On a muggy day in late April, Jennifer Bristol stands beside a retention pond, hair tucked behind her ears and binoculars pressed to her eyes, at the Biosolids Management Plant in Hornsby Bend.
To some, the site, flanked by the airport and Tesla's Gigafactory, is an industrial no man's land. But to Bristol and her family, the wastewater treatment plant is a wonderland.
"It's excellent birding," Jennifer's mom Valarie Bristol said. "This place is very special. During migration [we get a] chance to see birds that we could never see unless we travelled a long way."
The wastewater attracts bugs, and bugs attract the hundreds of thousands of egrets, sandpipers, flycatchers, plovers and other species flying over Austin during peak migration, which runs from mid-April to mid-May.
For Jennifer, Valarie and Jennifer's husband Thomas Nilles, the plant made for the perfect pit stop as the trio set out — for the 12th year — to identify as many species as possible in one week for the 30th annual Great Texas Birding Classic, the "biggest, longest and wildest" birding competition in the nation, according to its organizers.
"Look how much these things all look alike," Jennifer said, pointing to the guide. "And you only see them, you know, once or twice a year."
There are firm rules for the competition: at least two team members must identify every bird by either sound or sight for it to count, and 95% of birds must be identified by everyone on the team.
Winning teams select a conservation cause to support. Over 29 years, the competition has generated more than $1.2 million for nature tourism and avian habitat restoration projects throughout the state.
The rules are strict, but it's on the honor system for teams to follow them.
"I can't imagine somebody making it up," Valarie said. "Because then they're not having all the fun we're having when they're out looking at them."
'A giant scavenger hunt'
Identifying migratory species is difficult even for veteran birders like Jennifer, Valarie and Nilles. Many species look and sound almost indistinguishable from one another, and they are only in Texas once or twice a year. The birds may only stop for a few minutes before continuing their journeys northbound to their final destinations in Canada, Alaska or the Midwest.
"It's like a giant scavenger hunt," Jennifer said. "Trying to be in the right place at the right time, it adds a layer of excitement."
Within minutes at the wastewater treatment plant, the trio crossed several birds off their list: cattle egret, summer tanager, painted bunting, falcon, white-faced ibis.
"Think about it," Jennifer said. "They're buying the camera, they're buying the binoculars. They're doing what we're doing."
"This has helped us be better birders," Valarie said. "And we're not afraid to say it."
Living in Austin has helped, too. Austin is located within the Central Flyway — one of the main bird migration routes — and has a variety of habitats attracting diverse bird species.
"It's got grasslands, and then it's got the Colorado River with its riparian lands, and then we have the Edwards Plateau, the Balcones Canyonlands rising up," Valarie said. "And so we get all these different birds, more than most places would have, because of the different habitats crossing each other here."
Birding as a way to slow down
Many birders can trace how they got into the hobby to a "spark bird" — a bird that enlightened them to the avian universe above.
For Nilles, it was the dark-eyed junco, a small gray bird in the sparrow family.
"I love them but I can never see them," he said. "Sometimes spark birds are the ones you want to see but you never get a chance to and you really look for them all the time."
But for Jennifer, birding was a way to slow down. She started birding while recovering from a back injury after being bucked off a horse several years ago.
"I needed something a little slower to do. So Thomas took me out birding, and I really liked what I saw, and I liked the activity, and I just went all in on it," she said. "It's a nice mental challenge."
Jennifer said she also became passionate about protecting birds as they migrate through Austin. She said "more birds are dying than ever" due to building collisions and pesticides.
"If you're driving on the highway this time of year and your windshield is clean, that's a bad sign," she said. "There should be insects everywhere."
But there's another reason why Jennifer keeps signing up for the Great Texas Birding Classic: the competition.
"We always come in second," she said.
But they might have a shot this year. They finished the week identifying 340 bird species — a team best.
"If we won … we'll let everybody know. The entire world will know that we've won," Jennifer said. "I can visualize holding the cup above my head."
Winners will be announced June 13.
Copyright 2026 KUT News