Central Texas Chapter Texas Master Naturalists

We love our nearby Mother Neff State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife and GTG Outdoors is really special, too. Gabe and Meagan GarMelo are passionate about making all kinds of amazing outdoor experiences available for kids and adults. It's great to see these two organizations "bridging" on a project! If you want more time outdoors without having to figure out what all you will need, check out Mother Neff State Park volunteer opportunities or GTG Outdoors events!

Y'all, go to Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation page and check out the top post about a free talk that Dr. Merlin Tuttle is doing in Austin this Saturday about "The Secret Lives of Bats" at Huston-Tillotson University at 1:00 p.m. Merlin is a world-renowned bat conservationist and also a friend of mine. He's a legend. Merlin is the man most responsible for convincing the City of Austin not to eradicate the bat colony under the Congress Ave. bridge and has stories for days about the crazy, sometimes scary stuff he's gone through in remote areas of the world to photograph and research bats. Joe Rogan had Merlin in for a podcast last year to talk about bats and was blown away. This would be super educational for kids, too. Merlin's website has the most incredible archive of bat photos on planet earth. This one is one of thousands. Merlin took this, of course.

© 2026 Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation

🏁 The worldwide ! 🏁 Today is the last day to get your entries in on iNaturalist! Post in the comments some of your amazing finds!

*How to Play*
🌱 Snap pics of nearby plants and wildlife.
📱 Upload to iNaturalist.org.
✅ iNat will identify what you see!
😎 You help document Texas’ incredible plant and animal life.
Find out more 👉🏽 tpwd.texas.gov/NatureChallenge and Texas Nature Trackers

Wow - Many Central Texans know we are in the Central flyway for bird migrations, enjoying hundreds of species of birds that live or pass through our great state. Last night, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, estimated 400 million birds (give or take a few) were in the air!

Last night was a big night for bird migration, with an estimated 400 million birds in the air around midnight!

Now is a great time to get outside and see what birds are passing through near you, so if you're looking for something to do this weekend, grab your binoculars and head outside in the morning to see what birds reached your area overnight!

BirdCast, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a great resource this time of year. By visiting their website, linked in the comments, you can view migration forecasts for your county or state, giving you an idea of what birds are moving through your area.