"I hear him over there!" Birdwatchers exclaim in hushed whispers as a black-capped vireo pops up from the shin oak thicket. Hidden within the observation deck, the visitors gaze through binoculars at their first sighting of the rare songbird only 20 feet away. Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge offers some of the best birdwatching and habitat left in Texas for two endangered songbirds - the black-capped vireo and the golden-cheeked warbler. Less than an hour from Austin, visitors can step off the streets into the wilds of the Texas Hill Country.

The refuge Headquarters is northwest of Austin, Texas. It is located on FM 1431 approximately five miles west of Lago Vista, one mile east of the intersection with Cow Creek Road/CR328.