Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

In a small surgical suite, at the San Antonio veterinary clinic of Dr. Melissa Hill, an injured bald eagle is prepped for surgery to repair a badly fractured wing.

What we’re doing Is taking the sling off his wing. He’s spent most of this last week eating, and on antibiotics, and is now in much better shape to handle the surgery than he was when he first came in.

Dr. Hill removes feathers from the anesthetized animal’s wing, and disinfects the area before beginning the procedure.

This blue thing we put across the top is called a drape. And it shields the area that I’m going to be working on from feathers and danger and dirt and things that are floating around.

Once she makes the incision, she sees the fracture.

Okay, so what we’ve got sticking out here is part of the bone. This goes from the elbow, up from the shoulder. The problem is that it’s healing in two separate pieces instead of healing together.

She trims the new growth, and reconnects the fractured pieces with a pin, then closes the incision.

So, we’ve got the end of this pin sticking out through the bone over here, at the back of the elbow. Just cut it off even. This will stay in four to six weeks, probably; if it’s good then we’ll pull the pin out.

Physical therapy is next, and Dr. Hill says the eagle may remain grounded for up to eight months. We’ll have updates as they are available.

That’s our show… we had help today from Karen Loke…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Last month, when a hiker discovered an injured bald eagle at Toledo Bend Reservoir in East Texas, he contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife.

So, as soon as this bird was found down, the Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist—he immediately called us—and got the bird here as fast as possible.

The bird arrived in Austin during Expo, where Master falconer and raptor rehabilitator John Karger was already on the grounds to present the Last Chance Forever Birds of Prey Demonstration. It’s the 17th year he’s brought his raptors to Expo, but the first time someone’s brought him and eagle.

This is the first for an eagle, but you know what, we got an injured barn owl in yesterday also. You know, people know that we’re here [at Expo], and they brought his injured barn owl, and we taped it up also. He had a fractured wing, broke at the wrist.

The eagle meantime had a fractured wing that needed immediate attention.

It’s a very serious injury, we’ve got two ends of a bone that are loose, and if those two ends were allowed to keep rubbing around, something is going to poke through the skin. If we don’t do a specialized surgery, this bird will never fly again.

He stabilized the wing with the assistance of wildlife veterinarian, Melissa Hill.

The prognosis at the moment is that he’s stable and that he’s becoming a good surgical case.

Tomorrow—the surgery.

That’s our show… we had help today from Karen Loke…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Always an Expo favorite, The Birds of Prey show brings in live eagles, owls, hawks, and other raptors for a spectacle of sight and sound.

[owl call] There was a variety of sounds like the way the owls call during the mating season, and sometimes there are two birds. I think my favorite, of course, is the hawks. The hawks are the most beautiful.

[hawk screech]

Laurie Petty is a sign language interpreter for Parks and Wildlife. Those with hearing impairments rely on her use of ASL gestures [American Sign Language] and finger flutterings to relate to the distinctive vocalizations the birds make.

Some of it is finger spelling, like the hoot owl. You just do the “hoot.” And then, of course, the screech owl, it sounds like an, “Eeee!” you know. So you actually make that “Eee” sound or scream sound, with a way a person would scream. And so that’s how you’re able to do it.

Of course, sound is an experience that cannot be directly expressed or translated into words, but her physical movements offer viewers a semblance of the sound that can be understood visually.

It is a very difficult thing to sign sounds that are coming from a bird. But I try to move my fingers the best I can to where people can get a visual on what is happening at that moment, and on what is being heard; so they know there is a noise coming from the animal.

More about birds of prey and their calls is on our website: passporttotexas.org.

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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Cornell Lab of Ornithology [learn about birds and listen to their calls]
http://birds.cornell.edu/

Learn American Sign Language:
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm,

Interpreting Bird Calls for the Hearing Impaired Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Invasive aquatic plant species can be devastating. This month the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series highlights invasives at Caddo Lake. Series Producer, Alan Fisher.

Caddo has an amazing diversity of native plants, but also an amazing diversity of invading plants, unfortunately. Hydrilla is a big problem.

This is hydrilla here, probably the most abundant invasive on the lake, right next to water hyacinth.

And then the newest is giant salvinia.

There’s a piece right yonder. That’s it. Yeah, it’s not very big yet. This one little thing here can expand into acres and acres and acres.

How do you eradicate an invasive?

Well, one of the biggest tool in their toolbox, I guess, to battle invasives is just getting the word out. Letting people know that we’re the one getting these plants around. People with boats pulling them in and out of lakes need to make sure their trailers and boats are clean when they do so. It’s actually a misdemeanor to transport invasive plants whether you know it or not.

And, so, what do you hope the take away is?

I hope that people can just be more mindful after learning about this topic. You know, there are things that we can all do. Average citizens are a really valuable tool in combating all these plants.

Thanks, Alan. Learn about invasive exotics at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… 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

Hurricane Ike rendered Texas coastal communities, neighborhoods, and the surrounding landscape unrecognizable.

Hurricane Ike did a lot of damage. Not only structural damage to the people who lost their homes, to the ranchers—and also did a lot of devastation to habitat.

Habitat losses, particularly those to wetlands, were substantial. Yet, Parks and Wildlife waterfowl program leader, Dave Morrison says, not all is lost.

You look down the road a few years, and I think you’re going to see some benefits from this hurricane. One of the things that you see that we have been fighting and struggling for several years with invasive species—noxious weeds that we just could never get a holt of. Well, guess what? You put salt in those systems, and they’re dead.

Winter forage for migrating waterfowl also went the way of the noxious weeds.

There’s not much food out there. It’s going to be difficult for them. But, this storm did a lot of good from the perspective that you’ve seen through time, things [open wetlands] close in. With all the high salinities now, it’ll kill all that vegetation. The seed base is still there, so the important plants that ducks need are still going to be available because the seed base is still in that substrate; that’ll rebound.

Morrison says all we need now is rain to flush out the systems so nature’s recovery can begin.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

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

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