The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that Americans by the millions have adopted the pastime of birdwatching. A good number of people view birds in areas near their homes but some take a trip away from home in order to bird watch. A variety of publicly available birding sites are located in close proximity of Sun City Texas. Williamson County offers more than 400 kinds of birds and in addition, the state of Texas boasts the highest number of species of birds in all fifty states at 636. The retention ponds constructed in town to empty water coming from vehicle parking lots are home to of a lot of water birds including great blue herons, many varieties of egrets, wood ducks, and teals.
With the many water features, creeks and natural environments found in Sun City Texas that offer a perfect place for native and migratory wild birds, enthusiasts find many occasions to enjoy wild birds around the community. The Birding Special Interest Group is part of the Sun City Nature Club which advances the study of birds, particularly those indigenous to central Texas. The Birding Club provides a variety of research materials which include training books, digital video disks, audio tapes and various other resources which can be checked out from the library.
Men and women of the club get together for bird walks, field trips and monitor homes for birds in native habitats. Birds are extremely plentiful in Sun City Texas. You can regularly observe the flocks of wild turkeys that graze on the wild grasses that grow in the roughs of the golf courses. The bridge that crosses Berry Pond on Del Webb Boulevard houses a huge colony of cave swallows that build their mud nests among the concrete spans under the bridge.
There’s even a substantial number of turkey vultures that roost together in groups next to the banks of Berry Creek. They make gliding circles over the bridge and White Wing Golf Course. Known as the largest scavenger birds in the United States, the turkey vultures have established themselves here. Turkey vultures prefer open places which offer close by woods for nesting. This specific locale valued by the turkey vultures has numerous decayed, leafless trees which were victims of many years of drought and looks over the stream bed, an open field and a little further on, the golf course. Turkey vultures feed mainly on carrion such as squirrels and rabbits that often fall victim to vehicles in Sun City Texas.
Sun City Texas really is a bird watcher’s heaven due to the plentiful wooded areas, water supply and food choices accessible to birds. For individuals that love to monitor the growth and progress of newly hatched birds, there are lots of residents who welcome nest construction by simply setting up bird houses, offering bird seeds, and blooming plant life to beckon them. Furthermore there’s a wide range of hawk species attracted to the fields of natural vegetation, hummingbirds attracted to feeders in addition to vibrant flowers, and owls that track small vertebrates in the evening.
Lucky Sun City Texas residents have spotted the numerous huge road runners that are native to our area. Their habitat is shrubby country and road runners build a nest on a platform of sticks low in a cactus or a bush. They can be up to 2 feet in length, about half of which is tail. These are particularly valuable birds that feed on reptiles such as snakes, small rodents, spiders, scorpions and road kills. Two roadrunners will sometimes attack a relatively large snake cooperatively.
With wild bird walks scheduled twice each month, the Sun City Texas Birding Club arranges for members to partner and share their mutual appreciation for wild birds and get outdoors.
Before you retire, be sure to consider all of your options for living an active life in a community for individuals age 55 or greater. Learn more about the active adult lifestyle and buying a new or resale home from experts on Sun City Texas.. Also published at Bird Watchers Enjoy Sun City Texas.
