Passport to Texas

The Great Texas Birding Classic

The Birding Classic for Beginners Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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For those who don’t know how the various birdwatching tournaments of The Great Texas Birding Classic unfold…

Groups of people go out and birdwatch for a half a day or a day and even as much as a week. And, they go out with their friends and family to see how many birds they can identify in a short amount of time, and the team with the most species on their list wins. Except for one tournament.

That one tournament is The Big Sit. Shelly Plante is the nature tourism manager at Texas Parks and Wildlife, and coordinates the Great Texas Birding Classic, now in its 20th year.

The Big Sit is a fun one. In the Birding Classic, most of the tournament categories, everyone has to ID a bird for it to go on a list, but not the Big Sit.

In the Big Sit, Plante says only one team member has to ID a bird for it to make the list, either by sight or sound.

It’s the perfect event for the new birder. You can have a team with all people who are beginning, and then they just have to be sure they have a ringer or two on their team who can ID the bird for them for it to go on their list. And it turns into a really fun day for people.

The Great Texas Birding Classic is April 15 through May 15th. Team registration is closed for this year, but you can stay on top of the action at birdingclassic.org.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Birding Classic Poster 2016

The Birding Classic is Back for Year 20 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Calling all twitchers, listers and dudes…The 20th Annual Great Texas Birding Classic invites you to form a team to watch birds.

 It’s a really great win-win, where people are able to go birding with their friends or family. And then they’re raising money for a really great cause: conservation right here in the state of Texas.

Shelly Plante, nature tourism manager, says teams go into the field and ID bird species from a checklist over the course of a few hours or even a few days. Tournament winners determine which avian habitat conservation projects receive preservation and restoration grants.

And the more habitat we’re able to preserve here in the state, the more birding opportunities there are going to be for birders.

Birders of all ages and skill levels that register at birdingclassic.org by the April first deadline may participate in this statewide series of tournaments.

Go online. Fill out your registration form. Pay online. And then you’re ready to go. Everything I do is through email: I’m going to email you updates; I’m going to email you how to submit your checklists to be in the running for the prizes; I’m going to let you know who won, where the award ceremonies are. So, it’s all done online to save on costs so as much of this money goes to habitat conservation as possible.

Celebrate 20 years of great birding with The Great Texas Birding Classic, April 15 through May 15, is for beginners and advanced birders.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Birding at Resaca De La Palma State Park

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The Christmas Bird count, wraps up Tuesday. Volunteer counters add the understanding of wintering species, says biologist Marsha May.

16—Well, this is a great way to look at the bird populations in the winter time—the wintering species. And we’re able to look at changes through time; this count’s been going on since 1900, so we’re looking at lot of good data there.

Did you miss the Christmas Bird Count? Marsha says more opportunities are on the way.

33—There are other counts that look at spring birds, and then also at breeding birds in the summer. The North American Breeding Bird survey through USGS is another way of looking at breeding birds in the summertime. Then, local Audubon societies hold bird-a-thons in the spring, and that’s looking at all your migratory spring birds. So, there’s lots of things to do with birding, and we do have good birding information on our website. As well as information on the Birding Classic. So, if you really want to get competitive, I’d recommend you get out there and try the Great Texas Birding Classic.

The Great Texas Birding Classic Is April 15 through May 15 and celebrating its 20th year!

Find registration information for the Birding Classic, as well as videos about the birding on the Texas Parks and Wildlife YouTube channel.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Black-capped Vireo

Great Texas Birding Classic Winners Fund Conservation Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Who would pay an entry fee to compete in a tournament in which the winners must agree to give away their prize money? Birders: that’s who. More specifically, teams of birders that take part in the Great Texas Birding Classic.

15-This year we raised $25,000 for conservation grants. And those will be given as a 10-thousand dollar grant, and three 5-thousand
dollar grants. So we’ll give four grants total throughout the state of Texas. And this is what teams are participating for: winning teams are who get to select what projects get funded.

Shelly Plante coordinates the event, and says it’s a win-win for birds and birders. Birding classic winners fund habitat projects that, in turn, create better birding opportunities for everyone.

04- That’s their privilege, that they’re vying for the chance to pick the project.

In the 19 years of the tournament, winning teams have donated more than eight hundred and forty-four thousand dollars to habitat projects throughout the state.

18- These grants have definitely gone to some well-known projects for birders. And if you go to birding hot spots throughout the state, you’ll see that birding classic money has been spent at many of these areas. From High Island Sanctuaries to Pakery Channel near Corpus Christi in the Coastal Bend, at Estero Llano Grande State Park.

Find out what birds the Great Texas Birding Classic teams saw this year, who won, and which projects the winners designated to receive grant money when you go to birdingclassic.org.

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

Great Texas Birding Classic

Great Texas Birding Classic Breaks Records Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The Great Texas Birding Classic, which wrapped up on May 15 following a month of non-stop, statewide birding action, was a huge success, says Texas Parks and Wildlife nature tourism coordinator, Shelly Plante.

16-This year’s Great Texas Birding Classic was absolutely the best yet. We had a hundred teams for the first time ever, and with that we were able to raise more money than we’ve raised in a long time. So, we will donate $25,000 dollars in conservation grants this ear–which is a 40% increase over last year’s donation.

Grant money goes to projects that enhance or preserve native bird habitat statewide, and winning teams designate which projects receive the funds. Plante says while birders find it rewarding, she rewards birders that make her smile, with the Make My Day award.

13-While all of these teams are out in the field and having a really great time, a lot of my job is behind the desk, taking care of data entry. And so, if a team name crosses my desk that just made me laugh out loud, or giggle a little bit–I felt that I should reward that because they brightened my day.

Teams like the Double-Stuffed Orioles, Hot Wings, and the Bird Dogs–a team that actually brought their dogs with them–among others got this recognition from Shelly Plante.

Find a list of conservation projects that received grants at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show …Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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