Passport to Texas

Hornsby Bend Visitor

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On the second Saturday of every month, Eric Carpenter surveys birds with Travis Audubon, at Hornsby Bend, east of downtown Austin.

03—Hornsby is one of the better spots to bird in Central Texas.

Carpenter and cohorts have recorded more than 360 species of birds at the site over the years. Kevin Andersen runs the Center for Environmental Research at Hornsby; an unlikely place for the genteel activity of bird watching.

07—Hornsby Bend is the facility that recycles all of Austin’s sewage solids, which is a euphemism for poop.

Austin’s sewage and yard waste is recycled at this unique, 1200 acre site along 3.5 miles of the Colorado River.

09—There’s a farm and a bottomland forest, treatment ponds that are famous for birding. Many different things that we can use for environmental research.

Pathogens in the sludge are killed off naturally. Some solids, when mixed with recycled yard waste, become compost; the cleaned water goes into ponds, creating an environment attractive to wildlife and those who watch it — like photographer Greg Lasley.

16—Even though we’re right near the city of Austin, there’s an amazing variety of wildlife: butterflies, dragonflies, birds, reptiles and amphibians. My philosophy is if you just get out in nature and spend time looking, things show themselves to you.

See a segment about Hornsby Bend next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS TV series. Check your local listings.

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

Matagorda Island Lighthouse at sunrise

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This is Passport to Texas

Back in 1939, the Army decided to build a military base to protect the Texas coast during World War II. That base was located at Matagorda Island. But when it closed in 1977, many parts of the base remained…including the runways.

08—We have several runways, the longest one is 2 miles long. It was set up for B52s to do touch and goes.

And while Matagorda Island’s former park manager, John Stuart, says planes are no longer allowed to use the runways, other types of vehicles are making use of them.

05—Kids use the runways for bicycles and skateboards… we get quite a few.

Cyclists are not the only users of the runways, so you need to be careful when sharing the area.

09—We get least terns nesting on the runway, and that would be a big fine if you went over one of those nests and cracked one of some endangered bird eggs.

Matagorda Island is just one of the many unique places where you can ride your bicycle.

Want to ride on a former railroad track or on a trail where dinosaurs once roamed? Visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and find a free on-line brochure on bicycling in state parks.

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

On the lookout for migrating bird species.

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The Texas coast attracts a wide variety of species of birds during spring migration. But what if you live inland and don’t have plans to visit the coast?

07— Folks that are inland can probably scout and look for big groves of trees and watch the weather.

Cliff Shackelford is Parks and Wildlife’s non-game ornithologist.

23—I’m here in Nacogdoches, and we have a place in town called Pecan Park – it’s right next to Stephen F. Austin State University – and it is a migrant trap. So what I do is I look at the weather; if it rained the night before during a window of time when I know birds are passing through, that would be late April, early May, I would immediately get out there at eight in the morning and see what’s there.

Inclement weather grounds birds as it does some aircraft. Shackelford said a location with large trees and an open understory is ideal for birders to glimpse migrants high above in the canopy. Of course, if you want to encourage migrants to visit your backyard…

26— Provide a wildscape; that’s landscaping for wildlife. And in that you’ll start to see that ‘hey if I want berry-eating birds like tanagers and grosbeaks and buntings, I should put some of these berry-giving shrubs and trees out. If you’re wanting to attract fly-catching birds, then just having a wildscape means you’re going to have a lot of insect fauna – flies and bees and things like that – that a lot of birds feed on.

Find wildscaping and birding information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Looking for migrant bird species coming through Texas.

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Texans perk up as the monochromatic birds of winter give way to their colorful counterparts of spring.

11—Like the orange and black of the Baltimore Oriole, or the red and black of a Scarlet Tanager. So, all of a sudden you see this splash of color that you haven’t seen in months, and it’s very exciting.

Cliff Shackelford, Parks and Wildlife’s non-game ornithologist, says to witness these colorful migrants, location is only part of the equation.

14—Location is important, but if a storm hit – like a blue norther – in late April, that grounds those birds just like it would ground small aircraft. And so, they’re seeking shelter, and that could be your backyard.

Public hot spots where you can view large concentrations of migratory birds are plentiful – the Texas coast is one of the best.

23— Places like High Island, Sabine Woods near Sabine Pass, Blucher Park near downtown Corpus Christi, the South Padre Island Convention Center. Birdwatchers go to those spots, typically in April and May. They can be very productive. Those are just a few of the really important hot spots we call “migrant traps” that are great for the birds and the bird watchers.

Find birding information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Battleship TEXAS

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Wrap up spring break March 15 with a family to trip the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic site to celebrate the centennial of Battleship TEXAS.

08—The family festival that we’re going to have on March 15, is going to be a party the likes of which we probably haven’t seen out here before.

Andy Smith oversees the upkeep of the antique dreadnought (now a museum), which saw action in both World Wars. In addition to many family-friendly activities, there’s live music throughout the day, featuring headliner Robert Earl Keen.

08—He’s bringing his Texas Uprising, which is a music festival to the site. And he’s very excited to help raise the awareness of the ship.

Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, Reckless Kelly and Charlie Robison join the lineup at the site.

21—We have a 12-hundred acre facility here; we’re going to have these festivities on and around the battleship – on the smaller side of the park. And it’s going to be a really great event. Tickets are available right now and can be purchased at battleshiptexas.org, and that’ll be march 15 starting at noon and running until 10 p.m. at San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site.

Andy Smith says money raised from the event will fund much needed repairs to the 100 year old vessel. For more information and tickets go to battleshiptexas.org.

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