El Paso Audubon: Feather Lake

Feather Lake Checklist: Click here for a printable checklist of the birds of Feather Lake.

Feather Lake Newsletter Article: Read John Sproul's latest Roadrunner article on Feather Lake here.

Rio Bosque Park: Get more information about nearby Rio Bosque Park here. There is a short description of the park, a schedule of current activities, and directions onhow to get to te park.

Feather Lake is a wildlife sanctuary El Paso/Trans-Pecos Audubon manages. It occupies 43.5 acres, including a 40-acre wetland. The wetland is actually a City of El Paso stormwater detention basin, built in 1969. Since 1976, Audubon has leased this land from the City and managed it for wildlife and as an environmental education area. Feather Lake is located at 9500 North Loop Dr. in El Paso's lower valley. To get there, take I-10 east to Americas Ave., then go right for 1 mile on Americas to North Loop. Turn right onto North Loop and go 0.4 miles to the stoplight at Bordeaux St. The Feather Lake entrance is on your left at this intersection.

The wetlands, riparian woodlands and desert scrub-grasslands at Feather Lake support a diverse wildlife community. Walk the 1-mile path around the lake on a spring day, and you might see muskrats motoring across the water surface, spiny softshell turtles and pond sliders basking on clumps of vegetation in the marsh, and little striped whiptail lizards skittering ahead of you on the trail.

But Feather Lake is best known for its birds. Over the years, 194 different species have been observed at the sanctuary. Not surprisingly, birds associated with water are especially well represented. Among the annual highlights: hordes of yellow-headed blackbirds in early fall, up to 4,000 ducks in mid-winter, and squadrons of white-faced ibis in spring.

Feather Lake is open to the public on weekends, October through April. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and 2 p.m. to dusk on Sundays. Admission is free. For information on scheduling a classroom or group tour during these hours or at other times, click on Schedule a Tour below or call (915) 757-1876.

The Audubon Society also has regularly scheduled workdays at Feather Lake. The highly productive natural wetlands and riparian woodlands once found along the Rio Grande in the El Paso area have virtually disappeared. At Feather Lake workdays, volunteers carry out an ongoing habitat management program that aims to restore examples of these habitats at the sanctuary. Check the Calendar or call (915) 545-5157 to learn the date and time for the next session.

Schedule A Tour