Travis Audubon Society
3710 Cedar Street, Box 5
Austin, Texas 78705

512.300.BIRD (2473)
info@travisaudubon.org
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Last date updated:
July 01, 2009
Contents Copyright © 2006-07
Travis Audubon Society
Baker Sanctuary
Baker Sanctuary
telephone: 512.300-2473
e-mail Baker Sanctuary  
Please be patient; the Steward
is often out working on the
property.
BAKER SANCTUARY
EVENTS

FOR INFORMATION,
CLICK HERE.

Baker Sanctuary

The 690-acre Baker Sanctuary provides mature hardwood-juniper
woodland habitat for the Golden-cheeked Warbler, an endangered
songbird. Baker Sanctuary is open to Travis Audubon members and their
guests. The Jackie Arnold Education Center provides space for classes
and meetings. The historic Baker cabin is in the sanctuary, as is the Baker
family cemetery. A trail system is marked for hikers and birders.

The Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA) is a migratory bird that nests only in
about 33 counties in central Texas. The males arrive around mid-March
and begin establishing territories. The warblers need the Ashe juniper
bark that strips easily for nest material and the insects that live in the
canopy of oak trees and other hardwoods for food. The females arrive
around the end of March, and egg laying begins in early April. By the end of
July, the warblers fly to the mountainous areas of southern Mexico and to
east-central Guatemala, Honduras,and Nicaragua.

The main cause for the decline in the GCWA is the loss of breeding and
nesting habitat. Other causes of warbler decline are breeding habitat
degradation caused by grazing and range improvement, construction of
dams that flood the breeding habitat, oak wilt, parasitism of nests by
Brown-headed Cowbirds, fragmentation of breeding habitat, and the lack
of hardwood recruitment into the woodland canopy due to overbrowsing by
White-tailed Deer.

The GCWA was federally listed as an endangered species in 1990 and
was added to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's list of endangered
species in 1991. Because of its endangered status, the GCWA was
among several plant and animal species included for protection under a
regional habitat conservation plan called the Balcones Canyonlands
Conservation Plan (BCCP). The primary goal of this plan is to assemble
and manage over 30,000 acres in northwestern Travis County, called the
Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) system, to protect viable
populations for the species addressed in the plan. The Travis Audubon
Society has committed its Baker Sanctuary to the BCP system and is one
of several managing partners in the BCP. The Sanctuary uses a U. S. Fish
and Wildlife-approved management plan that specifies activities aimed at
ensuring the continued survival of the Golden-cheeked Warbler.

Travis Audubon was organized in the 1950's and its members were
among the first to recognize that the Golden-cheeked Warbler's habitat
was disappearing through urban development. TA members searched for
suitable land to begin a sanctuary and in 1966 purchased 94 acres.

In 1972, Chell Baker, who owned land adjacent to the original 94 acre
sanctuary, deeded his 536 acres to the TAS with a life estate for himself,
his sister and a friend of his. The third acquisition of land came in 1987
when Nelma Gholson and Carolyn Chamberlain donated 50 acres to the
TAS in memory of Grover Hatfield, Jr. In March of 2007, TAS acquired 9.83
acres adjacent to the parking lot on the original 94 acre sanctuary from
Ruth Fredericksen.
Baker Cabin in Snow
(John Wilcox)
Jackie Arnold Education
Center
Help Travis Audubon
manage and maintain
Baker Sanctuary
(Images above and opposite)
Photo. credits: Shelia Hargis
CLICK ON THE LINK TO        
SEE BAKER SANCTUARY     
ANNUAL REPORT
Sanctuary Rules
To maintain our
protected habitat and
comply with govern-
ment regulations, we
must enforce some
rules for the use of
Baker Sanctuary.
Please click here to
review these rules.
Directions  

Directions
& Map