Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

For twenty-two years the Texas Parks and Wildlife television series has aired on PBS stations statewide. This month, series producer, Don Cash helps us kick off the new season.

First week of October we start off with actually a show about becoming a game warden. We followed a game warden class the entire six months; and it’s a really interesting and entertaining look at what goes into becoming a game warden.

Coming in with thirty-four other strangers…it’s just, I mean, overwhelming. C’mon Caroline! Push it…push it…push it…push it. Whoever just groaned is going to love this. One…two… three. Good Job!

The second week of October, Abe Moore has got a really fantastic story on the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which is extinct – maybe. The third week in October, we have story called fishing the late shift. And, it’s about night fishing, and people who fish at night.

It’s just easier for me to catch fish at night. It’s just fun. I catch some catfish and bass, mainly.

We end the month of October with a story on the Spring Trackers. It follows a couple of biologists with the department as they travel the state and study and monitor and count the springs that are in Texas and try and learn a little more about these wonderful resources that we have.

Thanks, Don. Visit passporttotexas.org for a complete listing of stations airing the series.

That’s our show for today…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Texas Parks and Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2: October–March, Saturday 6 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18: Monday, 12:30 p.m.; Friday 5:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. KLRU2, Cable 20: Tuesday, 11 p.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16: Sunday, 12 p.m.; Friday, 2 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13: October–March, Saturday, 6 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.; Friday 1:30 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46: Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5: Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9: Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34: Saturday, 3 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3: Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• The New York Network, NYN, Thursday 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 2:30 p.m. Serving the Albany area.

Cable

Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Boerne, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Del Mar College, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Garland, Irving, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Rogers State University, Texarkana College, The Colony, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPWD TV -- October Highlights Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Fragmentation of old growth forests in the southeastern US and Texas, prime ivory billed woodpecker habitat, may have contributed to the species’ “extinction.” Yet, reports in 2005 said that after nearly 60 years in oblivion, the woodpecker had been rediscovered in Arkansas.

We’ve been getting a lot of calls since that announcement in oh-five, from people in east Texas that are wondering why there’s all this hoopla over ivory bills, because they’ve had them in their yard for years.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Parks and Wildlife. While the ivory billed woodpecker is the largest woodpecker north of Mexico…

We didn’t do a very good job telling people there are two big woodpeckers. And the other one is a common bird in the eastern third of Texas, and that is the pileated Woodpecker.

That’s the bird people have spotted, said Shackleford. It’s an easy mistake to make, too, as the woodpeckers are similar in size and appearance.

They’re black, white and they have some red on them. But the big difference between the two, when they’re perched on the tree, the ivory billed has a white backpack. So, the folded wings give it the look like it’s carrying a white backpack. Whereas in the pileated, there’s no white. It’s just continuously dark on the back.

Log onto passporttotexas.org for links to more information about the ivory billed woodpecker, and what to do if you think you’ve seen one.

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

Woodpeckers: Pileated Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Back in April 2005 a national announcement proclaimed the Ivory-billed woodpecker, considered extinct, had been re-discovered in an area in Arkansas known as the Big Woods.

And it was definitely the most exciting news that anyone can remember in the birding circles.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Parks and Wildlife.

There have been a lot of skeptics that have seen the documentation – it’s a little fuzzy – but there have been lots of people going back to the site, and have had glimpses. But no one’s been able to secure that really golden shot of the bird.

A team from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ivory-Billed Woodpecker research project has a team on the ground in Arkansas looking for this elusive bird.

The exciting thing is that this bird possibly has survived after sixty years of not being detected in the US; and the last sighting of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker in Texas was in November 1904. So, it’s been a long time since that bird has been in Texas. It occurred in the eastern third of the state, roughly, in mature river-bottom habitat.

Many east Texans claim to have seen Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers, but tomorrow we discuss a case of mistaken identity.

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

Woodpeckers: Ivory Billed Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

We have a saying here in Texas that goes: It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true. And when it comes to which state holds the record for the most bird species…well…yes sir…Texas comes out on top.

Texas has 630 species on the list, and it grows by several species every year.

Cliff Shackelford is a non-game ornithologist with Parks and Wildlife.

When I first started paying attention to the state list – probably fifteen, twenty years ago – it was in the five seventies, five eighties…so it’s neat to see it go up like a nice bank account.

You may be wondering why we’re seeing more species. Part of the reason is birdwatchers are getting better; the other part is…well…a little embarrassing for the birds.

Birds are often lost. Usually what happens is there’s a stray from Mexico that’s attracted to the great habitat work that’s done in the Rio Grande Valley. And there’s a lot of birdwatchers there that have studied their Mexican field guides, and so these birds have just come across from parts farther south, and they show up and there’s hopefully an observer that knows what they’re looking at. And that’s how we get a lot of our new birds.

Not all lost birds come from the south. Arctic strays sometimes end up in the Panhandle…and their poor sense of direction is Texas’ gain; because, even if the bird only hangs around for a short time, we still get to count it.

That’s our show for today…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Link to World Birding Center

Birds Are Abundant in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife television series brings the outdoors in. Series producer Don Cash says one segment on Wyler Aerial Tramway and will take viewers to new heights.

It’s really kind of an unusual state park because it’s a tramway, and not your typical, “I’m gong camping” kind of place. The history of the tramway is really interesting; it was originally there to service the television towers on the top of the mountain.

The main purpose of the tramway being built was to get his engineers up to the transmitter site to do maintenance. When they saw that the ride beautiful, they decided to open it up to the public. And it ran until 1986 when it was shut down.

And the view is just…

Breathtaking, huh? Yeah (laughter).

We’re also going to go way down in the valley to the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, which is also part of the World Birding Center.

[bird chirps] This is one of the best places in the country to see birds. We have over five hundred species just in the Lower Rio Grande Valley alone [bird chirps] Which is more than what some states have.

All year round at Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, you’re going to see lots of birds… you’re going to hear lots of birds. It seems to be pretty constant down there, no matter what time of the year you’re there.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television series airs on PBS stations. Check your local listings.

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

TPWD TV – Taking to the Sky Play Now | Play in Popup | Download