Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

High Island took a beating from Hurricane Humberto in September 2007. The storm destroyed habitat important to migratory bird species.

We lost a lot of trees. And some of them were uprooted, and some of them were twisted off and broken. So, we’ve had a lot of changes in our habitat at High Island.

Winnie Burkett is sanctuaries manager for Houston Audubon. Despite the habitat upheaval, the birds that visit High Island are fine.

They don’t mind the fact some of the trees are gone. There are plenty of mulberries, even though some of the mulberry trees are laying on the ground. There are plenty of bugs in the leaves; there are plenty of caterpillars around. So, as long as they have the food and water, they’re fine.

Birders who won competitions in the Great Texas Birding Classic—the biggest birding event in Texas—wanted to ensure the birds remain fine by selecting High Island to receive prize monies to improve habitat.

In the last couple of years, we’ve gotten prize money from the Birding Classic for diversifying the under-story in the woods. And, what we’ve been doing is the volunteers cut out the invasive exotics, like privet mostly, and then we replant with native trees and shrubs that we’ve purchased with funds that we’ve gotten from the birding classic prizes.

Diversification is important if birds are going to have a wide variety of food throughout the year, and the work of volunteers and prize money from the Great Texas Birding Classic is making that possible on High Island.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

In September of 2007, Hurricane Humberto paid a visit to the Texas gulf coast, devastating High Island, located on the Bolivar Peninsula.

The winds were supposed to have been only eighty miles an hour, but it looks like we must have had some tornadic stuff happening, because we lost a lot of trees.

Winnie Burkett , sanctuaries manager for Houston Audubon, says much of the tree canopy on the island was lost.

An area like High Island that has a lot of invasive exotics, losing the canopy opens the ground up to sun, and the things like Chinese privet, which is one of our worst problems really like the sun, and they grow really fast, and they crowd out the native plants. So, what we’ve been doing is we’ve been taking out the Chinese privet and replanting with native trees and shrubs.

Interestingly, humans were more upset over the loss of habitat than the birds.

Birds are used to it, because they evolved with changes in habitat. They evolved with hurricanes. To them, habitat is habitat, and if we don’t have big trees they use the small trees. They con across the gulf, they’re very hungry, they’re very tired, they’re very thirsty, and they’re not as picky as they are at breeding season when they have to have very specific habitat requirements.

How Great Texas Birding Classic prize money is restoring habitat on High Island. That’s tomorrow.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Located on the Bolivar Peninsula, High Island is migratory stopover habitat for neo-tropical birds.

I always tell people it’s kind of like you go on vacation and you have to stop and get gas and get food, and it you can’t stop you can’t get where you’re going. So, for these birds, stopover habitat like High Island is very important.

Winnie Burkett is sanctuaries manager for Houston Audubon, and says the habitat on High Island—which, by the way, isn’t an island—concentrates birds.

It’s called High Island because it’s the surface expression of a salt dome. High Island is 38 feet high, and it’s the highest point between Mobile Bay and the Yucatan Peninsula. And, high habitat is not common on the coast, so we have woods where all around High Island is salt marsh. And that really concentrates the woodland birds here at High Island.

Not only is High Island a great place for the birds, it’s a great place for birders.

If they want to see a lot of different species, High island is a really great place for them to come, because they’re all concentrated in one place. Where they’d have to travel all over, eastern north America to see the 28 varieties of warblers we get here. They can come here on a good day and see most of them.

We have more birding information at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is traditionally the birding issue, and this month, says it offers readers a little sizzle. Managing editor, Louie Bond.

You know, May’s not exactly the month for romance, but in bird terms, it is. And you know—birds—the important things for them to do are survive and reproduce. So, the focus of one of our articles this month is on the courtship rituals of the birds.

Isn’t that just the most romantic bird story? I just think that’s very sweet, and every bit as spicy as any modern day romance novel. So, if you’re looking for romance, and February is long gone, turn to the May issue. Even is you’re not into birds, you’re going to find something there that you’ll love.

Thanks, Louie. 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

The May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is traditionally the birding issue, and this month, says it offers readers a little sizzle. Managing editor, Louie Bond.

You know, May’s not exactly the month for romance, but in bird terms, it is. And you know—birds—the important things for them to do are survive and reproduce. So, the focus of one of our articles this month is on the courtship rituals of the birds.

Isn’t that just the most romantic bird story? I just think that’s very sweet, and every bit as spicy as any modern day romance novel. So, if you’re looking for romance, and February is long gone, turn to the May issue. Even is you’re not into birds, you’re going to find something there that you’ll love.

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

TP&W May Magazine Preview Play Now | Play in Popup | Download