Look Out Above - Travis Audubon Society

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Written By Abigail Dees
 
“What I remember:
my breathless body as I look into the wildness above,
raptors flying, diving, stooping, bodies of light, talismans, incantations, dust of the gods. Creatures of myth,
they hang in the sky like questions. They promise
nothing, indifferent to everything but death.
Still, still, I catch myself gasping, neck craned up,
follow the circles they build out of sky, reach
for their brutal mystery, the alien spark of more.”
— Someday I Will Visit Hawk Mountain by M. Soledad Caballero
 
 

In a sudden blur of movement, blue jays swarmed the sky above where Cheney and I stood. Stunned by the marvel of what happened, we looked up at the trees to find five or six birds bending their necks as they listened to bird calls emanating from the phone in my hand.

This mystifying experience came unexpectedly while taking pictures at Blair Woods Nature Preserve, a conservation funded by Austin’s independent chapter of the National Audobon Society. Drift Photographer Cheney and I initially went out to the preserve to capture photos of wildlife, but after attracting a swarm of blue jays, we left with more than we set out for.

To find out more about bird-watching, I spoke with Caley Zuzula, Travis Audubon’s program manager. She helped me understand the positive impacts birding can have on individuals and communities. 

Zuzula began her birdwatching journey in 2015 before earning her master’s degree in conservation biology at Texas State. Her summer job as a naturalist in Costa Rica required her to observe and study birds. She immediately fell in love with the tranquility and groundedness of her work. 

“Learning and listening for birds, you end up noticing so many other things too,” Zuzula said. “It allows you to stop and look at everything around you. It’s really peaceful.”

The mission of Travis Audobon, a non-profit corporation founded in 1952, recognizes the connection between, “conserving the wildlife habitat and the ecological balance necessary for healthy, sustainable and habitable communities.” They host free field trips where experienced birders guide groups of novice birdwatchers through sanctuaries. They also provide classes on birding for all levels of experience, even hosting youth birding camps in the summer.

 
 

Their efforts to include the community not only get people interested in bird-watching but actively encourage efforts towards environmentalism. One of Travis Audubon’s conservation endeavors is the Lights Out initiative, which educates Austin citizens on the effects of light pollution on birds’ migration. 

“It’s about having people learn what’s possible and having them make a choice that they’re comfortable with,” Zuzula said. 

Birds use the moon and stars at night to navigate during migration — light pollution from cities interferes with their navigation. When birds become disoriented by city lights, they often fly into buildings, lose their way, or, fall from flight out of exhaustion. 

Travis Audubon’s efforts to dim city lights have reduced Austin’s light pollution significantly. “It’s been going well,” Zuzula said. “A lot more people in Austin have learned about turning off their lights for migrating birds.”

 
 

Although birding might sound like a very niche hobby, reserved for ornithologists and conservationists, recent surveys found birding is the fastest-growing outdoor recreational activity in the US. 

“Some of the best birders… almost none of them have a background in conservation,” Zuzula said. “One is a child psychologist, one is a professor in nutrition, one of them is a criminologist, one is an ecotherapist — they’re some of the best birders I've ever met.”

 
 

Travis Audubon hosts Purple Martin Parties in the summer, a popular event where people watch Purple Martins fly into their roosts in Austin during their trip southward.

After volunteers discover the sites, Travis Audubon sends out the signal and crowds put down chairs to watch the miraculous display of Purple Martin’s, igniting the sky above with their captivating motion. Last year, the martins gathered in flocks at the Capitol Plaza off of 1-35, a shopping center containing mattress stores and chain restaurants.

“They have this interesting behavior where they’re migrating back south for the winter and stop at these roosting sites,” Zuzula said. “Somehow, they know where these roosting sites are along their route. Hundreds of thousands of them will crowd into these trees.”

Before descending into their roosts for the night, the Purple Martins participate in an aerial show. 

“One of the reasons they're so popular in art is that they can go wherever they want, whenever they want,” Zuzula said. “They can fly. I think that's something that people find really inspirational about birds. It’s just so fascinating — they somehow know how to do it.” 

 
Photos by Cheney Stephenson
Abigail Dees
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