OUR MISSION: The Mission of the Fort Worth Audubon Society is to promote awareness, appreciation and understanding of birds and other wildlife while preserving and protecting their natural habitat.
FORT WORTH AUDUBON SOCIETY GENERAL MEETINGS
Monthly General Meetings are held September through May on the second Thursday of each month. The meetings are free and open to all who wish to attend. Meeting time: Program starts at 7:00PM. Refreshments and socializing are available starting at 6:30 PM. Meeting Location: Two ways to join the monthly meetings: In Person and on-line on Zoom In Person: UNT Health & Science Center RES Bldg., Room 100 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. Click here for School Map.
Virtual (streaming) via Zoom: Click on the Orange button below. The meeting room will be opened at about 6:30PM.
The next General Meeting will be on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Note: this meeting will be live in-person and will also be streamed on Zoom. We will meet at our usual ‘live’ meeting location. (see details on the left side of this page for watching the live stream.) The program will be: Member’s Slide Show. Our members submitted their favorite photos and videos. The PowerPoint will be arranged and edited by Jim Jones
At our April Meeting , the General Membership voted to approve
these nominations for 2024-2025 Board Member Positions
President: ……………….Chuck Baskin ………………….Directors-at-large: ………………………..Committee Chairs:
V.P. Programs:…………..Debbie Branch ……………………Jean Ferguson ………………………………Membership:…Joy Havnor
V.P. Field Trips:………….Tom Haase ………………………..Jennifer Casey ………………………………Education:…….Jim Jones
Treasurer: ………………..Vicki Moore ……………………….Scott Hollinger ……………………………..Grants:………….Karen Rice
Recording Secretary:...Amanda Brochu …………………..Donna Percy ………………………………….Bird Counts:….Michael Perez
Newsletter Editor:…….Michael Francis…………………….Debbie Simek……………………………….Hospitality:……Julie Perez
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Webpage:………Jim Jones/Michael Francis
OPEN Positions: Conservation Chair; Pubicity; Texas Audubon Representative
Let a Board Member know if you are interested in joining the Board
Field Trips and Local Monthly Birding Walks
Tom Haase is our Field Trip Chairperson for the 2023-2024 Season. Do you have a suggestion for a local or Overnight destination birding trip? Let Tom know. Use the Contact Us section and Tom will get in touch with you.
April 22, 2024 thru April 26, 2024: San Antonio, TX, and the Coastal Bend of Texas. READ MORE HERE
Saturday, April 27, 2024,
Annual Spring Bird Count
See the post in our Events Calendar
5/2/24 Big Sit at Richland Chambers WMA
Join Ted Drozdowski and his team in the 2024 Great Texas Birding Classic. Ted has chosen a spot at the eastern end of Cells 5 & 7, a splendid location for both waterfowl, raptors and woodland species. Last year we recorded over 90 species! Registration Deadline is April 1. See the details in our Events Calendar.
Local Monthly Bird Walks
Click on the Trip titles that are underlined for more details about each trip.
- 1st Friday Feathers – Kelly Park, Arlington
- 2nd Saturday – Foster Park, Ft. Worth
- 2nd Wednesday – Village Creek Drying Beds, Arlington
- 3rd Tuesday – Oliver Park, Mansfield
- 3rd Friday (February thru June ONLY) – Prairie Walk at Sid Richardson Tract (lake Benbrook)
Local Quarterly
Bird Walks
These walks are held at various times during the year. Go to the Events Calendar to see the dates or click on the Field Trip List button below.
Trinity Bird Walk / Clearfork Trinity River in Fort Worth.
Parr Park in Grapevine.
General Meetings
Past meetings are being added to our YouTube Channel. Click on the button to watch previous meetings. We apologize for our snafu in September. We will work on getting the meeting streamed live.
The next General Meeting is on April 11, 2024. The program is described above and in our Events Calendar. Please remember several of our former meetings are posted on YouTube channel. Click Here to visit our channel.
Ft. Worth Audubon Grants Process
Each year, the Fort Worth Audubon Society awards grants to organizations that support our mission of promoting awareness, appreciation and understanding of birds and other wildlife while preserving their natural habitat. Find more detailed information on our Grants Page. Download and complete the FWAS Grants Form Application for 2023-2024.
Injured Bird?
Have you found a wounded or orphaned bird or other animal? Please visit our Birding Resources page for contact information
Local Hot Spots
Tarrant County occupies nearly 900 square miles in the northeast central region of TX. It is blessed by a wide variety of habitats and geographical zones including: eastern and western cross-timbers, grand prairie, Blackland Prairie, and post oak savannah. Observers have recorded over 370 species of birds in Tarrant County (about 63% of all species documented for Texas.) Our members have many favorite birding locations which are shown on a Google map layer. Click here to view the map.
News for Birders
Fort Worth ISD Elementary School Students choose the Official Bird of the City: the Eastern Bluebird
The six elementary school team finalist for selecting an Official Bird of Fort Worth is now available. Each school has a video submission that can be viewed HERE. Vote for your favorite bird, or just enjoy watching young students discover how much fun it is to learn about wildlife.
Trip Report for Dual State Birding Trip, Sep. 24 to Sep. 27, 2023
Acreage opened to public on
Lake Benbrook shoreline
Last Fall, The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers updated the 1972 Master Plan for lands surrounding Lake Benbrook. The new Master Plan designates more than 1,100 acres as Environmentally Sensitive Areas for preservation. There is a very good article about the new designation on the GreenSourceDFW website. FWAS member Suzanne Tuttle will be leading a new Prairie Walk four times a year to the Sid Richardson Tract on the southeast shoreline of the lake (just east of Mustag Park.)
The 2023 Challenge is over. Visit the website listed below to see a list of winners. Want to participate in 2024? Share your sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, tips, choices, volunteering, cool DIY projects and post on a social media website. Make sure to use the hashtag #MyEarthMyTexas starting April 1st and ending April 22.
Follow @earthsharetexas for all the updates and useful tips! To be eligible for prizes, register your handle for free
at www.earthshare-texas.org/my-earth-my-texas
Migratory Bird Conservation Bill passed by the Senate
The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act has been passed in the Senate! This legislation would reauthorize and enhance the bipartisan Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which protects the habitats of migratory birds all along their seasonal routes. Now the president must sign it into law. Read more here….
Fall 2023 Lights Out Fort Worth has begun. The Survey Dates will be from September 11 to December 1. You can make a difference by volunteering to join a survey. Click here to download the Volunteer’s Form.
TCA’s Lights Out Fort Worth team (LOFW) successfully completed its first season of bird-window collision how each school surveys in downtown Fort Worth for Spring, 2023.
The spring surveys were conducted over a 9-week period, resulting in a total of 124 recorded birds that encompassed 32 individual species and 20 families. Click on the Full Report button to read the full report.
2023 Grant Awards
Four $1,000 grants were awarded
- Bednarz & Kaleta – UNT Dept of Biological Science – Survival of wintering Kestrels and annual movement ecology of Kestrels in north Texas
- NPSOT – North Central Chapter of the Native Plant Society of TX (NPSOT) – White Settlement Monarch Waystation enhancement.
- Compson & Daniels – UNT Dept of Biological Science – Reinvestigating the diets of Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Painted Buntings and White-eyes Vireos using fecal DNA metabarcoding.
- River Legacy Nature Center – Replacement of signage at the bird blind.
A new travel book about wildlife and nature destinations was recently made available. The book, Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas – Fort Worth by Amy Martin offers a natural history, ecology, and geography of North Texas. FWAS has a featured role in the section on the Village Creek Drying Beds. For more information and where to buy, go to: https://wild-dfw.com.
Conservation at the Fort Worth Prairie Park
Fort Worth Audubon Society offers three $1,000 grant recipients each year. One of the recipients, the Great Plains Restoration Council, has already put the money to good use and sent us a wonderful report full of great pictures. Their project was grassland nesting bird habitat restoration through diversity and inclusion community engagement.
Photo journal Fort Worth Prairie Project – place pointer on photo for description of activity.
Use your mouse ‘wheel’ to scroll through photos.
Member’s Photo Gallery – Use your mouse ‘wheel’ to scroll through photos.
Member’s Photo Gallery
Partners in our Mission
The Fort Worth Audubon Society shares the resources of several organizations whose mission is similar to ours. These resources provide information about birds and the habitats located in North Central Texas. Included are affilieate Audubon Society organizarions, rare bird alerts and Birds of North Central Texas. In addition, we consider the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EarthShare of Texas and the Native Plant Society our partners. Website visitors can access our partner information by clicking “Birding Resources”.