Passport to Texas

White-tailed buck

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This is Passport to Texas

2015, marks the 24th year of Texas Big Game Awards.

17-Texas Big Game Awards started in 1991 as a partnership between Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife, as a means to document the great, big game resources that we have in the state. And also, to celebrate our hunting heritage and recognize young and new hunters.

Justin Dreibelbis is the new Private Lands and Public Hunting Program Director at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. When we spoke, he was the Hunting Heritage Director at the Texas Wildlife Association. Texas hunters sent in their entries, which trained scorers evaluated using criteria specific to each region.

22- And then, we also have unscored categories, which are our youth division and our first harvest division. A youth division entry is any youth hunter who takes a native big game animal in the state. A first harvest division is for a person who take their first native big game animal in the state of Texas-whether they-re eight years old or 80 years old.

The Texas Big Game Awards recognizes large antlers with the understanding that they are a direct result of well-managed habitat, said Dreibelbis. Winners receive their awards at regional banquets. The first is May 16 for regions 5, 6 & 7 in Lufkin. Find additional information at texasbiggameawards.org

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

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

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Texas Hummingbird Roundup Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Until recently, I did not know hummingbirds ate insects.

11—Well, if you think about it, an animal that’s swinging it’s arms at 72 times a second, needs something to rebuild those muscles that it’s exercising in there. And, without protein, they’re not going to build muscle.

So, if you find insects, such as bees, snacking at your hummingbird feeder, Mark Klym says, don’t panic.

09—People get all excited when bees get around their hummingbird feeder. And, bees are a great food for hummingbirds. I’ve watched them take bees out of the air.

Klym coordinates the Texas Hummingbird Roundup, a citizen science project with Texas Nature Trackers where folks like you help biologists take stock of hummers.

24—We ask people to have a look out in the backyard once a week, about fifteen, twenty minutes a week, and give us a count of what birds [hummingbirds] you’re seeing out there. How many? What Species? What are they using? And then, if you see anything unusual—you find a nest, you see mating behavior—we ask you to record it and let us know about it.

Download a survey kit and forms for the Hummingbird Roundup from the Parks and Wildlife website. While you’re there, you’ll also discover gardening tips for attracting hummers and a species identification guide.

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.

Coastal bird watchers

Great Texas Birding Classic Underway Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Any novice or seasoned birder worth their field guide comes to Texas for the Great Texas Birding Classic – a statewide bird watching tournament, April 15 to May 15.

08— It isn’t all about winning, it really is about fun. And I’m really happy to see that people are finally realizing this isn’t just
for hardcore birders.

Shelly Plante oversees Nature Tourism for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Don’t be surprised if during the tournament you see out of town birders roaming your communities.

38—We do see some traveling. We have a statewide weeklong tournament and there’s a statewide big day tournament. So, you can do 24 –hours and go wherever you want – from the Hill Country to the coast; you aren’t bounded by regional territory like you are in some of the other big day competitions. The statewide weeklong is six days of birding anywhere in the entire state. And so, we have a lot of teams doing that. Even though it’s a huge commitment, it’s a lot of fun. A lot of them go from west Texas, all the way down to south Texas, all the way to the upper Texas coast to the Pineywoods. So, they’re seeing 350 or more birds in a week; and, you can’t do that in a lot of states.
So, Texas is unique.

Winning teams choose where to direct funds for habitat conservation. Check out what the birders are seeing this year at birdingclassic.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.

Earth Day in Texas–what will you do to make it a better place?

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On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment…and thus began the annual celebration of the planet called Earth Day.

2015 marks the 45th Anniversary of Earth Day, and millions of people worldwide are gearing up for it. But a once a year celebration is useless if that’s where it ends. So I want to challenge everyone listening, to do something every day to care for Mother Earth.

What kinds of things can you do? Perhaps plant native plants that use less water and provide food and shelter for wildlife. That’s my plan. Or take a ceramic coffee mug to the office instead of using disposable cups. Perhaps when you’re out fishing you could properly dispose of monofilament fishing line so it doesn’t harm aquatic life.

In addition, when camping, leave your campsite in better shape than you found it. Or, your stewardship goal might be to spend time with your family outdoors instead of inside with the television—because you’re no good to nature with a remote in your hand.

Mix it up, and add new earth friendly activities to your list every month between now and next Earth Day. Challenge your family, friends and neighbors to do the same.

What will you do? Go to passporttotexas.org and let me know in the comments section, and start inspiring others.

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

A big pot of chili for competition.

Davis Mountains Mile High Chili Cook-off Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The First Annual Mile High Chili Cook-off is a new, CASI sanctioned, competition to take place April 25 at Davis Mountains State Park. CASI stands for Chili Appreciation Society International.

13— We are very excited about this. And these are people who have been competing in chili cook-offs throughout the year and they’re trying to get points to then go to the international chili cook-off in Terlingua, in November.

Tara Poloskey is an interpretive ranger at the park.

09—They’re very competitive; it’s pretty serious for some of these chefs. And, CASI does most of the work, but we provide the judges.

Want to put your bowl of red up against serious competitors? Then register quickly. Find information at passporttotexas.org; and if you’re going to be camping at the park anyway…

18— We’re allowing visitors to the park to pay four dollars, and with their four dollars that goes to the friend’s group, they get a cup, a napkin, a bottle of water, and they can go around to all of the different kitchens and try the chili once the chefs have submitted them to the judges.

Davis Mountains SP is giving away prizes to competitors.

11— Gift certificates to the Indian Lodge for hotel rooms overnight. We have gift certificates for camping at Davis Mountains State Park; we have a camp stove that was donated from our local true value.

Find details about the First Annual Mile High Chili Cook-off at Davis Mountains SP at passporttotexas.org.

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