What follows is a brief story, a small act with a very large impact, and maybe that's why I'm attracted to it. This story is about one metro area park in Austin, Texas: Commons Ford. Today this park attracts numerous visitors for outdoor activities like swimming, walking, photography, and birdwatching. Within Commons Ford Park today is a really special 40-acre prairie restoration effort. The story begins just a little over ten years ago when one birdwatcher visited this park, thinking that the grasslands setting there would make for an ideal spot to view birds.
His first bird count: exactly one bird!

One. Single. Bird.

When he inquired with a more experienced birdwatcher, he learned that the reason for not seeing more birds in this section of the two-hundred-acre park was entirely due to the lack of appropriate habitat and food sources - while in appearance it seemed like an appropriate dwelling for wildlife, this portion of the park at the time consisted primarily of invasive grasses and plants within the park that provided little in the way of protection and sustenance for birds. And so this one bird watcher would go on to organize a local group, who approached the city of Austin with their idea to improve the park, and the group set about restoring 40 acres within a central section of the park. They first worked to remove existing invasive species and would later replace those with custom seed mixes of around 70-plus species of grasses and plants local to this region beneficial to wildlife. Invasive plant removal and prescribed burns were followed with initial plantings in 2012. Upon re-instituting regionally local grassland plants to the park, the first bird count was raised from one bird to ninety individual birds. Throughout implementation, formal plant and bird surveys were conducted and documented.

To date, the most recent surveys have now documented 274+ species of birds identified within the park!

Today, Commons Ford is one of the top birdwatching spots in the Austin area and central Texas thanks to the habitat and food sources that the restoration plantings provide. Birdwatchers, photographers, and nature-loving folks come from all over to visit the beautiful Commons Ford prairie restoration. In 2016, Travis Audubon merged with Commons Ford Prairie, managing conservation efforts for the park. Regular bird and monarch butterfly surveys are conducted, along with frequent educational tours. My friend Adam lives near there and is compiling quite a bird list. Visit in late spring and you will encounter gorgeous grasslands and wildflowers en masse before the heat of summer sets in. The movement and textures of these grasslands will pull you into this living composition. And you are certain to encounter more than just one bird.

Commons Ford Park in June, my capture doesn’t do it justice. A sea of Schizachyrium scoparium (“Little Bluestem” grass) provides protective cover plus seeds for birds. Regionally local wildflowers intermingle with these grasses creating a symphony that attracts and encourages life.

Here's the exciting thing. What happened with Commons Ford Park can be done anywhere, especially here in the Mid-South! In Memphis, we have majestic expanses of oak canopies. How about our understory and open areas? Commons Ford prairie restoration serves as a model and these types of projects can be replicated and resized right down to residential scale. We can resuscitate our Memphis lawns and public spaces to be both beautiful and beneficial. Landscaping and gardening that help to support and sustain wildlife can be done easily, anywhere. Yes, you can take hundreds of elderberry cuttings and plant them all around the city. Yes, you can organize endangered plant rescues from urban and suburban development sites. Yes, you can initiate or help with community planting efforts. Yes, you can start plant nurseries focused on plants found in our local region. Yes, Memphis lawn care providers can shift perspectives and procedures. The daily grind becomes purposeful, mission-driven work. Destructive conventional groundskeeping becomes constructive, habitat-considerate stewardship. Few things in life are more satisfying than watching birds swaying from the stalks of coneflowers or utilizing grass to make their nests, bumblebees fast asleep on the flowers that sustain them, and grasshoppers returning to warm season bunchgrasses. There is tremendous beauty in giving life back to our yards and public spaces. It started at Commons Ford with one birdwatcher plus one bird. Let's do it everywhere!

What are you working on? Drop me a line here - Joel

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