Saturday, May 4,  7:30 AM – 10:30 AM
$50 per person, max. 20 people

Experience a morning of birding at Shield Ranch! Winner of the Victor Emanuel Conservation Award for 2022 for their El Ranchito summer camp, Shield Ranch offers something exceptionally rare in our rapidly urbanizing community—a truly wild place.

Shield Ranch was established in 1938 as a family ranch. Located along six and a half breathtaking miles of Barton Creek just 18 miles southwest of downtown Austin, these 6,400 acres are protected through conservation easements with The Nature Conservancy and the City of Austin. Decades of intentional land stewardship have created a mosaic of habitats and a diverse community of native plants and animals. Spring on the ranch is an exciting time to look for birds, including the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler.

Our host will be Bob Ayres, an owner of Shield Ranch. Chris Gunter, TAS Board Member, will be the bird guide. We will meet at the Ranch and gather into the fewest number of vehicles to carpool to our trailhead. You can expect the terrain to be typical ranch two-track roads and rocky, uneven trails of moderate difficulty. At 10:30, we will take a break at the ranch house, and those who can stay longer are welcome to continue birding with Bob until noon.

Learn more and register for this trip by navigating to our events calendar and selecting the event.

Can't attend but want to support this fundraiser? Use the Donate button on the righthand side of this page to make a contribution!

Birdathon is Travis Audubon’s most entertaining way to engage in our mission to protect native birds! Teams of birders compete to see as many birds during one trip as possible. All registration fees and team donations benefit Travis Audubon. All skill levels are welcome to join a trip, start a team, or compete as an individual.