The San Antonio area is renowned for its remarkable range of birdlife, and among the most popular locations for birders to share their enthusiasm is the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.
The Center’s Director Sara Beesley says it’s everything about place.
“San Antonio is actually located right in the middle of the central flyway,” Beesley said. “So just like humans have highways, birds have flyways. And so for a lot of different birds, Texas is a northernmost range for some of the southern species. And then the southernmost range for a lot of northern species.”
Beesley said for individuals who wish to know more about birds, the Audubon Center’s 1,200 acres is the perfect location. They can find out about the 350 types that live or rest there prior to the birds fly off to continue their journeys.
Sara Beesley
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Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
“Every Sunday, except for the fifth Sunday, we have bird tours, which are actually both walking and driving,” she said. “We have seven and a half miles of trails, but five of those are drivable in good weather.”
The Mitchell Lake Audubon Center likewise has a novice’s birding walk that’s developed for those who have an interest however very little bird understanding. She said they’ll learn a lot throughout the walk.
“Learning a little bit more about how to identify birds that they’re seeing, how to use binoculars, how to tell them difference by sound, even,” she said. “It’s a really great walk just for anybody getting started or even for people who are more advanced in their birdwatching skills. And that’s a short walk. It’s about a mile to a mile and a quarter along our ADA accessible trail.”
Sara Beesley
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Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
Beesley said the location’s natural qualities and its place in the main flyway in between Central America and the northern plains made it the ideal place for bird identifying.
“There are several different ecosystems that all come together right in San Antonio. So that variety of habitats with all these different kinds of flyways and regions coming together — that’s why we get so many different bird species,” she said.
More info is available at mitchelllake.audubon.org.
