Passport to Texas

Wildlife Trails Maps from Texas Parks and Wildlife, available for purchase or free digital download.

Spring Break: Wildlife Trail Maps & Migration Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Beginning in February and continuing through May, birders watch the sky for spring migrants.

Texas is unique in that it has a great funnel of flyways. Spring migration is a great time to go and experience all the different birds that come through Texas.

Liz Tomberlin works in Nature Tourism at Texas Parks and Wildlife. From casual birders to listers, these maps have something for everyone! There are well-known sites such as High Island as well as lesser-known local gems and private ranches. To find the road less traveled—grab a Wildlife Trail map.

And what our Wildlife Trail maps do is give them more of an individual experience and give them places that might be hidden gems in the community where they can go and avoid the crowds and see all the birds in a different spot that’s not so well known.

Which of the nine illustrated maps would Liz suggest?

Definitely upper Texas coast, central Texas Coast, and Lower Texas Coast, are some of the best places to see the spring migrants. Will these maps also tell people what birds to look out for? Yes, it does! Each site description tells you different times when you can see these birds, what you can expect to see at the site, and where to go to actually view them. It’s a great tool to have if you want to come and see the spring migration.

Download free digital versions of the maps from the Texas Parks and Wildlife website; hard copies may be purchased. Find information at the TPW website.

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

Wildlife Trail Maps

Wildlife Trail Maps Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas is a big place with lots to do and to see for the wildlife lover; knowing where to start can be a little overwhelming. No worries. Texas Parks and Wildlife has a solution.

04-We have nine distinct maps; each covers a region of Texas.

They are the Great Texas Wildlife Trails Maps, and encompass more than 960 sites statewide. Liz Tomberlin works in nature tourism at Parks and Wildlife.

20-And [the maps] cover everything from migratory bird watching spots–to burrowing owls–to the prairie chicken leks in the panhandle plains. The monarch migration–we’ve had some great spots to see monarchs. All the way through to bat-watching, and all sorts of other mammals and birds and amphibians that you can see throughout Texas.

The agency updated the Heart of Texas West and East maps recently to ensure users have access to the most current information–information that goes beyond
where to find native critters.

17-Our maps include information for general tourists. There’s information for convention bureaus and visitors’ centers on there; each of our sites includes GPS coordinates; driving directions from major highways; a short description of the site and what you can expect to see there, and a phone number so you can contact someone.

Find more information about The Great Wildlife Trails Maps, including free, interactive versions of the maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Children excited about what they see in nature.

Nature Tourism in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nature tourism, which for most of us includes wildlife viewing, gives the Texas economy a nice little bump.

13-Right now, we have 4.4 million people who participate in wildlife watching. And that translates to about 13.8 billion dollars going towards the Texas Economy.

Liz Tomberlin works in nature tourism at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

08- [Nature tourism] is a non-consumptive form of exploring the great outdoors. You are not really taking anything; you are participating in it, which is great.

The Texas outdoors is a big place; there’s a lot to do and to see and that can be overwhelming for some, keeping them close to home. What if there was a simple
and familiar item–or nine of them–available to everyone that could help guide users to outdoor discovery. Think that might help make the great Texas outdoors more manageable? There’s a way to find out.

17-We have nine different maps for great Texas Wildlife trails covering all of Texas, in different regions. And they allow people to find sites that have been vetted by Texas Parks and Wildlife that will help them view wildlife within Texas, and get a great experience of the Texas outdoors.

Liz Tomberlin returns with details about the maps tomorrow. Meanwhile, find interactive versions of the maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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