Barton Creek Habitat Preserve
with Rich Kosteke
Set aside to protect the nesting grounds of endangered songbirds, the 4000+ acres of Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, protected and stewarded by The Nature Conservancy, provides habitat and refuge for a multitude of plants and animals while protecting the waters that feed Barton Springs and replenish the Edwards Aquifer.
Surrounded by Austin, Barton Creek Habitat Preserve is a refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life and truly a world apart. This land is part of the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan. This plan was a compromise between environmental and development interests. (Note: Learn more about it on our Timeline.)
The Preserve provides refuge for endangered Golden-cheeked Warblers which nest and raise their broods in the oak-juniper wooded canyons and hills. The Golden-cheeked Warbler nests only in Texas, primarily in central Texas, where its habitat continues to be lost to development.
Black-chinned Hummingbird male.
Common Mestra Mestra amymone.
Engelmann's Sage Salvia engelmanniipg.
Grooved Nipple Cactus Coryphantha sulcata.
Northern Cardinal male.
Wild Turkey.
"A peaceful end to a day on the preserve; one can almost forget that the pressures of everyday urban/suburban life lie just outside the Preserve boundaries."
Rich Kosteke is an Austin-based conservation biologist whose work has focused on the conservation, ecology, and management of birds and their habitats in Texas. An avid naturalist, he thoroughly enjoys the biodiversity of the greater Austin area.