Passport to Texas

Birding: Gateway to the Outdoors Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Legendary Birder, Victor Emanuel, views birding as a gateway to nature appreciation.

10—Well, it’s the best way for people to get connected to nature, because birds are the most obvious part of nature visible to us. A lot of the mammals are active at night. But birds are here; they’re all around us.

Emanuel says it’s the fact that they are so visible that makes them interesting.

15—Birds are some of the most visible creatures around us. You have the song of birds, you have the motion of birds, the fact they can fly. A cardinal, a blue jay, a duck on a pond… they’re large enough and so they attract our attention in a way that smaller creatures don’t.

Victor Emanuel has spent a lifetime watching birds around the world. And while all birds are watchable, he says that doesn’t mean he likes them all.

17—I actually have a prejudice against introduced birds that are a problem, like starlings. They’re a beautiful bird, actually, with the colors on them in the sunlight. But they take over the nest of native birds, and throw out the young and eggs, so they don’t get to raise their young and eggs. But, yeah, they’re all watchable.

Find links to birding information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

We record our series at the Block House in Austin, and Joel Block engineers our show.

The WSFR program supports our series and provides … funding for habitat conservation in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

This is Passport to Texas

International Migratory Bird Day is always the second Saturday of May in the US and Canada, making it May 12 this year.

04—We encourage groups to host a program or an event when it works for them and the birds.

When celebrations actually occur depends on the arrival of migrants. Susan Bonfield is Executive Director of Environment for the Americas, which coordinates this event.

12—I want people to go to these programs and have one of their first opportunities to see a bird. To use binoculars, to use a field guide, to get excited about birds, and to want to become involved in bird conservation.

Find events at www.birdday.org. But if you can’t get to one, don’t fret.

25—You know, your backyard is just a great place to celebrate migratory bird day. I think that anything you do around your house to help conserve birds—we have information up on the website about threats to birds, and what you can do to minimize the threats at your home. Any improvement of habitat in your yard, cleaning your birdfeeders. Any very basic and practical activities are a wonderful way to help conserve birds.

You can also just sit in a lawn chair in your yard with a beverage and binoculars and see who comes along.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and works to restore wildlife habitat in Texas.

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

Migratory Bird Day, 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the early 1990s, scientists started noticing that some populations of migratory bird species were declining.

10—There was a concern about what these causes were, and at the same time there was considerable interest in getting the public involved in learning more about birds and their conservation.

Susan Bonfield is Executive Director of Environment for the Americas. Her non-profit coordinates International Migratory Bird Day, an event created as a direct result of scientists’ concerns over declining avian populations.

12—Several researchers at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird center came up with the idea of hosting a public event to get communities involved in learning about birds. And that was the origins of International Migratory Bird Day.

It is the second Saturday of May for the US and Canada, and is intended to occur during peak migration. The idea is to give folks an opportunity to see these migrants.

09—That doesn’t work for everyone. So, for example, in some parts of Canada it may too early, and some parts of the United States, even, it’s a little bit too late—migratory birds have already passed over

Tomorrow, some ways that you can celebrate birds whether you attend an event, or stay in your own backyard.

We record our series at the Block House in Austin.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and works to restore wildlife habitat in Texas.

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

TPW TV: Lone Star Land Stewards Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The majority of Texas land is in private hands, which makes landowner’s key to its preservation. All this month the TPW TV series recognizes the efforts of those who won LSLS awards, including Blue Mountain Peak Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Series Producer, Don Cash.

51—They’re taking this old land that’s been abused and misused, and taking it back to what it used to be.

If you happen to miss the show, you can go to our YouTube site. All of our Lone Star Land Steward videos are there for you to see any time you’d like.

Thanks, Don.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series, and funds conservation projects in Texas.

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

State Parks: Outdoor Store Helps Parks Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Recreational Equipment, INC—commonly known as REI—has been a valued partner of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s for years. And now they’ve gone above and beyond. Bryan Frazier has details.

66—The first thing they did was with our Texas Outdoor Family Program, one of the most popular programs that we’ve done over the last few years. They replaced the sleeping bags and the tents for that program because all of those tents that we had for that program were lost in the Bastrop Fire. What they also did in December was—at the cashier’s counter there when they check out with their merchandise—for the month of December in five stores, they simply asked people if they wanted to make a donation to parks. And by doing that for that month, they raised more than 11-thousand dollars for state parks. And all that went to Texas outdoor families to help them with that program. Most recently, they gave us 25-thousand dollars from REI Corporate to print—for the first time ever—a Texas State park Guide in Spanish. So now it’s available to a whole group of people who might have had a language barrier, but were really interested in getting out and seeing the wonderful beauty and diverse recreation tht we have in Texas. All of that made possible by REI’s involvement. Helping us do things that we otherwise simply couldn’t do, and saving taxpayers’ dollars—that we’re also stewards of. It helps us use those for other projects so that when people get to parks, their park experience is better.

Thanks, Bryan.

Funding for our show comes from Chevrolet: supporting outdoor recreation in Texas because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.