Passport to Texas

Some birds, like the golden-cheeked warbler are endangered because of habitat alteration.

Birds on the Move Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

According to a National Audubon Society report on birds and climate change, 314 of the 588 North American bird species studied will lose more than 50 percent of their current climatic range by 2080.

Ornithologist, Cliff Shackelford, says climate change is impacting these species. As the temperatures rise, birds move north. Another reason is habitat alteration.

The interesting thing is that probably four or five decades ago there was another pulse or movement of birds that might not have been related to climate change. And what some people have suggested is a lot of these birds are extending their range because of fire suppression where grasslands were probably a good barrier to a lot of these woodland birds. And now that we don’t have fires to maintain grass, we have trees encroaching. Things like mesquite, huisache and retama are increasing, and a lot of those South Texas birds are moving in response to that.

Some birds, like the golden-cheeked warbler, are already endangered because of habitat alteration. And if something’s not done to restore the habitat, many more birds could find themselves without a suitable home.

They’re specialized they need a very specific habitat and when that is whittled away, they’re not able to adapt to other environments.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Find the Ringer.

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This is Passport to Texas

In sports a “ringer’ is not a good thing. However, in Great Texas Birding Classic’s Big Sit tournament, it is.

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.

That’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Nature Tourism coordinator, Shelly Plante who oversees the event. Our colleague, Bob Sweeney, who is an attorney, is also a Big Sit ringer.

You know, I’ve been fascinated with birds since childhood, and even in high school I was out in the field and woods with my binoculars and my book. I just think it’s an exciting, dynamic part of the natural world, and pretty easy if you’re willing to put a little time into it to develop a minimum level of knowledge.

Bob has done that and more, and says he enjoys helping beginning birders gain knowledge and confidence.

I think any teacher has a great feeling when they feel like someone in the class gets it. Someone snaps to it. That Eureka moment may come, not during the Big Sit, but it may be something that was learned during the Big Sit that is then used in the backyard, or used on a hike or communicated to another person who is wanting to start out, so maybe the light bulb when it goes on is the confidence to transmit that knowledge—I know what that is. I saw it in the Big Sit. And here’s why I think it’s that.

The Great Texas Birding Classic takes place April 15 through May 15th. Stay on top of the action at birdingclassic.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Hanging with friends and family during the Great Texas Birding Classic.

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This is Passport to Texas

Does sitting outdoors in a circle with friends and family sound like a birding tournament to you? It is, and it’s called The Big Sit.

We call them lovingly the tailgate party for birders. Because really it’s wherever you can set up a 17-foot diameter circle. Be that your backyard, a local park, a state park – anywhere that makes sense for you to be able to see a good group of birds and to spend a day with friends and family.

The Big Sit is one of the tournaments of the Great Texas Birding Classic, in its 22nd year. Shelly Plante, nature tourism manager at Texas Parks and Wildlife, coordinates event.

You can have as few as one person on your team, to as many as you can fit in that circle throughout the course of the day. And people can come in shifts. They don’t have to stay for the whole 24 hours. So, you could have a morning group, a midafternoon group. You could have them come throughout the day. No one has to stay there the entire time.

The Big Sit tournament is ideal for novice birdwatchers.

The Big Sit is great for beginners, because it lets you get your feet wet in the Birding Classic, and see what a bird watching tournament really is. Once you get your confidence in The Big Sit it’s easier to move on to doing a Sunrise to Noon tournament; it’s easier to say hey, I want to do a Big Day where I drive around to a lot of places. And so we have tournaments for that as well.

The Great Texas Birding Classic is April 15 through May 15th. Team registration closed April 1st, but you can stay on top of the action at birdingclassic.org.

Tomorrow, confessions of a birding classic ringer.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Daytime Big Sit group.

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This is Passport to Texas

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 22nd 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 h 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.

Tomorrow, the mechanics of the Big Sit.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Harris’ Hawk, Image: Gary Peeples USFWS

Bird Words with Cliff Shackelford: Cere Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

There’s a name for everything—including those things about which we don’t give much thought. Like that little waxy lump between the beak and eyes of certain birds.

And it’s usually found in raptors and parrots.

Ornithologist, Cliff Shackelford calls this feature a cere (seer).

Cere—c-e-r-e. And for people that like crossword puzzles, this might be a good one you might often see.

If you have a pet parakeet, parrot, or cockatoo, you will see that waxy, hard covering around the nostrils.

And that featherless hard area is the cere. People will see them in caged parrots, but in raptors, too. So, falconers will notice these unique features on these birds. And it’s just a waxy, hard covering to expose the nostrils.

So is this structure functional or just decorative?

It’s not very decorative, although it can be brightly colored in some raptors. But there’s no real understanding why these groups of birds—raptors and parrots—have it and no one else does. There’s another similar structure on a dove and a pigeon called an operculum; why don’t all birds have that? So, there are certain things that not all birds have.

Such as the cere (seer).

And that’s our word of the day here: cere.

The more you know….

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