grandchildren to whom she is passing on her love of nature and birding, taking them with her to Blair Woods to explore. It’s easy to catch Flo’s passion for birding and volunteering.