kaufman@maxzilla.Encore.COM (Lar Kaufman) (04/22/89)
I will be returning to Austin, Texas in a week after being gone for several years. In that period of time, I've become a birder. It looks like I'm going to miss the spring birding in New England, and I would guess that it's too late for the best of it in Austin. Where should I go immediately upon arriving in Austin/Central Texas? Wild Basin? WestCave Preserve? Enchanted Rock? Any tips will be appreciated. Guess I'll have to go look at those bald eagles on Lake Travis, eh? -lar "the only way boss Lar Kaufman <= my opinions to keep hope in the world is to keep changing its population frequently" kaufman@Encore.com
ysboston@cs.utexas.edu (Yee-Sing Tsai) (04/26/89)
In article <6276@xenna.Encore.COM> kaufman@maxzilla.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) writes: >I will be returning to Austin, Texas in a week after being gone for >several years. In that period of time, I've become a birder. It >looks like I'm going to miss the spring birding in New England, and I >would guess that it's too late for the best of it in Austin. Where >should I go immediately upon arriving in Austin/Central Texas? Wild >Basin? WestCave Preserve? Enchanted Rock? Any tips will be >appreciated. Guess I'll have to go look at those bald eagles on Lake >Travis, eh? I've just recently started birding, so I'm not sure if I'm up on all the best places, but all of the places that you mention are great. You might also try the national parks in Bastrop. It's gorgeous over there and the Pine Warblers are looking good. Also, just the general farmlands south of Austin and the hills to the north and west, although now you have to go out pretty far to get past the construction and the subdivisions. And then there is my group's expert birder Fred Webster who says that you can see alot of birds just by being observant around your home and setting up feeders and a good environment. He claims that he's seem over a hundred species of birds that way. Of course, he's been living in Austin a long time :-) Anyway, you should know that Texas is some of the best territory for birwatching and Austin is the center of that. Oh, just remembered that Wild Basin takes groups out to spot the Black-Capped Vireo. They can't go to the Black-Capped Vireo preserve because that's closed to human disturbance, but they take you to the best places to find one. The rest is up to you and your glasses. Welcome to Texas :-) YS -- Mother cooked a big breakfast. When she cleared off the table, she found a quarter and a dime and three pennies by Father's coffee cup. He'd tipped her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghostie * Austin,TX * (512) 471-1082 * ystsai@grumpy.cc.utexas.edu