Passport to Texas

Christmas Bird Count — the early years.

Birding: Making Birds Count Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The name “Christmas Bird Count” is a bit of a misnomer.

04—It doesn’t happen on Christmas Day. It happens in a period around Christmas.

That period is December 14th through January 5th. And it’s when volunteers go into the field to count birds.

04— You just have to pick a day in that three week period to do the count.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Volunteers count birds in teams within a 15-mile radius circle with oversight by a count compiler who rules the roost.

11—And those people [compilers] decide on a day, and they divvy up the pie of where these teams can go look for birds in this fixed radius circle, and you count birds within that circle.

The time-frame for the count is 24 hours – midnight to midnight. You might wonder “who” takes the early shift.

10—A lot of people want to know about owls [for example]; so, they get up early. Three A.M., maybe, and go listen for owls. And that’s pretty valuable. But, most people do just the daylight hours.

Cliff recommends the earliest daylight: dawn.

12—That’s when you get the best bird diversity at dawn. Everybody’s waking up: singing, calling and foraging and activity is the greatest right at dawn. Because, birds have slept all night and they’re hungry for something to eat.

Compilers collect the volunteer’s data and submit it to Audubon, which analyzes it.

Find more information about the Christmas Bird Count at passporttotexas.org.

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

Side Hunt participant, image from http://www.islandguardian.com

Birding: Evolution of the Christmas Bird Count Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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In the 1800s, an annual competition called The Side Hunt pitted teams of hunters against one another to see who could bag the most feathered and furry things. With growing conservation consciousness, the Side Hunt evolved into The Christmas Bird Census in 1900, and eventually into the Christmas Bird Count – where the only thing people kill nowadays is a thermos of coffee.

11—We’re now in the 115th year, which makes it the longest running citizen science project in the world. Which is pretty impressive, and it started right here in the US.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.

06—You go out into a fixed area and count birds. And the neat thing is, if you stick with that area like you should, and you do it for 10, 20, 30, 40 years…you start seeing trends.

Trend spotting is the true value of the bird count.

26—Those counts that are very old, that have forty plus years of data, we can start seeing things. And we are. We’re seeing things like the American Tree Sparrow is not coming down to Texas much anymore. I don’t think they’re rare, they just don’t need to come all the way south for –maybe –climate change. Maybe it’s not so cold up north; they don’t need to come down. That’s the beauty of the Christmas Bird Count – you can look at it continentally… and see where the changes are in the bird life.

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

2014 Texas State Park Christmas Ornaments

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In 2002, Texas Parks and Wildlife released its first State Park holiday ornament.

06—Our original ornaments were done in metal; the last three years have been laser engraved wood.

Thomas Wilhelm is with state parks. When the ornaments were gold-plated metal, the agency released one per year that featured several iconic images. Since 2012, they’ve released three ornaments annually; each spotlights only one park. And this year:

20—We’re looking at the state bison herd at Caprock Canyons, Big Bend Ranch, and Independence Hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos. So, you’ll see an iconic image of each park that is featured. The front will have the image very clear, cut out – it also has the date – and then on the reverse side you’ll find a short interpretive message about what’s featured.

The collectible wooden ornaments have a rustic, nostalgic feel to them, and are available now.

21— The best way to get it is to call into our customer service center and just mention that you want to purchase the ornament. They’re sold individually, or by the set. We also have previous years ornaments for sale. I think they make a beautiful collection, and you’re supporting state parks while showing your love for the outdoors and Texas’ natural places.

Find pricing and ordering information about the Texas state park ornament at passporttotexas.org.

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

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During the month of December, ornaments are available for purchase over-the-phone by calling the Customer Service Center at 512-389-8900. Limited quantities of previous year’s ornaments are also available for purchase.

2014 Ornaments are $8.95 each, or $19.95 for the set of three. During the month of December, purchase a Texas State Park Gift card valued at $75 or more and receive a FREE 2014 ornament. Tax and shipping fees do apply.

All wooden ornaments measure roughly 3.5 by 4.75 inches, and due to their hand crafted nature, color and contrast will vary slightly so that every ornament is unique.

Chef Lou Lambert in the field with colleague.

Hunt | Food: Cook Venison Low and Slow Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Even if you hunt for trophies, there’s some good eating attached to those antlers.

Cooking venison can be intimidating, but Chef Lou Lambert, author of the Big Ranch, Big City Cookbook, is here to help.

60— I grew up hunting and fishing and still do today. But I think most of the lessons I learned about cooking game were more failures than things that worked out well when my mother was cooking. Because I had two brothers, father – we all hunted. So, we always had quail, dove, ducks and deer. And I remember my mother struggling to cook deer, because (and the biggest mistake she made) was not realizing because game is, if you will, grass-fed, all-natural – it does not have the fat content. And, because it is more in motion – the muscles tend to be a little bit tighter, which means tougher. So, lack of fat and more movement tells you that you have to do a slow, moist heat cooking method, unless you have it ground into sausage, or pounded for chicken fried [steaks], most of that deer – 80% — you need to either do a braise or a very slow barbeque smoke method.

Harvesting your own great tasting, sustainable protein is the best reason to hunt. Learn more on the TPW website, and find tasty wild game recipes while you’re there.

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

Grilling venison loin.

Hunt | Food | Culture: Wild Game in Mexican Cuisine Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Before domestication of livestock, wild game was the primary protein for humans on both side of what is now the Mexican border. In Mexico, venison was of particular importance.

15—Venison is especially important in a ritual sense as well as a culinary sense.

Karen Hursh Graber is senior Food Editor of the internet magazine Mexico Connect.

17—The word ‘venison’ in English, and the word ‘venado’ in Spanish – are both from the Latin word ‘venari’, which is the verb ‘to hunt.’ So, what’s pretty impressive that the word for deer is the same as the word for hunt. It just shows the symbolic hunting imagery of deer in both cultures.

Unlike Americans, Hursh-Graber says Mexicans are more sparing in their use of venison – and all meat – in recipes: such as Salpicon De Venado.

16—Instead of serving a huge hunk of meat, they’ll serve small pieces, and put it in a taco or in a stew. Salpicon is like a cold meat salad – it’s a venison salad. It’s dressed with herbs and spices and they serve it is tacos.

Find Karen Hursh Graber’s recipe for Cold Venison Salad at passporttotexas.org for a new way to prepare the venison you harvest this season.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Shredded Venison Salad: Salpicon De Venado
by Karen Hursh Graber © 2005
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2381-shredded-venison-salad-salpicon-de-venado

This dish is found on restaurant menus throughout Mexico, but particularly in the western part of the country and in the Yucatan, where it is called zic de venado. This recipe is a good buffet dish, to be piled on tostadas or served with warm tortillas and habanero salsa. It makes an attractive presentation served on a bed of mesclun greens. Following are two variations on the traditional recipe, one savory and one sweet-and-hot.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds venison, cooked and shredded (venison is lean and shreds nicely, like flank or skirt steak)
• juice of 4 bitter (Seville) oranges or use half sweet oranges and half limes
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped radishes
• salt to taste

Preparation:

Place the venison in a non-reactive bowl (glass or plastic). Mix the remaining ingredients and let them rest for 15 minutes to combine the flavors. Add the mixture to the venison and serve immediately or refrigerate and bring to room temperature at serving time.

Serves 8-10 as part of a multi-course buffet or as an appetizer.

Variation I:

Omit the radishes and add ½ cup chopped green olives and 1 firm-ripe avocado, diced.

Variation II:

Omit the radishes and add 1 green mango, diced, 1 diced plantain and 2 (or more, to taste) Serrano chiles, seeded and diced.