Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife television series is especially good this month, with stories of fast flying birds and battles of yore and a whole lot more. Don Cash is series producer.

The first week there’s a story called the Flying Photographers. And it’s a feature on Sid and Shirley Rucker who live in Livingston, Texas, and they are just incredible photographers. They spend most of their time taking pictures of hummingbirds all over the state.

The flashes go anywhere from ten thousandths of a second to twenty thousandths of a second.

The second week we’ve got a story on the Bass Brigades, a camp for kids, teaching them how to communicate about nature.

The fourth week of August is a really interesting story called A Spirit Rises. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is working with several of the native American tribes to discover some of the history that will tell the story of the battle of Palo Duro Canyon.

What we’re trying to do here is to bring in both the native American perspective, and to collect data that can add detail and scope to the overall story.

The last week of August, we go pier fishing along the coast. It’s really interesting to go to all the different places. You never know what you’re going to catch.

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
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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.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Hummingbirds are small, colorful and fast. Mark Klym, Hummingbird Roundup coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife, offers additional interesting tidbits about this bird.

Most hummingbirds, their wing speed, at about 70 to 72 beats per second. And people just can’t imagine that –moving your arms at 72 times a second [admit it, you flapped your arms]. They can also hover. They can fly backward, which not many birds can do. Once they find a feeder they are very aggressive at keeping other birds out. And mostly during migration season. And the reason for that is if you just walked 25-hundred miles you’d be very protective of your food source, too.

Being a fast flyer does not keep this creature out of harm’s way. Klym says it is interesting to note that the biggest threats to hummingbirds include clean windows and cats…but the threats do not stop there.

Hummingbirds have a lot of other predators. Praying mantis – people don’t think of them as a threat to a hummingbird but they will certainly take a hummingbird. Spiders will take a hummingbird. Snakes, roadrunners, wrens…there’s a number of species that will take a hummingbird. Of course, other than your front window and the cats, most of them, the hummingbirds have evolved around and so they will usually escape.

We have links to more information about hummingbirds on our website. Visit us at: passorttotexas.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

While the mockingbird might be the official state bird of Texas, every July it’s the hummingbird that earns a place of distinction in the state.

July is usually the start of our hummingbird migration when we’ve got thousands of ruby throated hummingbirds heading this way from the northern regions.

Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Mark Klym heads up the annual Hummingbird Roundup Survey in Texas, where some 18 different species of hummingbirds have been documented.

The round-up really provides us with information about the hummingbird population here in Texas and gives us an idea of where they’re being found.

While the bird count takes place year-round, the birds are more prevalent in the state from July to October.

This would be a good time to start looking at possibly increasing your number of feeders if you have a yard that is going to be actively used by hummingbirds…the best way to get hummingbirds in your yard is to prepare a good hummingbird garden. Lots of plants that will feed the birds, salvias, Turks cap, trumpet vine.

Take part in the annual Hummingbird Roundup and receive your own survey kit…find out how… when you visit passporttotexas.org.

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Whether you plan to hit the road or stay home this summer, now is the perfect time to make your plans. And to help you with a few ideas is Associate Publisher of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, Charles Lohrmann.

June is the perfect time to plan a fishing trip to the Texas coast, because you’re still a few weeks ahead of the extreme heat of July and August, and when you get down there to the coast, kayaking is the perfect way to get to the fish. Our saltwater fishing writer, Larry Bozka has written an article about kayak fishing and some things to keep in mind as you plan a fishing trip like that.

So, whether you’re staying home or traveling to the coast, or even going out to Southwest Texas to devil’s river, we have something that will make the summer a little more interesting.

Thank you, Charles.

That’s our show…visit us online at www.passporttotexas.org… to listen to shows and to share your favorite outdoor story.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

This weekend, explore bats, bugs, birds, and more during guided field trips and workshops at WildFest San Antonio.

WildFest San Antonio is going to be San Antonio’s first birding and nature festival, and we’re going to have over seventy different programs going on all weekend long at about twenty-five different locations spread out through Bexar county.

Gail Dugelby, a Nature Preserve Officer for Medina River Natural Area, says the Alamo City is an ideal location for the fest because it’s a crossroads.

Just in Bexar county alone we have 4 different eco-regions converging all on itself. So, when we say that we’re a crossroads, we get to be a crossroads of culture, as well as a crossroads of ecosystems. We’ve got this abundance of diversity.

WildFest offers participants a chance to enjoy the natural and cultural resources of the area.

Our goal is to educate the residents and the visitors about the unique natural and historical environments and increase the awareness of nature in and around San Antonio.

WildFest is May 4th through 6th throughout San Antonio. Most tours are limited to 15 to 20 people, and charge a fee. Other events are free. Visit www.wildfestsanantonio.com for complete details.

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Loren Seeger…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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