Travis Audubon

Meet Our Bird of the Week: The Reddish Egret

The Reddish Egret puts on a great show! It is one of the most fun birds to watch, as it hunts for fish in shallow tidal pools. It hops, pivots, flaps and darts through the water trying to catch fish, and its movements often look like a crazy dance. Most of the other egrets hold very still, and wait for prey to come to them. The Reddish Egret usually chases down their prey. Try to imagine the difficulty and skill required to catch a fast-swimming fish with your mouth!

Learn more about the Reddish Egret here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/bird-of-the-week-reddish-egret

Did You Know?

Despite their wide range and once-familiar presence, Common Nighthawks (this week’s bird of the week) are quietly declining. Changes in land use, reduced insect populations, and urban threats have all taken a toll. Still, on warm evenings, their aerial dances continue—a reminder that even in the space between day and night, life is in motion.

Building bird-friendly communities is essential to protecting the many species that call Travis County their home. Find out what you can do here. https://travisaudubon.org/what-you-can-do

Volunteer Spotlight: John Bloomfield

For nearly three years, John Bloomfield, Travis Audubon President, has helped guide Travis Audubon through a period of extraordinary growth. As he prepares to step down from the presidency, John leaves behind not only a stronger organization, but a lasting legacy of leadership, conservation, and community.

Read the full spotlight here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/june-volunteer-spotlight-draft

Meet our Bird of the Week: The Common Nighthawk!

As the light fades in the evening, you may see a long-winged silhouette against the dimming light—looping, gliding, and darting with effortless grace. This is the Common Nighthawk, a master of twilight that turns the evening air into its hunting ground.

To learn more about the Common Nighthawk, click here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/bird-of-the-week-common-nighthawk

Which birds should you watch for in June?
Here’s the Central Texas bird forecast for the month, courtesy of Travis Audubon.

Every year it’s always a surprise when the faucet of migrating warblers and other birds pouring through central Texas turns off. One day they are here, and then…crickets.
But there are birds out there, including two bright blue songbirds that may help lessen your warbler withdrawal symptoms and early summer doldrums. We have colorful Blue Jays and Eastern Bluebirds year-round, but for a June challenge search out less common Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings.

To read the full June Bird Forecast, click here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/bird-forecast-june

You See a Window, A Bird Sees a Path Forward

Birds typically crash into windows either due to seeing reflections of clear skies or vegetation, or because they see appealing potted plants on the other side. According to a 2014 study published by BioOne, between 365 million and 988 million birds die annually in collisions with buildings in the United States.

To learn more, click here. https://travisaudubon.org/buildingcollisions

The competition was steep, but we have selected the winners of our 2026 Greg Lasley Photography Contest. The contest, part of our Birdathon fundraiser, raised $934.79 for Travis Audubon through entry fees, and we’re grateful to each of the 25 photographers who entered. Your care for Texas’s lovely birds really shows through your photographs.

Both judges were impressed by the quality of this year’s submissions, and that’s saying something considering our judges’ qualifications: judge Dave Read won last year’s Greg Lasley Photography Contest with his stunning photo of a Barn Swallow in flight, and judge Liam Molina is Travis Audubon’s very own Communications & Marketing Specialist, a fabulous graphic designer who’s got an incredible artistic eye.

There were 180 photo entries spanning a gamut of bird species, from shorebirds to warblers. Without further ado, here are our winners!

Meet our Bird of the Week: The Tricolored Heron! 🏆

True to its name, the Tricolored Heron wears three colors at once. The upperparts, head, and neck are a soft, smoky blue-gray, often washed with lavender or purple in good light. What really sets a Tricolored Heron apart is how it hunts. Where a Great Blue Heron will stand statue-still and wait, and a Snowy Egret will hop and dash, the Tricolored Heron looks like it is rehearsing a ballet. It runs a few quick steps, freezes, pirouettes on one leg with the opposite wing held out, lunges, and starts again. Just before striking, it crouches so low that its belly often touches the water.

Learn more about the Tricolored Heron here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/bird-of-the-week-tricolored-heron
Written by Yvonne Karnath

Birdathon was all about celebrating spring migration, and we did that and so much more. Over 300 people participated in one or more of our Birdathon events, with a total of 461 event registrations. We birded from kayaks, in the mountains, along the coast, and through the prairie. Together with birders of every generation we spotted 256 unique species of birds across our Birdathon events, inspiring conservation with every bird we saw.

Our fabulous Birdathon trips raised $15,815 for Travis Audubon through registration fees, and we’re grateful to our trip leaders and partner organizations for making those excursions possible. Eighty cents of every dollar raised will go right back into our programs, including our year-round classes and trips. Thank you to everyone who joined us at one of our Birdathon events this year!

The rest of our $39,000 raised this Birdathon was a testament to the passion of supporters like you and our fundraisers. Our peer-to-peer fundraisers did a fantastic job, raising over $14,000 and spreading the word about bird conservation to their family and friends. We also couldn’t have run a successful Birdathon without this year’s sponsors:

Alamo Inn B&B, Gear & Tours
Eldorado Cafe Atx
Feather Friendly Bird Collision Deterrent Markers
Texas Rowing Center

Thanks, y’all!

Meet our Bird of the Week: The Greater Roadrunner!

Armed with a battery of physiological and behavioral adaptations, the Greater Roadrunner thrives in arid regions, in the Colorado foothills, and among the pines of western Louisiana. An opportunistic predator, it feeds on snakes, lizards, spiders, scorpions, insects, birds, rodents, and bats, which it beats repeatedly against a hard substrate before consuming.

Learn more about the Greater Roadrunner here. https://travisaudubon.org/murmurations/bird-of-the-week-greater-roadrunner