Meetings & Events
Bexar Audubon South Central Texas offers you engaging
presentations, enlightening topics, useful workshops,
and enriching discussions during our monthly meetings and other events.
Please join us!
Monthly Meeting - October
The Damming of Texas
with Dr. Larry McKinney (in-person)
Wednesday, October 22
6:00 pm (In-person) & 6:30 pm (Zoom)
Because Texas is so big and diverse, we have long taken its vast resources for granted and thought them unlimited. Water—or the lack of it—blew away that myth. The drought of the 1950s was the greatest environmental disaster to ever affect Texas, and the response to that disaster was the greatest engineering feat ever accomplished within our state’s borders—from almost no reservoirs before the drought to 196 major reservoirs today. This effort brought water from seemingly nowhere to everywhere and everybody. It has made the Texas we know today, but it came at a great cost to our fish, our wildlife, and our birds. It dramatically changed the face and future of our state, especially our coast. This talk looks at how that happened, what it means today, and the challenges we face in assuring the future health and productivity of our environment and the ecosystems that form it, especially our coast. The well-known saying about the canary in the coal mine extends to many Texas ecosystems, and birds are especially effective in telling us that story. They are also some of the species at greatest risk, and acting now is key to both their futures and ours. It would be a DAM shame if we fail.
Dr. Larry McKinney retired in 2020 after 17 years as Director of the Harte Research Institute (HRI) of TAMUCC. HRI is a trans-disciplinary institute dedicated to problem-solving research focused on the Gulf. He was also Senior Director for Aquatic Resources at TPWD for 23 years before HRI. At the agency his responsibilities spanned water related environmental issues, endangered species, fisheries, and conservation policy; he was the state’s first natural resource trustee. His 2020 Overview of the Gulf of Mexico has been one of the most cited sources on the Gulf since its publication. He is better known for his articles translating science into English as in his July 2021 TPWD Magazine article Texas Dead Zones and the September 2023, Birds Everywhere article, which he co-authored with Lisa Gonzalez, Executive Director of Audubon Texas. Larry is a member of the Audubon Texas State Board and the Coastal Bend Audubon Club.
In-person | 6:00 pm social | 6:30 meeting
Please sign up HERE if you plan to attend the meeting in person
Alamo Colleges District ACCESS Building, 2222 N. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX 78215
Zoom | 6:30 pm
Click HERE to Join Zoom Meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting ID: 897 9557 3998
Passcode: 467829
Find your local number to call in HERE
Approved for AAMN AT hours
Monthly Meeting - November
Beyond the Birds of Texas
Interesting things that won’t fit in a field guide
with David Sarkozi
Wednesday, November 12
6:00 pm (In-person) 6:30 pm (Zoom)
The Birds of Texas is big, 614 pages, but the truth is that is not enough space to tell the full story of the amazing birds of Texas.
There are just so many interesting things that just don’t fit in the format of a field guide. For example, one of the most common ducks in Texas is mostly nocturnal. And just who was Rivoli and Anna of hummingbird fame and how does that connect with Bond, James Bond?
BIO: David Sarkozi started birding as a teenager in central Texas. College distracted from that but after college it soon became an obsession. He has been birding for more than 30 years now and still has his first field guide. David has served as Chairman of the Houston Outdoor Nature Club – Ornithology Group, President of the Friends of Anahuac Refuge, and President of the Texas Ornithological Society. He served on the board of TOS for 16 years. David has completed two Texas Big Years, recording 500 species in 2015 and 509 species in 2017. In 2019 David completed the challenge of birding in every one of Texas’ 254 counties in a single year. David likes inventing birding games and created the Texas Local Patch Challenge and the Texas Century Club. David has written a new field guide to the Birds of Texas which was published in July 2025.
David will have copies of his new book Birds of Texas to sign and sell. Price is $25, which is less than current Amazon price. Cash, or credit/debit accepted.
In-person | 6:00 pm social | 6:30 meeting
Please sign up HERE if you plan to attend the meeting in person
Alamo Colleges District ACCESS Building, 2222 N. Alamo Street, San Antonio, TX 78215
Zoom | 6:30 pm
Click HERE to Join Zoom Meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting ID: 898 3384 5697
Passcode: 848642
Find your local number to call in HERE
Approved for AAMN AT hours
In Case You Missed It:
Bexar Audubon South Central Texas online presentations are available on YouTube
The Damming of Texas with Dr. Larry McKinney
Personal Habitat: 30 Years of Wildlife Gardening with Julie Zickefoose, Author
Texas Flies, Oh My! by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, Texas Master Naturalist
Birds and Weather by Dr. Michael Erb, Climate Scientist
Pesticides and Birds: A Toxic Relationship by Hardy Kern, American Bird Conservancy Director of Pesticides and Birds Campaign
Our Rewild Ranch Journey by Landowner Brice Maczygemba
Preserving the Night Sky and Reducing Light Pollution by Dr. Steven Grainger for Comal County Friends of the Night Sky
City Nature Challenge 2025: Birders Wanted by Jane Weeden and Peter Joseph Hernandez
Grassland Restoration at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center by Corina Solis
Hidden Hunters: Exploring Evolutionary Owl Adaptations by Owl Research Institute founder, Denver Holt
Easy Ways to Increase Access and Inclusion for Disabled Birders by Freya McGregor
The Paleohistory of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea Region, Antarctica, and Climate Change by Dr. Steve Emslie
Birding to Change the World:
A Conversation with author Dr. Trish O'Kane
Audubon Texas Conservation in ACTION
by Dr. Richard Gibbons
Flycatchers of North America
by Cin-Ty Lee
Bringing Nature Home Using Native Plants: A Personal Journey
by Craig Hensley
The Spiders of Central Texas by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers
Ferdinand Lindheimer: From Political Exile to "Father of Texas Botany" by Betty Keese
Recovering the Lost Words by David Cook
Land Stewardship for Birds: A Guide for Central Texas by Rufus Stephens & Jan Wrede
Raptors of Texas by Dr. Craig Farquhar
PowerPoints Slides Click Here.
Cats Indoors: Better for Cats, Better for Birds, Better for People by Grant Sizemore
Restoring and Creating Pollinator Habitats by Dr. Sean Griffin
Exposure of terrestrial birds to microplastic: The effects of urbanization and ecological traits
Presented by Alexis Baum
Ocelots in Texas: Conservation Challenges and Opportunities by Dr. Sharon Wilcox
30,000 Miles in Search of Godwits, from the Mexican Border to the Arctic Ocean by Bruce Beehler, PhD
The Strange and Wondrous Adaptations Birds Rely on to Get By: Dr. Roger Lederer
Lights Out: Safer Skies for Migrating Birds
by Dr. Tania Homayoun
Hog Island Audubon Camp Experiences in Maine by Yvette Stewart and Corina Solis
Anticoagulant Rodenticides and Raptors by Eres Gomez
Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Texas by Romey Swanson
New insights into the genetics of the Golden-Cheeked Warbler by Dr. Giri Athrey
Wingbeat Atlas: Bird Photography by Ken Butler and Poems by Lucy Griffith
Little (studied) Kite on the Prairie: Investigating the Ecology of Mississippi Kites by Dr. Ben R. Skipper of Angelo State University
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Birds of the World by Laura Kammermeier
Victoria Winter Hummingbirds by Dr. Brent Ortego
The Edwards Aquifer and San Marcos Springs by Gregg Eckhardt
Ethnobotany and the Appreciation of Native Plants by Maeve Bassett of San Antonio Botanical Garden
Golden-cheeked Warbler Important Bird Area Training Video presented by Jewell Cozort of SA Parks and Recreation Dept.
The Wonderful Wild of Texas: A Herping Big Year by Romey Swanson of Audubon Texas
"A Most Remarkable Creature" by author Jonathan Meiburg about caracaras
The Billion Birds Report and Texas by Richard Heilbrun, TPWD
Effects of Light and Noise on Birds by Dr. Jennifer Phillips of Texas A&M San Antonio
A Kingdom of Birds: Birding in Saudi Arabia by Greg Askew
All About Flycatchers by Craig Hensley, Texas Nature Trackers/TPWD
The Serengeti by Peter Roberts, Bird Guide
Doc & Martha: Matagorda Island Naturalists Documentary by Greg Pasztor
San Antonio Parks & Rec Natural Areas: An Opportunity to Connect People with Nature by Nature Preserve Officer Wendy Leonard
A House for Wren by Author Julie Beever
Balcony Birding in the Time of Coronavirus by Martin Reid
Wildscaping, Creating Habitat in Our Cities by Judit Green, TPWD
iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge by Craig Hensley, Texas Nature Trackers/TPWD
Birds of Prey by Matt Reidy, TPWD
Purple Martins78209 Project by Allison Hayne
Catios: Outdoor Cat Patios by Cynthia Chomos
To Burn or Not to Burn? By Maureen Frank, Texas A&M AgriLife
Building Bird-friendly Cities and Conservation Leaders for the Future by Yvette Stewart, Audubon Texas
Saving Birds One Building at a Time by Lynne Parks, Lights Out Baltimore
Introduction to Bats by Nyta Brown, Old Tunnel State Park
Damsels & Dragons by Craig Hensley, Texas Nature Trackers/TPWD
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