Passport to Texas

A family sharing fishing fun at a state park.

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Fishing is an enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends.

06— We think it’s a valuable thing for people to be connected with fishing and the outdoors, and we’d like to facilitate that connection.

Aquatic education training specialist, Caleb Harris, says the neighborhood fishin’ program is just one way TPW facilitates that connection between people and nature.

05— Every metropolitan center has a neighborhood fihin’ pond. And all those locations are on the [TPW] website.

He’s referring to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. This time of year, the inland fisheries division stocks neighborhood fishin’ ponds with catfish. Harris says although spending time with family and friends catching fish is fun, something deeper transpires among those who connect with the outdoors.

09—When people are connected to the outdoors in a way that they enjoy it – like fishing – they become stewards of it. They want to protect it. Conserve it. Be good users of it.

June 7 is National Free Fishing Day! Find a nearby neighborhood fishin’ pond as well as tackle loaner programs when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program supports our series and is funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motorboat fuel.

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

President Lyndon B. Johnson and ladybird Johnson in a field of Texas Wildflowers

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Spring in Texas is a colorful time of year thanks to wildflowers growing statewide. Jackie Poole says these native plants create a sense of place.

09— That is something Ladybird Johnson said that was so great about these wildflowers: they really are unique to different areas.

I spoke with Jackie, a TPW Botanist, at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. To get a sense of how wildflowers define a locale, she says look beyond the roadside.

20—If you get away from the roadside, you’ll notice that the wildflowers are different in South Texas to Central Texas to the Trans Pecos to East Texas to the High Plains. And so, they’re all unique; it’s like having a home town. You can always go back and you can recognize these areas of the state by the plants that are growing there.

Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes are winding down, making way for other flower forms.

21— [Such as] Little yellow daisy-like flowers. Later in May, there’s a plant that called the basket flower; it’s a tall plant, three to four to even six feet tall with large pinkish-white flowers. Right before that, you’ll have Mexican Hats and Fire wheels starting in April and going through May and maybe even going into June.

Find more wildflower information at the TWP website.

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.

Eastern Screech Owl, Image TPWD

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Wildlife viewing at night presents a challenge. I mean, it is dark, after all. Yet, some species become more vocal when the sun sets, and will “talk to you” and even come into view if you know how to speak their language. State park interpreter, Kelly Lauderdale, has a few tips for enticing wildlife to come out of the shadows.

There are apps you can download for free or for minimal cost – like Audubon Reptiles. I use it for my night hikes to play those calls and to identify those different calls. Visitors can easily use those themselves. And this is what I do on my hike: I play the call, and do it for a little while and see if anything answers.

If using a recorded call – animals might call back – but does that ever draw the animals to you? And if it does, what should you
do?

I have had success with calling in an eastern screech owl. So, I play the call, it answers back, and it comes in. If you’re lucky you may be able to see the full owl sitting up in the tree talking to you. In that case – enjoy it! Don’t shine your flashlight up and blind him or her. Just sit and listen and enjoy and then go on.

State parks frequently offer guided night hikes. Find one near you on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

Eastern Screech Owl, image from Nature.org

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Don’t let the dark keep you indoors. With a flashlight, friend, and a little daring, a night hike in a state park can be exhilarating.

05—One thing that’s really kind of fun, too, is to not use your flashlight.

Kelley Lauderdale is an interpretive specialist at Ray Roberts Lake State Park north of Denton. Among other things, she leads nighttime hikes called owl prowls.

18—If you let your eyes adjust to the dark and the moonlight, you’d be surprised at how well you can actually see. And sometimes when you do it that way, it really reveals a whole new wilderness. You see a lot more than when you get this tunnel vision with the flashlight and only see what’s illuminated.

Kelly recommends hiking with others on familiar trails, and to be prepared to experience wildlife by ear.

14—There are lots of amphibians that are active at night. And that’s one of the really fun things to listen for, because they’re pretty easy to hear. And oftentimes, once you learn to identify the sound of an amphibian, you’ll say: “Hey! That’s what I’ve been hearing all this time? I know that!”

Frogs and toads aren’t the only animals active at night.

14—There are owls that are active. Eastern screech owls are very nocturnal. Another bird that a lot of people hear at night is the Chuck Wills Widow; and they’ll sing and call all night long. Sometimes campers get a little bit tired of it if it’s really close to their campsite.

So step outside when the sun sets and get an earful of nature.

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

Matagorda Island Lighthouse at sunrise

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This is Passport to Texas

Back in 1939, the Army decided to build a military base to protect the Texas coast during World War II. That base was located at Matagorda Island. But when it closed in 1977, many parts of the base remained…including the runways.

08—We have several runways, the longest one is 2 miles long. It was set up for B52s to do touch and goes.

And while Matagorda Island’s former park manager, John Stuart, says planes are no longer allowed to use the runways, other types of vehicles are making use of them.

05—Kids use the runways for bicycles and skateboards… we get quite a few.

Cyclists are not the only users of the runways, so you need to be careful when sharing the area.

09—We get least terns nesting on the runway, and that would be a big fine if you went over one of those nests and cracked one of some endangered bird eggs.

Matagorda Island is just one of the many unique places where you can ride your bicycle.

Want to ride on a former railroad track or on a trail where dinosaurs once roamed? Visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife website and find a free on-line brochure on bicycling in state parks.

That’s our show for today. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.