Passport to Texas

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

Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21, and Ernie Gammage, with Urban Outdoor Programs, shares a favorite childhood memory of time he spent with his father.

One of the things that I remember from my childhood is having the opportunity to fish with my dad. And it’s just such a quiet, special time. I mean, I can still visually see everything that we did back then.

Make lasting memories with your family. Instead of getting dressed up to go to a Dad Day Dinner at a restaurant, pack a picnic and head to a state park.

You know, if I had the chance to go to a movie or go to a theme park with my dad on Father’s Day, I believe I would choose going outside because you never know what’s going to happen outside. It’s the wide open spaces, and a lot of the distractions of the work-day world, family obligations, and so forth are put aside and it’s just you and somebody that you love, somebody that you respect.

Take time this father’s day or any day to spend time outdoors with those who matter most.

I think spending time outdoors with your son or your daughter, or whoever it is, is an opportunity, especially for fathers that already spend time in the outdoors, to pass on some of the things they love and value to their kids.

That’s our show for today…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuels.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

By now, most school aged children in Texas are enjoying time off from the classroom, but still yearn to learn new skills. Texas Parks and Wildlife TV Series Producer, Don Cash tells us about segments airing in June that can help keep young minds and bodies engaged.

We’ve got a series of segments running called Take Me Fishing, and it looks at very simple ways to help a young person get started.

[fishing]. Many kids are uneasy with live bate. (child squeals) Bait their hooks for them, or try alternatives for them like hot dogs, kernel corn, or cheese. What do I do now? [water].

The Take Me Fishing series has ten segments to it, and all of them can be seen on our Life’s Better Outside dot org website now. Tying in with fishing, we also hit four state parks where you can go fishing; and one of those is Atlanta State Park up in northeast Texas. .

Great white perch lake. A great catfish lake. It’s not a real big bass lake, but as far as catfish and white perch and crappie, I would say it’s one of the best in the state. I’ll put it up against any other lake

.

So, if you’re looking to do a little fishing this summer, we have you covered on the television show.

Okay, so what are we supposed to say? Look out there and talk to him. Here fishy, fishy, fishy.

That’s our show…produced with a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… 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

I’ve seen some pigeons up close before, but that’s the only bird that I’ve seen up close.

That’s San Antonio resident Marisa Harris, before participating in the program Bird in the Hand at Guadalupe River State Park.

It’s a bird banding program. We catch the birds at a bird feeding station we set up, and bring people and the birds together in a very hands-on, kind of personal way.

Craig Hensley, a certified bird bander, oversees the program. He routinely catches, tags, and releases birds for research and monitoring purposes, and wants others to have the same opportunity to see birds up close.

They learn to identify them, and once they learn how I go about aging and determining whether it’s a male or female, I can actually hold up the bird and go, “OK, what do ya’ll think?” You see how these feathers right here have a tannish edge? And you see how their rounded, not flat? So what does that tell me? Is that an adult bird or a baby bird? An adult? An adult bird? Exactly! I try to bring the science together with the kids so that not only are they learning some scientific methodologies that are really used in terms of birds, once I band a bird and we’ve recorded all the data one of our volunteers will take that bird out with the child and the child will help let that bird go. On your hand, alright? Now let it go. [flutters] there it goes!

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Sarah Loden…we produce our show with a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… 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

Today we are in the process of trying to catch some birds.

Craig Hensley is a park specialist at Guadalupe River State Park and Honey Creek State Natural Area. He’s a certified bird bander who catches birds for research and education.

In the winter time at the park, we catch the birds at a bird feeding station we set up, and then we identify what they are. Try to age and sex them: male/female, are they a young bird or an older bird? Then we put a small metal bracelet, if you will, on the bird that they wear for the rest of their life and has a unique number, almost like our social security number, and it identifies that bird from all of the other birds of that kind anywhere it travels.

When banded birds are caught, identified and released in other locations, their individual movements can be recorded, which provides insight on birds’ lifeways.

Ultimately, it teaches us things about the longevity of birds, migration patterns, and with all the things going on with our climate these days, that’s one way to figure out if the birds are changing what they’re doing, because that’s a good indication of what might be going on a grander scale.

Craig Hensley hosts bird banding demonstrations at the park. Hear about them tomorrow.

More bird banding information is on our website: passporttotexas.org

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Sarah Loden…we produce the show with a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

When photographer Richard Stone sets out to capture nature with his camera he never leaves home without… his mountain bike.

You get to see much, much, much more…as a wildlife and nature photographer I get more places on a bike that I do in a car.

And Texas state parks offer a wealth of scenic variety for biking…including mountains.

You can bike on a beach, you can bike in Big Bend Park, you can bike in the Hill Country State Natural Area with the horses, there’s many different places, East Texas through the Pineywoods, even Bastrop to Buesher State Parks…there is a tremendous diversity.

There is also a wide range of trail users, which means riders have to share the road.

We always yield the trail to hikers, because they have the right of way…and to equestrians…give the walkers the right of way. Control your bicycle, plan ahead, control your speed, don’t skid your tires, don’t leave any traces on the park.

Texas Parks and Wildlife offers an online brochure listing state parks with bike trails as well as their degree of difficulty. We have a link to it at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…thank you for joining us…For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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