Passport to Texas

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

Today we are in the process of trying to catch some birds.

Craig Hensley is a park specialist at Guadalupe River State Park and Honey Creek State Natural Area. He’s a certified bird bander who catches birds for research and education.

In the winter time at the park, we catch the birds at a bird feeding station we set up, and then we identify what they are. Try to age and sex them: male/female, are they a young bird or an older bird? Then we put a small metal bracelet, if you will, on the bird that they wear for the rest of their life and has a unique number, almost like our social security number, and it identifies that bird from all of the other birds of that kind anywhere it travels.

When banded birds are caught, identified and released in other locations, their individual movements can be recorded, which provides insight on birds’ lifeways.

Ultimately, it teaches us things about the longevity of birds, migration patterns, and with all the things going on with our climate these days, that’s one way to figure out if the birds are changing what they’re doing, because that’s a good indication of what might be going on a grander scale.

Craig Hensley hosts bird banding demonstrations at the park. Hear about them tomorrow.

More bird banding information is on our website: passporttotexas.org

That’s our show for today…with research and writing help from Sarah Loden…we produce the show with a grant from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program

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

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Visitors to Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, in the Texas Panhandle, leave with a better sense of Texas’ rich natural and cultural heritage than when they arrived.

It’s one of the unique Texas treasures that everyone should see.

Deanna Oberheu (O-bur-hew), former park manager, said that in recent years, the park added an overlook for viewing the state’s official bison herd and a new visitor’s center. The installation of interpretive exhibits this past November further enhances the visitor experience.

Really, this is the most important part of the process—is getting the exhibits installed. It’ll showcase to people what they might see if they get out in the park, and teach them a little bit about the geology, the plants, the animals and the past people of Caprock Canyons.

The relationship between Native Americans and bison is a recurring theme in the exhibit.

The thread of Caprock Canyons is that people have been there and occupied the site at since, at least, ten thousand years ago. So, out exhibits focus a lot on how the native people used plants, and how they used the bison, and really just how they interacted with the landscape.

Find more information about Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway at passporttotexas.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

Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg is one of thousands of education vacation destinations you can find on the website texaseducationvacation.com. Marilyn Thomas, with her husband John, own the farm.

People enjoy going out there, looking to see what wildflowers look like. And the children seem to like the walking trail because they can see the butterflies on the flowers.

And speaking of butterflies, the farm has a lovely butterfly enclosure on site.

We absolutely have. And, if I do say so myself, I do think it’s one of the most wonderful butterfly houses anywhere.

In Texas, we say, “It’s not bragging if it’s true,” so we made tracks to the Butterfly Haus—which was spectacular—where we met up with curator Liz Cannedy who was introducing children to a swallowtail caterpillar.

Okay, there you go. You want to touch it? And we just touch it minimally. Just minimally. You like caterpillars don’t you?

I love Caterpillars. I love carrying caterpillars. I want to carry one.

No, I’m going to put this one back because he’s eating. We want him to eat.

It’s a world of wonder for all ages at the Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg. Make it your education vacation destination in May. Learn more at Texas Education Vacation dot com.

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

School’s out, but that doesn’t mean learning comes to a grinding halt. Keep that gray matter bubbling all summer long when you take the family on a Texas education vacation.

From an educational standpoint, Texas is rich in history that really ties into the curriculum that’s being taught in the public schools, and there are a vast number of attractions in Texas, where students and families together can actually see and experience part of that history that’s being taught in the classroom.

David Teel is VP of Planning and Development with Texas Travel Industry Association, which operates the website texaseducationvacation.com.

It contains thousands of educational attractions, destinations, events that should be of interest to parents, teachers, school kids… And basically the function of this website is to promote the intrinsic educational value of travel in Texas.

When you type your destination into the search box, and click search, various destinations are returned. Refine your search by age, interests, cost, or more. When I did a search for Fredericksburg, Wildseed Farm topped the list.

The children seem to love the walking trail because they can see the butterflies on the flowers.

Tomorrow, we take an Education Vacation to Wildseed Farm in Fredericksburg.

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

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Passport to Texas and the Wildlife Restoration Program

As our population becomes urban, we see people buying rural property as weekend retreats.

Recreational buying is the greatest motivation for exchanges in land in Texas.

Linda Campbell, program director for the private lands program at Texas Parks and Wildlife, says the reasons for buying rural property are as different as the people buying it.

Game species are still a big driver – very important economically for landowners in Texas. But, we have a greater diversity of landowners, and so with a diversity of people , you have a diversity of interests. So, there are a lot of landowners, particularly those with smaller tracts, that are primarily interested in managing for birds and other non-game wildlife. Or, they just want to get away from the city to have a retreat. And that’s an absolutely valid goal as well. And, so, we work with all landowners in whatever their goal is.

Parks and Wildlife’s private lands program offers landowners free technical assistance managing their property.

Texas is over ninety percent privately owned, and so we recognized that if we’re going to have any impact at all on conservation of wildlife and habitats, we have to do it through the cooperation of private landowners.

Understanding your land…that’s tomorrow.

That’s our show with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Programs.

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

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