Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

After a rough winter, spring is finally here! So, take this opportunity to discover the unique flora and fauna of Texas. Whether you travel to the Gulf Coast or the Panhandle, the following tips will enhance your experience.

Some of the best tips are to just wear camouflage colors. Wear natural, neutral colors, unscented lotions. Walk very, very softly- not snap twigs or trample the wildflowers. You want to be as invisible to the animals that you are trying to see as possible.

Shelley Plante, Nature Tourism Coordinator.

Dusk and dawn are the best times to go viewing. They’re wonderful for birds, as well as the dragonflies and butterflies. Although some animals you can see throughout the day. So even a picnic in the afternoon will take you to a great site for wildlife watching.

I bet you thought you would never hear this, but: DON’T SHARE! Sure, your lunch may be tasty, but don’t give it to any of the critters you see.

Let the animals also eat their natural foods. Don’t share any of your picnic with them. It’s great to help feed birds at your backyard- it’s a wonderful way to view wildlife, but when you’re out in the wilderness and actually take a hike or camping, clean up after yourself. Leave no trace. Do all those basic, good wildlife etiquette things that you should do while in the wild.

Find additional wildlife viewing tips on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website.

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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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Snakes are shy, and not likely to slither about in the open. Even so, human and snake encounters do occur – even in backyards. To minimize unpleasant consequences from chance meetings, experts advise us to: wear boots, watch our step, keep our lawns mowed, and if we see a snake –don’t play with it.

The one thing that I did manage to do was not play with the snake.

Robyn Gammill is a stay at home mom and freelance writer living in rural Caldwell County. She shared her snake bite story in the March issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

For some reason, I was checking on the chickens – I think we might have had new chicks. And I remember about a third of the way across the yard looking at the sky and thinking, ‘I sure hope I don’t get bitten this time.’ And right about that time, I got bitten by a snake, which felt exactly like being bitten by a cat. So, I had no idea what had happened at first. And I turned around to look, and sure enough, it was not my cat. It was a copperhead…who was ready to bite again by the looks of him.

Robyn got help quickly, which included an anti-venom injection and an overnight hospital stay…which proved costly.

It was just over forty-thousand dollars. And when I cracked open the envelope, I started laughing. I thought surely this must be some huge mistake. I was expecting, you know, three-thousand…five-thousand. But, the anti-venom is really expensive; and the anti-venom treatment alone was thirty-six thousand dollars.

Which was another painful bite…

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

Next time you’re in the untamed outdoors, and want to attract native wildlife – kiss the palm of your hand.

[kissing sound] I can do that to a bobcat that’s sitting out there behind a bush at a hundred yards, and it’ll start him towards me almost immediately. It just sounds delicious.

Delicious like a rodent. Gerald Stewart is a consultant for Johnny Stewart wildlife calls. Gerald’s father, Johnny, created a business featuring recorded animal sounds.

Dad realized early on in the development of the business, that these sounds could be used by quite a wide variety of people. Photographers, nature lovers, bird watchers, hunters, researchers, or people that just want to simply show their grandkids [raccoon call] the eyes of a raccoon coming through the grass at night…just for the joy of being able to see something wild, literally a few feet away from them.

Screech owls are common in residential neighborhoods, and are a good animal to call when you’re with children.

[screech owl]

It’s easier to call screech owls with children around. Screech owls are a gregarious little bird, very social. And will put up with human presence. After a minute or two of being there, humans can just start talking and milling around and the little screech owl just sits in the tree.

Learn about native wildlife by logging onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site.

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 and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

A day of fishing is one of the simplest, most relaxing, and inexpensive outings you and your family can experience together. If your family’s never gone fishing before… and think it’s something you’d like to try…or if you used to fish, but haven’t been in a long time… and want to brush up on your knowledge…Texas Parks and Wildlife offers free fishing clinics at state parks during the Family Fishing Celebration.

It’s just been a wonderful program around all of these different state parks that are participating in our family fishing celebration. It’s been a wonderful experience for everyone.

Ann Miller, who oversees angler education, says the kiddos will find the clinics especially appealing because of added incentives.

They can win a first fish award if they are catching their first fish. Many of them will receive learning materials, such a fish identification cards. They might also even get a chance to win some pretty nice door prizes by becoming involved in these clinics. So, they’re a lot of fun. Kids will have a great time. They’ll come with probably some fishing gear to get themselves started with, too.

Visit passporttotexas.org for a list of fishing clinics around the state.

That’s our show…sponsored by the Sport Fish Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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

During spring break you got a taste of what it’s going to be like when the kids are out of school this summer. How will you and the kiddos fill the days on end of “free time” to come?

We at Texas Parks and Wildlife suggest a relaxing, entertaining, and low cost activity you and your family can take to the bank. It’s a little something we like to call fishing.

And all month long you’ll find free fishing clinics at state parks where you can hone your skills.

Even though we gear these clinics primarily for children…we’re, of course, encouraging parents to be there with their children. And what I think is really fun is to watch the parents become just as engaged at these clinics as the children are.

Ann Miller oversees angler education.

Once of the activities people will be able to participate in is learning about fishing regulations. A lot of people, we realize, don’t know when it is that you need to have a fishing license. So, they’ll be able to find that out. They’ll be able to find out about size and bag limits for different species of fish in the state, and at different locations. So, we’ll also be teaching about fishing safety. We want everyone to get out there and enjoy our resources… fish… have fun…and be safe on the water.

Visit passporttotexas.org for a list of fishing clinics taking place statewide.

That’s our show…sponsored by the Sport Fish Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuels.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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