Wildlife
The following lists of plants and animals on this page are in Adobe Acrobat format. Get Adobe Acrobat Reader.

A Special Place
Acquiring the Refuge represents one of the last opportunities to obtain and manage a large block of the Texas Hill Country habitat. The Refuge, first established in 1992 with a boundary including 80,000 acres, will be important in conserving the natural diversity of the Balcones Canyonlands ecosystem, including all the unique species and the habitat upon which they depend. The Refuge hopes to acquire at least 46,000 acres to conserve and protect the nesting habitat of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo.

Habitats
The Edwards Plateau of central and West-Central Texas is an elevated expanse of land over 35,000 square miles in area. It is bordered on the south and east by the Balcones Escarpment, also known as Balcones Canyonlands or as the Texas Hill Country. This deeply dissected region of the Plateau contains many steep-banked streams and canyons.

Beneath the surface of the Plateau lies the karst habitat, an underground honeycomb of caves, sinkholes and springs. Various spiders, beetles, and other creatures inhabit this below-ground world and are unique to this area of Texas. Even deeper below the surface lies the Edwards Aquifer, which stores billions of gallons of water that supply drinking water for the almost one million people in San Antonio area. The aquifer is also the source of many Central Texas springs and the many beautiful Hill Country rivers, which eventually flow into the marshes, estuaries, and bays along the Texas coast. Protection of the springs is vital to the plants and animals that depend on the purity of the water.

The vegetation found in the Hill Country includes various oaks, elms, and Ashe juniper trees (called cedar in Texas). The endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo depend of different successional stages of this vegetation. Both of these birds nest in the Edwards Plateau, the Warbler exclusively

To view or download a list of plants found on the refuge click here: Plant list.pdf

Birds
Migrant Songbirds
At Home in Texas and the Tropics

Many of our most common and colorful birds of Central Texas do not belong to us alone. They may spend the spring and summer months nesting in our region, but they leave to spend the winter in Mexico, Central and South America. Species of birds that exhibit this dual residency are called neotropical migrants. The yearly migrations of many of these birds, often covering thousands of miles over ocean and other inhospitable terrain, rank among the most incredible wildlife journeys known.

Neotropical migrants appear to be among the bird species most threatened by human caused changes in the environment. Many of these species are unable to adapt to the clearing of forests and brushlands for residential and commercial developments, grazing for livestock, and farm crops. A number of the migrants are vulnerable to nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird, a species of blackbird, which is attracted to domestic livestock and grain.

To view or download a list of birds found on the refuge click here: Bird List. pdf

Insects
The refuge harbors a remarkable diversity of species of butterflies, dragonflies and other insects. The refuge is within a major migration corridor for Monarch butterflies moving southward to their wintering roost areas in the mountains of central Mexico. This passage of Monarchs is in the fall and corresponds with the celebration of National Wildlife Refuge Week.

To view or download a list of butterflies and moths found on the refuge click here: Butterfly and Moth list .pdf

To view or download a list of dragonflies found on the refuge click here: Dragonfly list.pdf

Reptiles and Amphibians
Among the many reptiles and amphibians that are common to central Texas, the refuge is home to the whitethroat slimy salamander and the cliff chirping frog. Both inhabit the moist crevices of ravines and caves. Karst protection strategies and water quality enhancement will support viable habitat for the salamander and chirping frog.

To view or download a list of reptiles and amphibians found on the refuge click here: Amphibian and Reptile list.pdf

Mammals
To view or download a list of mammals found on the refuge click here: Mammals list.pdf

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