Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Abilene State Park is an oasis in the desert, and writer/producer Ron Kabele talks about the park and its pool this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series.

In Abilene State Park, they have one of the largest pools in our system. It was built by the CCC, and it’s a beautiful, big pool. It’s really the heartbeat of the park.

I’m Oakley, and I’m Chancy, and we pretty much come every weekend (giggles).

Another story this month is Oasis of the King Fishers; it’s a personal story from TV producer, Lee Smith, about his uncle’s southwest Texas ranch, and the day he saw three species of kingfisher.

One December morning, I was shooting video at one of my favorite tanks. A snipe and a greater yellow legs were keeping me company when a belted kingfisher arrived and began to hunt breakfast.

Finally, members of the American Hiking Society volunteered to build a trail at a state park…as part of a volunteer vacation.

We’re talking a trail, you know, like wheelbarrows full of gravel. Really hard work. And this is during the summer. You know, they’d take time off from their jobs, or if they’re retired, they come out. And, the park will feed them. In exchange, they get all of this manual labor. And the people love to do this.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife series airs on PBS stations statewide. Find a list at passporttotexas.org.

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

CLICK HERE to find a station near you that airs the show.

TP&W TV May Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Abilene State Park is an oasis in the desert, and writer/producer Ron Kabele talks about the park and its pool this month on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series.

In Abilene State Park, they have one of the largest pools in our system. It was built by the CCC, and it’s a beautiful, big pool. It’s really the heartbeat of the park.

I’m Oakley, and I’m Chancy, and we pretty much come every weekend (giggles).

Another story this month is Oasis of the King Fishers; it’s a personal story from TV producer, Lee Smith, about his uncle’s southwest Texas ranch, and the day he saw three species of kingfisher.

One December morning, I was shooting video at one of my favorite tanks. A snipe and a greater yellow legs were keeping me company when a belted kingfisher arrived and began to hunt breakfast.

Finally, members of the American Hiking Society volunteered to build a trail at a state park…as part of a volunteer vacation.

We’re talking a trail, you know, like wheelbarrows full of gravel. Really hard work. And this is during the summer. You know, they’d take time off from their jobs, or if they’re retired, they come out. And, the park will feed them. In exchange, they get all of this manual labor. And the people love to do this.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife series airs on PBS stations statewide. Find a list at passporttotexas.org.

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

CLICK HERE to find a station near you that airs the show.

TP&W TV May Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The Great Texas Birding Classic is April 27 through May 4. Shelley Plante, nature tourism coordinator for Parks and Wildlife, says there is a tournament for every age group.

We have kids teams for thirteen and under; we call it the rough wings tournament. It’s always a lot of fun. Birders of that age group go out about eight hours during the day, so it’s not a huge, long day. And we have a teenager competition called the Gliders. We also have adults, and we have something called the Big Sit, which is like a big tailgate party for birders. And any age can compete, and those teams can have up to ten people on them, whereas the other teams are only three to five people—enough to fit in a car, basically.

The Energy Saver tournament is new this year.

Our concern was, we have all of these people that are driving around the Texas coast for habitat conservation, and they are burning fossil fuels in the process. So, why don’t we have more than just the Big Sit as something that people can do in a more stationary way. So, the Energy Saver tournament, people are required to go at least fifty miles, but they can just do fifty miles. And the winning team is the team that sees the most species per mile. And they are going to be eligible for a new ten thousand dollar grant project that they get to fund.

Money raised from the Birding Classic funds coastal conservation projects. Learn more at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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CLICK HERE to read about past year’s highlights.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Spring migration brings out the birdwatcher in all of us. The twelfth Annual Great Texas Birding Classic offers birders from across North America a chance to spot species for a cause.

The birding classic is a great event to go out in the field and see as many birds as possible with your friends and families for a great cause, which is habitat conservation on the Texas coast.

Shelley Plante is nature tourism coordinator for Parks and Wildlife. This year’s Birding Classic is April 27 through May 4. Teams pay entry fees, which fund habitat conservation.

We’ve now donated five hundred and seventy eight thousand dollars to habitat conservation projects on the Texas coast. Acquisition and restoration are the things that people want to fund; the teams are the ones that get to pick which projects get funded every year, and they consistently pick restoration and acquisition projects, because that’s what we need for the birds that migrating. We need more habitat that is pristine and in its natural state, either by restoring habitat that is already owned, or by acquiring habitat that might do on to development.

While team registration is over, statewide nature-viewing opportunities are not.

We have a migration calendar of events that comes out every year in the May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. And that lists activities from May of 2008 through May of 2009 that you can do statewide.

Learn more about the Classic at passporttotexas.org.

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

April 3 — 6

FeatherFest 2008 — Galveston. A birding and general nature festival focusing on the birds of the Upper Texas Coast during early spring (late wintering birds, early spring trans-gulf migrants and many all season birds). Expert led seminars on many topics, field trips by bus, boat and kayak, activities for non-birding spouses and signature socials. Registration: $30/person; Cost varies for specific activities. 5 a.m. — 5 p.m. (409) 392-0841; www.galvestonfeatherfest.com.

April 12 — 14

19th Annual Spring Native Plant Sale — Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, McKinney. Check out over 300 varieties of native Texas plants such as trees, shrubs, perennials, vines and grasses! All sales are tax-free. Free entry. Friday: 4 — 7 p.m. (members only); Saturday: 9 a.m. — 5 p.m.; Sunday: 1 — 5 p.m. (972) 562-5566; www.heardmuseum.org.

Great Texas Birding Classic, Part 1 of 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

When Hurricane Humberto made landfall along the Texas coast last September, High Island, an important sanctuary for migratory birds, got hit hard. The April issue of TP&W Magazine follows the efforts of volunteers who brought the island back to life. Managing Editor, Louie Bond.

When you talk about damaging hurricanes, I think everybody thinks about Katrina and Rita. But actually, Hurricane Humberto was the fastest-growing hurricane in US history. And, unfortunately, the bull’s-eye hit High Island, which is a wonderful bird sanctuary. And, it’s an important stopover for neotropical birds who are coming north from Central and South America to their spring nesting places in North America. There’s marshland all around, and there’s just beautiful little secluded sanctuary where the birds can stop and rest and then continue on their way. And when Humberto came around, it uprooted centuries-old trees, tore up boardwalks, and just did incredible damage. But luckily, volunteers came on the weekends—members of the Houston Audubon Society—and they worked and worked and they cleaned up the debris and rebuilt the boardwalks. And now, I’m glad to say High Island has been totally restored and will be ready for the visiting birds this spring.

Thanks for the great news, Louie. Learn more about High Island at passporttotexas.org.

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

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