Passport to Texas

Barred Owl

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This is Passport to Texas

Owls symbolize wisdom – and we can learn much from them when pick their… pellets.

It’s more dignified than digging through poo because you’ll be digging through vomit.

Amy Kocurek and I have different ideas about what’s dignified, but this interpretive ranger at Martin Dies Jr. SP, in East TX does know how to keep visitors engaged.

The kids especially, they love it. Little furry, tin foiled wrapped up presents, that they get to unwrap and see what sort of mysterious surprises await inside.

Wrapped in foil? Yes, because you can order them online.

Most of them are from barn owls that people will collect from in their bars where owls just hack up these pellets; they’ll collect them and sanitize them and sell them for teachers, mostly.

Whether pellets are fresh or sanitized for your protection, those small, furry capsules have secrets to reveal.

Because it contains these almost perfectly preserved pieces of bones and beaks and different things the owl ate, researchers can see what their man food source is in the area that they’re living, if that food source is changing seasonally…. But also, if you’re doing population studies on small mammals that will allow you to see how many different types of mammals are being eaten by owls. So, it can give you an all-round general idea of the population of animals in that ecosystem.

Dissect pellets with Amy Kocurek April 15 at Martin Dies Jr. SP; details at texasstateparks.org.

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

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

Ignition operations on an RX-burn at the Matador WMA. Image: Verble Fire Ecology Lab.

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This is Passport to Texas

The Matador Wildlife Management Area offers vistas of colorful rolling plains and canyons. Texas Parks and Wildlife maintains the beauty and balance of this 28-thousand acre natural landscape with the regular use of an ancient tool.

Right now they are preparing to light a test fire. It gives us a pretty good indication of what the fire behavior is going to be like. And since it’s a test, if it doesn’t work out, we can put the fire out and go for it another day.

Chris Schenck is part of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s prescribed fire crew. A segment about prescribed fire airs next week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Team member, Derreck Holdsctock, says fire is an important, natural process.

Whenever you don’t have fire brush encroaches. The more brush there is, the higher the fire danger is going to be during a dry year. So the more fire you put on the ground the less the effects of a wildfire will be and the more controllable it will be.

Prescribed fire has many jobs. It knocks back invasive plants, returns nutrients to the soil, and promotes native species, creating a balance of cover and forage for wildlife.

Every time we do a fire I feel like we’re taking a big chunk out of our management of that area. And then when you come back three months later and you have all this tall grass and you have all the wildflowers out there, it just kind of brings it all together and you realize what you’ve accomplished.

Catch the segment on Prescribed Fires this week on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Check your local listings.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Birds one might see in the coastal region of Texas.

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This is Passport to Texas

Twenty years ago, Bill Baker and two teammates began a journey of discovery during the very first Great Texas Birding Classic.

It was like the greatest scavenger hunt of all time—for birds! Being with your friends. Driving at a frantic pace. Covering habitat. Looking for different species. And learning. Our learning curve was so great.

As total rookies, their performance was uncompetitive, at best, but since they had fun, they’ve returned year after year. Members of the current team, called the NRG Eco Eagles, bring with them specific skillsets.

I can hear very well, even at my age. Tom—his vision is incredible. And Andy, the third member of our team now, has been a hunter most of his life. And he catches movement. He is really, really good at finding things. He can see movement, and has a skillset that really helps us as well. It is truly a team event in our case.

During the classic, teams try to identify the most birds they can. The NRG Eco Eagles participates in the week-long tournament, which puts them on the road.

That’s what makes it so much fun for us. And it’s very grueling. I’ll give you an example—on day one—we end up driving about 750 miles. And we walk about 8 and a half to nine miles that first day.

They sleep four hours and repeat…for an entire week. More with Bill Baker tomorrow. The Great Texas Birding Classic gets underway April 15. Keep up with the action at birdingclassic.org.

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

On the lookout for birds during the Great Texas Birding Classic.

Growing as a Birder with the Birding Classic Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Neither Bill Baker nor his teammates were birders 20 years ago when they participated in the very first Great Texas Birding Classic.

We were so bad the first year, the Parks and Wildlife department staff felt sorry for us. And they gave us an award for being rookies of the year so we might think about coming back the next year.

Back then he worked for Houston Lighting and Power managing a program called Environmental Partners.

And the goal of that program was to leverage money to enhance wildlife and fishery habitat here in Texas. So, when I saw the Texas Birding Classic advertisement, I thought we could participate in the classic with the Parks and Wildlife Department. If, perchance, we would happen to win, we could leverage our company money with any winnings to enhance a project here in Texas.

Bill may have been overly optimistic about his team’s prospects that first year, but he said it opened his eyes to what they needed to do to become competitive.

So, that was the goal after year one. And it drove us to come back. It was like, ‘Okay. We were embarrassed the first year. So let’s see what we can do to close the gap.

More with Bill Baker tomorrow. Meanwhile, The Great Texas Birding Classic gets underway April 15. Winning teams help decide the distribution of habitat restoration funds. Keep up with the action at birdingclassic.org.

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

Eisenhower State Park gets visit from 72-year-old Dave Roberts, walking across Texas – Image: Herald Democrat – Sherman, TX

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This is Passport to Texas

For septuagenarian, Dave Roberts, an adventure that took him across Texas on foot, started a little more than two decades ago with a dream…

In my dream, I died and I went to heaven. St. Peter looks at me and he looks down at his book and he looks at me again and says, ‘Why didn’t you take advantage of what they had to offer down there?’ End of dream.

A retired math teacher and computer programmer from Maryland, Dave soon quit his job to become a full-time volunteer, taking time off for adventures.

I don’t want to just sit at home and play card games on the computer and raid the refrigerator every ten minutes and get fat and lazy. I want to be outdoors, I want to breathe unfiltered air, I want the weather to affect me, I want to meet people I’ve never met, I want to go places I’ve never been, and that’s the lifestyle that I’ve chosen for myself.

That’s how Dave Roberts ended up walking across Texas, visiting close to 30 state parks along the way.

Visiting state parks has made my trip much more interesting. I made a spreadsheet: at 15 miles a day, how many state parks can I do? And I came out to 23 state parks. When I got to Tyler, I was like a week and a half ahead of schedule. I was doing 23 miles a day, not 15.

Join Dave Roberts on his walk across Texas, and find out how it all started, this week on the award-winning Texas Parks and Wildlife TV series on PBS. Check your local listings.

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