Passport to Texas

Project FeederWatch

Birding: Feeder Watching Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Christmas Bird count, which takes place from December 14 – January 5 is a project of the National Audubon Society where for three weeks volunteers count birds during a 24-hour period in a 15-mile diameter circle.

05—But there aren’t any on December 25th—you can’t compete with family time and ripping open presents.

Cliff Shackelford is Texas Parks and Wildlife non-game ornithologist. Volunteers submit their observations to the lead person, called a compiler.

05—That compiler then crunches all the numbers and turns in—nationally—a count for the whole circle.

Audubon isn’t the only organization counting birds this winter. The Cornell Lab or Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada offer a feeder watcher program for folks who prefer to count birds from the comfort of home.

23—That’s someone that just merely watches out their back window and looks at the birds coming to the feeder and just counting those things. It’s a really good niche for someone that’s not able to get out if it’s too cold, or you’re just not physically able to get out, or maybe you have a newborn at the house, These are people that might have their eyes open watching the feeder and can contribute.

Find links to more information on the bird count and feeder watch at passporttotexas.org.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series as well as conservation programs in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Horned lizard

Wildlife/Citizen Science: Texas Nature Trackers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Nature Tracker is a program designed to help citizens learn how to monitor and share data on rare species around the state.

10— This citizen science program is a great one to get citizens involved in collecting data on species that we don’t have enough biologists to actually do the work.

Biologist, Marsha May, coordinates the Nature Tracker Program for Parks and Wildlife. Depending on their interests, volunteers receive training for one or more targeted species…

13— Texas whooping cranes, bumblebees, frogs and toads, the box turtle survey, coastal fisheries has one for tarpon, Texas horned lizards, and Texas mussel watch.

Once trained, volunteers monitor the species and report back to May with their data, which in turn provides value to state biologists.

09— The value comes from not having enough boots on the ground to get out there to find out what’s going on with populations throughout the state.

Tomorrow, we tell you about one Nature Tracker volunteer who discovered a destructive invasive species in a Texas Lake.

05—Well, that particular one that you’re talking about is the zebra mussel.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Native Texas Bumblebee, Image from Native Plant Society of Texas, www.npsot.org

Nature/Wildlife: Benefits of Native Bees Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bumblebees and solitary bees are the native bees of Texas.

09— Compared to honeybees, native bees have far less interest in term of research and money and organized conservation.

That’s too bad because native bee populations are declining from loss of habitat and plant diversity, says TPW invertebrate biologist Michael Warriner. Should they decline significantly, that could further affect what you see on the landscape.

13— If decline happens, you may see over decades, fewer of certain plants. Maybe you don’t see that wildflowers as frequently as you did or that flowering shrub as much as you did. And they slowly just disappear off the landscape.

We can all help the native bee populations.

19—The landscape of Texas has changed so much that we’ve lost a lot of plant diversity – particularly of those plants that bees need for nectar and pollen. Even if you live in the heart of a city, if you planted just a few more good native plants that produce good nectar and pollen – you can help to support the native bees in those areas.

Find resources for supporting native bees at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
_________________________________________________________

Native Texas Bee Resources:

http://www.txnativebees.com/
http://www.beewatchers.com/bee-watchers.html
http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/food-drink/06-09-13-north-texas-farmer-garden-native-solitary-bees/
https://www.facebook.com/texasnativebees
https://www.facebook.com/texasnativebees#!/texasbumblebees

Texas Outdoor Family Workshop

Recreation: Texas Outdoor Family Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You want to camp overnight in a state park but don’t want to spend money on gear until you hone your skills?

04— Texas Outdoor Family provides all of the camping equipment that a family needs for a weekend.

Robert Owen oversees the Texas Outdoor Family Program. During supervised weekend workshops, Texas Outdoor Family provides nearly everything families need for a successful overnight camping experience.

14—Generally a family needs to bring their own food and personal items like a sleeping bag. We provide the rest from a tent to the air mattresses, pots and pans… And even a bunch of ranger guidance to go along with it Rangers actually spend the night in the campground with the families.

TOF staff helps families set up camp, and plans activities for them like kayaking, geocaching, fishing, and hiking to get them into the outdoor groove. If one weekend isn’t enough …

21— We invite families back to join us as many as three times. The first time is very much their beginner experience. So, you come out the first time you realize it’s fun; you realize your family has really enjoyed it. The second and third times you refine your skills. And then we hope you’re ready to be released out there into the parks, and do it on your own.

The cost of the weekend is $65 for up to six people. There are Texas Outdoor Family workshops this fall; find details on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Outdoor Kids

Back to School Week: Teach the Outdoors Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Texas Parks and Wildlife offers a variety of enhancements for teachers and educators to use in and out of the classroom.

19— We offer outdoor skills training; we offer additions to curriculum – all kinds of supportive materials – to help people introduce youth to the outdoors and to outdoor skills so that they become more aware of their surroundings, enjoy the natural world, and feel connected to our natural resources.

Nancy Herron is Director of Outreach and Education. A new curriculum on aquatic ecosystems of Texas provides a template for understanding water, the living things that depend on it, and our future decisions about it.

31— Without a basic understanding of how our aquatic systems work, it’s going to be very difficult to make those tough decisions that are facing us, such as how much water we need to have in a stream? Isn’t that an unusual question? I mean, it’s not something that people normally would think about; how would you even understand how to approach that question? Our folks are going to be making a lot of tough decisions in the future as we balance the needs of people and the environment. And we need to have a good understanding of how the environment works to do that.

The electronic student and teacher guides for aquatic ecosystems of Texas will be available on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, and partner website: the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, and the Hart Research Institute.

The Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and works increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.