Texas Birding from Lake Buchanan to Matagorda Bay.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Whether you seek inland songbirds, little-brown-jobbers or long-legged shorebirds, chances are you won't be disappointed when visiting LCRA parks around the Hill Country Highland Lakes and along the Colorado River below Austin.

These spots are especially known for great birding opportunities.

--Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park at Lake Buchanan: Catch glimpses of three endangered species and a variety of other birds year-round at the park's 925 acres. Golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos nest from March through September. Special tours of their habitat are offered in spring and summer. Bald eagles roost from November through March, when the Vanishing Texas River Cruise takes visitors on a bald eagle tour up the Colorado River daily (except Tuesdays). Other birds of interest include American white pelicans, zone-tailed hawks, many warbler species, indigo buntings, Franklin's and laughing gulls, black-throated sparrows, yellow-breasted chats and American pipits.

--McKinney Roughs Nature Park on the Colorado River: Located just 13 miles east of Austin, the park hosts bird species found in the post oak savannah, blackland prairie, East Texas piney woods and Central Texas Plateau regions of Texas. Sixteen miles of trails wind through habitats that attract changing populations year-round. Birds of particular note: a regularly nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks, dark-eyed juncos, pine warblers and bald eagles along the river in winter.

--Matagorda Bay Nature Park at the Gulf Coast: LCRA's newest park, scheduled to open in summer 2006, is the place to see coastal birds. Located on the eastern bank of the old Colorado River channel in East Matagorda Bay, the park's wetlands, marshes, uplands, coastal shoreline and riverbank provide habitat for a diverse bird population. The endangered piping plover and other plover species roost here in winter. Roseate spoonbills, heron species, black-necked stilts, cormorants, northern harriers, white-tailed hawks, and owls (short-eared, barn and great-horned) are common. The park offers wetlands kayak tours, walking trails and outdoor education and recreation programs. The park is included in the annual Mad Island Marsh Christmas Bird Count, which typically records the largest number of species in North American Christmas bird counts.

For more information about LCRA parks, go to www.lcra.org or call 800-776-5272, Ext. 3366, for a free parks brochure.

Melanie Pavlas is an environmental coordinator at LCRA. You can contact her at 800-776-5272, Ext. 7406, or [e-mail].