Balcones Songbird Festival

The Balcones Canyonlands Songbird Festival is an annual celebration of nature through a collection of interpretive events designed to help you experience both bird species and their habitat. Experienced guides host bird walks on closed portions of the refuge and help birders from around the world add to their life lists.

Schedule:

7:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Balcones Songbird Festival: Hill Country Birding (Hargis/McGrath)

Tour Description:

Join top Texas birders to look for special Hill Country birds that nest on the Refuge. This tour makes multiple stops along one of the quietest, birdiest country roads in western Travis County, and then brief stops at Doeskin, Flying X and Simons, affording participants the opportunity to see and hear many of the breeding and spring migrant birds of the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau. The trip leader is familiar with these birds and their vocalizations, and will strive to get scope views for all participants of most of the target birds on the route. We do not specifically target Golden-cheeked Warbler, but occasionally encounter them on this route. In addition to the targets mentioned below, we also often see spring migrants including Raptors, Flycatchers and various smaller birds.

Targets: Wild Turkey, Cave Swallow, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Summer Tananger, Painted Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Bell's Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo (migrant, but singing), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow and occasionally Vermillion Flycatcher, Canyon Towhee and Black-throated Sparrow.

Guide(s): Shelia Hargis and Cheryl McGrath

Shelia Hargis was first introduced to the amazing world of birds during the summer of 1996 when she took an Introduction to Birds class taught by Fred and Marie Webster. She encountered her first male Painted Bunting, and her world transformed! She quickly slid down the slippery slope into obsession and has happily remained there for over 25 years. She spends most of her free time birding or thinking about birds. (She spends some of her work time thinking about birds too, but please don’t tell her boss!)

Transportation:
Tour attendees will be transported via 15-passenger van. This tour will include birding from the van, as well as some walking, including areas of uneven, rocky roads and trails.

Location: BCNWR Headquarters

7:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Balcones Songbird Festival: Hill Country Birding (Stone/Hardway)

Tour Description:

Join top Texas birders to look for special Hill Country birds that nest on the Refuge. This tour makes multiple stops along one of the quietest, birdiest country roads in western Travis County, and then brief stops at Doeskin, Flying X and Simons, affording participants the opportunity to see and hear many of the breeding and spring migrant birds of the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau. The trip leader is familiar with these birds and their vocalizations, and will strive to get scope views for all participants of most of the target birds on the route. We do not specifically target Golden-cheeked Warbler, but occasionally encounter them on this route. In addition to the targets mentioned below, we also often see spring migrants including Raptors, Flycatchers and various smaller birds.

Targets: Wild Turkey, Cave Swallow, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Summer Tananger, Painted Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Bell's Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo (migrant, but singing), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow and occasionally Vermillion Flycatcher, Canyon Towhee and Black-throated Sparrow.

Guide(s): Dr. Byron Stone and Rob Hardway

Dr. Byron Stone is an Austin physician and naturalist with a lifelong love of the outdoors. He has been an avid birder for over three decades, and has traveled all parts of Texas to observe birds and wildlife. His identification talents have been touted in the Wall Street Journal as well as other prominent sources. Dr. Stone is the Past President of the Texas Ornithological Society.

Rob Hardway (bio pending)

Transportation:
Tour attendees will be transported via 15-passenger van. This tour will include birding from the van, as well as some walking, including areas of uneven, rocky roads and trails.

Location: BCNWR Headquarters

7:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Balcones Songbird Festival: Birding the Plateaus and Springs (Osborne/Plappert)

Tour Description:

Located in the northwestern portion of Balcones Canyonlands NWR, this tour offers a great chance to see and hear many wonderful bird species found in the dry, rocky upland savannas and shrublands of the Texas Hill Country. We will also visit a natural spring nestled within a beautiful lush woodland area which attracts an interesting variety of songbirds, as well as other animals.

In the woodlands, we will target the Federally Endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, Cooper's Hawk, and Black-and-white Warbler.

In the drier upland savannas and shrublands, we will target the Black-capped and Bell's Vireos, Crested Cascara, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo and Painted bunting, Scott's Oriole, Scissor-tailed and Vermilion Flycatchers, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Verdin, Common Ground-Dove and Canyon Towhee.

Guide(s): Jeff Osborne and Joseph Plappert

Jeff Osborne was born in Madison Wisconsin, and spent as much time as he could outside while growing up. His first real appreciation of birds really came through hunting, and he eagerly learned the silhouettes of all the likely ducks to be encountered before going out to the blind in the early morning. One of his favorite all time birds is still the Ruffed Grouse that he first encountered during this time. In his 20’s he bought hi first real camera, learned how it worked, and practiced taking photos of many wildlife subjects, including the wintering eagles that fished on the Wisconsin River.

Joseph Plappert is an Urban Wildlife Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. As an Urban Biologist, Joseph performs professional planning, management, research and public outreach associated with wildlife, habitat and natural resource management.

Transportation:
Tour attendees will be transported via 15-passenger van. This tour will include birding from the van, as well as some walking, including areas of uneven, rocky roads and trails.

Location: BCNWR Headquarters

7:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Balcones Songbird Festival: Birding the Plateaus and Springs (Kothmann/DiFiore)

Tour Description:

Located in the northwestern portion of Balcones Canyonlands NWR, this tour offers a great chance to see and hear many wonderful bird species found in the dry, rocky upland savannas and shrublands of the Texas Hill Country. We will also visit a natural spring nestled within a beautiful lush woodland area which attracts an interesting variety of songbirds, as well as other animals.

In the woodlands, we will target the Federally Endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, Cooper's Hawk, and Black-and-white Warbler.

In the drier upland savannas and shrublands, we will target the Black-capped and Bell's Vireos, Crested Cascara, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo and Painted bunting, Scott's Oriole, Scissor-tailed and Vermilion Flycatchers, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Verdin, Common Ground-Dove and Canyon Towhee.

Guide(s): Lee Kothmann and Paul DiFiore

Lee Kothmann is a naturalist and founder of Restore Texas, a land and wildlife company focused on native restoration. His lifelong love of the land developed early on a family ranch and camping across Texas. His first undergraduate class was ornithology, sparking an interest that continued into his career. Lee has conducted bird surveys for over 15 years for Plateau Wildlife, Audubon, Hill Country Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Concordia University, the Vanishing Texas River Cruise, and the National Park system.

Paul DiFiore (bio pending)

Transportation:
Tour attendees will be transported via 15-passenger van. This tour will include birding from the van, as well as some walking, including areas of uneven, rocky roads and trails.

Location: BCNWR Headquarters

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Balcones Songbird Festival: Identifying Bird Song

Tour Description:

Want a unique experience to improve your birding skills by learning bird songs?  This tour is for you! Wherever there are birds, there are bird songs. Birds songs and other vocalizations provide a wealth of information that birders can use to quickly identify familiar birds, distinguish between closely related species, and decipher some of the more complex communications that go on between birds.

The tour alternates between brief discussions of bird song and listening to (and seeing) the springtime birds that vocalize at the Refuge.

You will be a better birder after this class.

Guide(s): Jack Cochran

Jack Cochran is a retired analytical chemist with a lifelong love of the natural world. His initial interest was birds and he eventually expanded to butterflies, dragonflies and moths. Jack’s other hobbies include wildlife photography and community science through iNaturalist, where he is a prolific poster. He is a Texas Master Naturalist in the Good Water Chapter, located in Georgetown, Texas.

Transportion:
This tour will take place outside at Refuge Headquarters. This is a hiking tour. No van transportation will be provided.

Location: BCNWR Headquarters