Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Craig Hensley is park specialist at Guadalupe River SP. For years, he’s kept track of birds for research and education purposes by banding them. He shares what his work means to him.

I’ve just started banding here but where I banded back in Nebraska for years, you got to a point where you would see certain birds year after year. And there were some woodpeckers, for example, I think I saw for six or seven years. So when you catch a bird that’s been banded, you look it up and go, “Wow! Who is this?” It’s just, for me a wonderful love of birds that I have.

We were fortunate enough, a couple of months ago, that we had a lady here, the eagle lady. She visits lots of state parks with some birds of prey, and she happened to be in our park on a weekend we were bird banding. And only the second time in all the years I’ve been involved in bird banding we caught a hawk. A sharp-shinned hawk that had chased a bird into the net and that was a treat! I don’t band hawks, I’m not permitted to do that, but we were able to take the bird out of the net, get our pictures made with it and marvel at just a spectacular bird. Best part of the whole thing was it took three of its talons and dug ‘em into my fingers when I was trying to get him out. So when that bird flew off, he actually flew off with a little piece of my skin I think still attached to a talon, which I actually loved, it was like “I’m flying free!” So, it’s kind of odd, but that was a special treat.

One man’s odd is another man’s special treat. Thanks, Craig.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Sarah Loden… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Legendary Birder, Victor Emanuel, views birding as a gateway to nature appreciation.

Well, it’s the best way for people to get connected to nature, because birds are the most obvious part of nature visible to us. A lot of the mammals are active at night. But birds are here; they’re all around us.

Emanuel says it’s the fact that they are so visible that makes them interesting.

Birds are some of the most visible creatures around us. You have the song of birds, you have the motion of birds, the fact they can fly. A cardinal, a blue jay, a duck on a pond… they’re large enough and so they attract our attention in a way that smaller creatures don’t.

Victor Emanuel has spent a lifetime watching birds around the world. And while all birds are watchable, he says that doesn’t mean he likes them all.

I actually have a prejudice against introduced birds that are a problem, like starlings. They’re a beautiful bird, actually, with the colors on them in the sunlight. But they take over the nest of native birds, and throw out the young and eggs, so they don’t get to raise their young and eggs. But, yeah, they’re all watchable.

Find links to birding information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for habitat conservation in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

While the mockingbird might be the official state bird of Texas, every July it’s the hummingbird that earns a place of distinction in the state.

July is usually the start of our hummingbird migration when we’ve got thousands of ruby-throated hummingbirds heading this way from the northern regions.

Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Mark Klym heads up the annual Hummingbird Roundup Survey in Texas, where some 18 different species of hummingbirds have been documented.

The round-up really provides us with information about the hummingbird population here in Texas and gives us an idea of where they’re being found.

While the bird count takes place year-round, the birds are more prevalent in the state from July to October.

This would be a good time to start looking at possibly increasing your number of feeders if you have a yard that is going to be actively used by hummingbirds…the best way to get hummingbirds in your yard is to prepare a good hummingbird garden. Lots of plants that will feed the birds, salvias, Turks cap, trumpet vine.

Take part in the annual Hummingbird Round-up and receive your own survey kit…find out how… when you visit passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

[SFX – hummer] Summer is a great time for hummingbird viewing in Texas.

Obviously the places people see them most often is around feeders.

Mark Klym is in Wildlife Diversity and a hummingbird enthusiast. You can attract hummingbirds to your yard with a hummingbird feeder filled with a solution of one part sugar to four parts water. Once you’ve hung a feeder, Klym says to keep the contents fresh.

During the summer months you want to change that every two to four days. During the winter months, you might get away with four to six days, but certainly no longer than that.

If you’d prefer to see hummers in the wild, you’re in luck: we have eighteen species of the bird in Texas. But you have to know where to look.

If you’re looking on the wild, you’re going to want to look in areas where there are a number of flowering plants available. The do require shelter, so they’re going to be around evergreen or well-leaved trees – depending on the season. And they’re also going to be found where there’s water. Water is a critical element of their environment, and they’re going to be found where there’s water.

We have a link to more information about hummingbirds, and hummingbird festivals in Texas at passportotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

 

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

Diversity, your name is Texas. And on the Texas parks and Wildlife TV series in July, viewers will go rock climbing and follow a flock or Sandhill cranes. Producer Abe Moore.

On the show in July, we do some rock climbing and tell people about how to do it and where to go. And a couple of places we go are Enchanted Rock and Hueco Tanks.

Okay guys, today we’re going to be climbing on the back of the main dome of Enchanted Rock. This back area faces North, and the climbing heights range from a hundred foot tall, where we are, down to three hundred feet tall on further down the dome.

Also in July, we’re doing a story on Sandhill cranes. Sandhill cranes are an amazing bird; they’re the oldest surviving bird species in the world. And they come through Texas on their winter migration. And one place you can find them is at Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge NW of Lubbock.

We have significant amount of water that allows the cranes to roost, and the local farming areas around, provide feeding areas for them during the day.

For me, just the sandhill cranes are just an iconic bird, I guess. It’s truly a migrating wonder.

Thanks, Abe.

Find stations airing the series at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… sponsored with a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

 

 TPW TV: Climbing & Cranes: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download