Balcones Canyonlands NWR celebrating Refuge Week
“As part of the national wildlife refuge system, (Refuge Week) is something we do to celebrate the system as well as the Balcones Canyonlands refuge,” said refuge worker Robert Iski.
Doeskin Ranch is located about five miles north of RR 1431 on FM 1174 east of Marble Falls.
“There are a lot of things going on Saturday that people can come out and enjoy,” Iski said. “For us one of the big things is the hawk migration. Every year, hawks migrate from the plains and northern states through Texas on their way to places such as Argentina.”
October is one of the months hawks take the flyway through Texas on their way to South America.
The Texas Hill Country offers a place to observe hawks for several reasons. Iski said one of the hawk behaviors people might be able to see Saturday is called “kettling.”
“It looks like a mini tornado made up of as many as 70 hawks,” he said. “What they’re doing is trying to get a ride up on hot air coming off the surface (also known as thermals). This helps them get higher in the sky. And if there is a north wind blowing, it helps carry the hawks south. It can be pretty exciting.”
Typically, the hawk migration and kettling is best observed in the morning when the thermals haven’t lifted the hawks several thousand feet above the surface, Iski said.
Doeskin Ranch is open to the public at sunrise but the Refuge Week activities begin at 8:30 a.m. And hawks aren’t the only creatures migrating south.
Iski said monarch butterflies are also making their annual trip to Mexico.
“Some of them come from as far away as Minnesota and the Canadian border,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get some people to help tag some of (the monarch butterflies).”
Like the hawks, Iski said the monarchs are best observed in the morning or in the evening.
“But it’s also a lot like fishing when it comes to seeing monarch butterflies or the hawks,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll be around and sometimes you won’t see any. It just really depends on the day and where the migration is at.”
There’s plenty of other things to do during the Refuge Week celebration in addition to hawk and butterfly watching.
Refuge staff members and volunteers will lead several guided walks during the day. From 8:30-10:30 a.m. there is a Birds and Butterflies for Beginners walk and Animals on the Move.
Budding photographers can get some tips during the Nature Photography workshop from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
“Spider Joe” Lapp will lead a Spider Walk from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Officials ask people to RSVP for the photography and spider programs.
Other walks include Nature Walk (10:30 a.m.-noon; 1:30-3 p.m.), Native Grasses Walk (2:30-4 p.m.), Useful Native Plants Walk (3-5 p.m.), Dragonflies and Damselflies (noon-1:30 p.m.) and Bizarre Water Creatures (10 a.m.-4 p.m.).
“We have a small pond (at Doeskin Ranch) and there are lots of ‘bizarre creatures’ in it,” Iski said. People are invited to help catch some of the bizarre creatures from 9-10 a.m.
For those with an interest in serpents, Robert Lindsey will present “Snakes Alive!” from 12:15-1 p.m.
“There are a lot of things going on,” Iski said. “It’s going to be lots of fun.”
But Iski pointed out the refuge (particularly Doeskin Ranch) is available during the year for people to hike, observe animals and enjoy.
“Doeskin Ranch is open almost every day of the year, except for a few weekends in the fall and winter when we have our hunts. But people will be able to tell if they pull up to the parking lot if there’s hunt going on,” Iski said. “Other than those days, it’s open from sunrise to sunset.”
For more information or to RSVP, call (512) 339-9432.
daniel@thepicayune.com