Mitchell Lake Audubon Center

This is a must stop for anyone remotely interested in birding & nature. Located in south San Antonio, the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is stewarded by the Texas Audubon Society. The love and caring for this amazing area is readily apparent. Visitors can choose to hike some or all of the seven miles of available trails or take a break and watch birds feeding from the visitor center front porch. The visitors center is housed in a wonderful turn of the century home offering a resource room, small gift shop, drinks and even a few snacks to purchase. Bring a lunch and enjoy a relaxing moment watching the many birds that inhabit this 624-​acre site. With a mixture of brushland, grassland, mud flats, shallow ponds, deep ponds, and a deep water lake. Mitchell Lake is positioned on a natural migratory bird route and serves as a resting point for tens of thousands of birds each year.
In our travels around this beautiful country we’ve had the pleasure to visit many water treatment areas. They’re the perfect places to see local and migrating birds. They’re also the perfect places to hike AND enjoy an areas local flora and fauna. Mitchell Lake Audubon Center stands out as a top must visit destination when visiting San Antonio.
Check the local website for current visiting hours and special programs and tours. Currently, there is a entrance fee of $ 5 for adults and $ 2 for children.

This Is a wonderful sanctuary for birds. The birds you see will Depend on what time of year you come to Mitchell Lake. To name a few that I remember from today– we saw coots, Northern shovlers, grebes and a vermillion flycatcher.
I also noticed that there were coloring sheets and crayons set up for young children might not have the attention span to Birdwatch for long. Also the bathrooms were spotless and there were several Porta potty’s on the trails.
This is a must see when ever you go to San Antonio!

Attended the annual Hoot Festival at the center. The festival included some vendors, a hay ride, and several activities for children. There are some landscaped areas near the center, but otherwise it’s a long walk to the lake so bring good hiking shoes. Many birds, bees, and butterflies were in the garden. Further out to the lake is a small bridge along with many raptors in the sky.
It’s a quiet area and there are plenty of birds around to watch. I didn’t see trail heads or much guidance on areas to explore, so it felt like wilderness. Bring water with you because it’s quite a hike to the lake.

A former sewage dumping ground for San Antonio, this place is a birder’s dream. Though I don’t consider myself a birder in the slightest sense, I took a couple people there who certainly do. And they enjoyed it. We crossed paths with several others who were also clearly serious about their birds. The center’s website boasts that the place hosts 300 species of birds, 120 species of plants, and 17 mammal species, though I’m sure it depends a lot of what time of year you go. But even in late February, there were quite a few different birds to see. It’s only $ 2 per person to get in, which gives you access to a huge network of roads that take you around the various «polders» left behind from the sewage plant, as well as access to Mitchell Lake itself. Worth a visit for anyone who’s a bird watcher or has a visitor in town who is.