Birds & Bloom - Volume 12

Welcome to the Birds & Blooms e-newsletter!

Here we focus on wildlife and nature, important environmental updates, and events at Dripping Springs area parks. After years of diligent work to help people protect birds and their habitat, Dripping Springs has been certified as an official “Bird City” by the Texas Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). With only seven other designations throughout the state, this is an honor for the city and its partnering organizations. This designation is exciting news for the nearly 2.2 million Texas enthusiasts looking for their next bird watching destination. Throughout the year, Dripping Springs will hold a variety of events, activities, and initiatives to help protect birds and their habitats, including its bi-annual Lights Out Dripping Springs campaign and the Festival of Flight event in May that celebrates World

Migratory Bird Day.

Photos by Claire Bolton

Birding at Hill Country Casitas

Founded in 2016, Hill Country Casitas was created, designed and built by long-time Texas residents and husband-and-wife team, Ron Turner and Mary McRoberts. Surrounded by 13 acres of Juniper and Oak trees in the Pedernales River Valley sits Hill Country Casitas. Guests have experienced multiple sightings of the endangered Golden-Cheeked Warbler, colorful Painting Buntings, various hummingbirds, and more than 25 other species of migratory birds. While staying at Hill Country Casitas, be sure to take a hike along our scenic trails, take some photos at the bird viewing station, and then cool off by jumping into our crystal-clear swimming pool! The casitas are conveniently located near several State and Natural parks, wedding venues, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and distilleries. We are proud to do our part in protecting the birds in the Texas hill country by turning our lights off at night during peak migration, feeding our birds nutrient-rich foods, providing clean water, nesting boxes, landscaping with native plants, and promoting birdwatching for all on our beautiful land. "It brings us so much joy to see people of all ages enjoying all that our property has to offer, and relishing in the excitement of guests identifying their first bird" - Claire Bolton - Property Manager at Hill Country Casitas

Check them out!

-Olivia Crayton-

Choke Canyon State Park Interpreter

2023 Birding Festival

Folks in the Field

Would you tell our readers a bit about yourself & where your passion for birds came from?

I am the park's Interpreter for Choke Canyon - a Texas State Park. I run all the education and outreach programs for the park. I teach archery and fishing classes, and plan events like our upcoming Birding Festival.

What is your favorite park/area in Texas to go birding and take photographs?

I'm biased, but there's so many species that come to Choke Canyon. We're only two and a half hours from Austin - and just far enough south that we get quite a few valley birds. The green jays are some of my favorite birds here. But my favorite birds to photograph are the great-horned owls because they always make eye contact with you as you get their picture. It makes for great portraits!

What bird are you most excited

to encounter?

I always hope to see a ruby-crowned kinglet. They're a winter resident and can be hard to find from a distance. It's always a good day if I find one up close.

Birding Apps

Merlin Bird ID

Merlin is designed to be a birding coach for bird watchers at every level. Snap a photo of a bird, or pull one in from your camera roll, and the Photo ID will offer a short list of possible matches Then build a digital scrapbook of your birding memories with Save My Bird. Sound ID listens to the birds around you and shows real-time suggestions for who’s singing.

Download App

Peterson Birds

Peterson’s is well-known for creating detailed field guides, and this app makes no exception. Once you find the bird you were looking for, you can view illustrations of the bird and maps of the areas it populates. The app contains illustrations instead of pictures, which provides a lot more details on the anatomy of the bird.

Download App

Texas State Parks 100th Anniversary

The 100th anniversary of the Texas state park system is coming in 2023, and the planned celebration will feature an artistic component. Thirty artists have been chosen to paint at least 60 state parks. Parks such as Caddo Lake, Brazos Bend, Galveston Island and Palo Duro Canyon will get the artistic treatment, along with future parks such as Chinati Mountains and Palo Pinto Mountains. The paintings will go on exhibit in 2023 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, the Witte Museum in San Antonio and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Some of the painted areas included are Mckinney State Falls and the Hill Country State Natural Area.

Read Article

Westcave Nature Preserve - Upcoming Events

The beautiful Westcave Preserve offers many wonderful birding and nature opportunities! Take a Guided Canyon Tour and visit the cave and grotto. Star Party nights are an ideal opportunity to enjoy an evening gazing at the stars through a high-quality telescope. Chat with local astronomers on hand to answer questions, you'll be delighted and amazed by what you see and learn!

Last but not least- Bird Hikes! These hikes are led by a local expert avian biologist. Westcave Preserve hosts over 170 species of birds throughout the year, including the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, among other beautiful resident and migrant bird species.

Tickets

Keep in Touch!