Wildlife near Austin, Texas

Austin’s signature wildlife event happens under a road: around a million and a half Mexican free-tailed bats pour out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge on summer evenings, the largest urban bat colony anywhere. Beyond that, the city straddles the edge of the Hill Country, so golden-cheeked warblers nest in the juniper canyons, black-crested titmice and painted buntings show up in the greenbelts, and the spring-fed creeks hold everything from green herons to the occasional ringtail.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Austin. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

Most-observed species near Austin

Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.