Austin Water Center for Environmental Research at Hornsby Bend

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Austin Water Center for Environmental Research at Hornsby Bend We are an City of Austin urban ecology research center focused on Community, Ecology, Research

The AWU Center for Environmental Research at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant is a partnership formed in 1989 with the University of Texas and Texas A&M University to support urban ecology and sustainability studies for Austin. Numerous Texas universities along with federal and state agencies work through the CER to utilize the Hornsby Bend site for education and research. The CER auditorium and classrooms are used by a wide range of academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations for workshops, classes, and meetings. Hornsby Bend is nationally known as a research site for sewage, soil ecology, biodiversity, riparian ecology, and more.The biodiversity is present both because the sewage treatment plant is managed to encourage wildlife and because of the diversity of habitats at the 1200 acre site stretching along 3.5 miles of the Colorado River. One measure of this biodiversity is that Hornsby Bend is one of the best birding sites in Texas – harboring over 370 species of birds and an abundance of other wildlife which is monitored through the CER’s citizen science programs and university researchers. Hornsby Bend is, also, a destination on the TPWD Central Texas ecotourism trail.

10/24/2026
The office this week included Shoal Creek
10/24/2026

The office this week included Shoal Creek

10/23/2026

Saturn shines lower left of the Moon at dusk. As the evening grows late and they rise higher, Saturn will slowly shift to the left of the Moon. It will be directly left of the Moon by about midnight.
https://buff.ly/H7piuFd

10/22/2026

New World screwworm has been detected in a hunter-harvested elk in Pecos County, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Hunters, inspect your harvest for maggots or a smell of decaying flesh before field dressing or moving the carcass. Suspect a wild animal is infested? Contact your local TPWD wildlife biologist or call 512-389-4505. For livestock, call TAHC at 1-800-550-8242.

Inspect. Report. Stay Informed.

🔗 Resources and guidance: tx.ag/Screwworm
🔗 TPWD news release: https://bit.ly/4zO2G8e

Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management

A busy Thursday at Hornsby Bend with ACC Wildlife Conservation students visiting to observe wildlife at the ponds and ri...
10/22/2026

A busy Thursday at Hornsby Bend with ACC Wildlife Conservation students visiting to observe wildlife at the ponds and river, and they got to see a rare red-necked phalarope on Pond 2 (Vincent O’Brian photo)

10/19/2026
Our first truly autumnal morning 49F and a spectacular sunrise for the October Hornsby Bend Birding Field Trip (and Trav...
10/17/2026

Our first truly autumnal morning 49F and a spectacular sunrise for the October Hornsby Bend Birding Field Trip (and Travis Audubon Society Beginning Birder class in the parking lot)! A great day for birding with loads of migratory birds arriving. Grab your bins and get out here!

10/16/2026

Migration Alert: Over 443 million birds are forecast to fly across the East Coast and eastern Midwest tonight. To help birds make their journey safely, turn off all off all nonessential lights from 11 PM to 6 AM to keep them from becoming disoriented. Make windows safer with bird-friendly treatments to prevent collisions. More than a billion birds die in glass collisions every year. Learn more about migration and sign-up to get alerts: https://birdcast.org/migration-tools/

10/15/2026

Learn more about upcoming elections and important resources for voters, including how to register to vote, how to learn about candidates, where to vote, and important election dates.

Address

2210 S FM 973
Austin, TX
78725

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

(512) 972-1960

Website

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