BIRDS AND SPIDERS

2210 South FM 973
Austin, TX 78725
Google Map directions 

(Please note that if you search your online maps for “Hornsby Bend” or even “Hornsby Bend Center for Environmental Research,” you may get the wrong place. PLEASE use the address or directions link provided.)

Classroom is located in the brick building just inside the security gate to Hornsby Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant. Check in with the gate guard, let them know you are in the CAMN class. There is plenty of free parking. The CER has an auditorium (to the right as you enter), bathrooms, water fountain, etc.  See the Hornsby Site Map for more details.

Date: 02/24/2018
Start time: 7:30 am
End time: 4 pm

Class Agenda

Lunch

Bring your own lunch. Plenty of space to spread out and eat lunch inside or outside if the weather is good.

Where to Park

In the parking lot just inside the guard gate, next to the visible building. There is plenty of parking. Just let the guard at the gate know that you are here for a CAMN class.

Class Speakers

Dr. Rich Kosteke

• Rich Kosteke has spent the last 19 years birding and conducting ornithological research in Texas. He earned his PhD in Wildlife Science from Texas Tech University in 2002, where his research focused on wetland management and migratory waterbirds. Rich’s first job after completing his PhD was with The Nature Conservancy’s Fort Hood Program, a cooperative effort with the Army to monitor and manage endangered species (Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked Warblers) and their habitats. In 2011, Rich assumed his current state-wide role as Associate Director of Conservation – Research & Planning for The Nature Conservancy in Texas. His recent research projects include assessing the status of Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked Warblers on Nature Conservancy preserves, assessing the impacts of large-scale wildfires on the birdlife of the Davis Mountains, and the winter ecology of Sprague’s Pipits on the Texas Gulf Coast. Rich is often accompanied by his wife, Veena Mohan, on his birding adventures.

Joe Lapp, aka Spider Joe

• “Spider Joe” lives a dual life as an arachno-naturalist and a software architect, studying spider taxonomy as part of a larger effort to help citizen scientists learn to identify spiders, and creating software technologies that hopefully will usher in a future in which everyone naturally contributes to the taxonomic understanding of the world.

How to Prepare

• Dress for the weather. We will be outside for 2-3 hours.
• Bring your own lunch.
• Be sure to bring:
  • Binoculars
  • Bird field guide if you’ve got it
  • A sack lunch!
  • Notebook
  • Pen/pencil
  • Reusable coffee mug/thermos
  • Reusable water bottle
• Curriculum Units to Read:
  • Unit 12: Ornithology
  • Unit 13: Entomology

Outdoor Component Description

We will carpool and take a mid-morning drive around the Hornsby Bend ponds and hike the trails along the Colorado River. Trainees should come dressed for the weather; long pants, closed-toe shoes, warm clothing, hat and water are recommended. Bring a bird and/or spiper field guide if you have it and binoculars. A small backpack or vest with pockets is recommended to store any gear you bring along.