Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Corey Mason is dove program leader at Parks and Wildlife, and says once limited to South Texas, white winged doves are on the move.

You know, we find mourning dove and white-wing dove—both—all the way from Far West Texas in the trans Pecos Region into the Pineywoods of East Texas. And we’ve recently actually this year found new colonies of nesting white wing dove deep in East Texas. Why is that unusual? Historically, white wing dove were found along the lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, really associated with South Texas brush, some of the citrus groves in the 80s. But since that time, there’s been a huge range wide expansion of these birds all across the state. White wing dove can basically be found in any county in the state now. What do we attribute this movement of the white wings to? A lot of it can be triggered back to a hard freeze in the eighties.. Kind of lost some of those types of nesting habitat; those birds adjusted and moved from that. So we kind of have two populations of white wings now. We have the historic south Texas—south of San Antonio—populations of white wing doves. And then we have north of that line, a population of white wing dove that are all across the state now, that are really kind of moving these transient movements from one urban population to the next. And from there spreading out and out and out. It’s really occurred over the last ten or fifteen years. And like I said, these birds can nearly be found pretty much anywhere in the state now.

The North and Central Zone dove season opener is Thursday, September 1. The South Zone opener is Friday, September 23.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

White-winged Dove Expands its Range Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Every September first, in the north and central zones, dove hunters are out in force.

06—In Texas, we harvest approximately five million mourning doves, and in excess of one million white winged dove every year.

Corey Mason, dove program leader at Parks and Wildlife, says dove season in the south zone starts later.

Because of some of the possible negative impacts to late nesting mourning dove, the season is delayed approximately three to four weeks, so we start in later part of September down there.

They do. You know, there’s also this new influence of Eurasian collar dove—or some folks call them ring-neck dove. They are not considered part of the daily bag limit. They can be shot year-round. The caveat to that being is if they are shot during dove season we strongly suggest hunters leave a wing, or some kind of identification mark on those birds, so if they’re checked by state or federal wardens they can differentiate between a collar dove and a white wing and mourning dove.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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

Dove Season in Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Armed with cameras, state park goers delight in taking aim at wildlife. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, says the proliferation of digital cameras makes it easier than ever for visitors to document their encounters with the natural world, and he offers suggestions for getting the most from the experience.

State parks are fantastic places to experiment with wildlife and outdoor photography. It’s a very popular hobby across the country. State parks offer great places because you can sere so much wildlife, and there’s access, and you can set up at [interesting] places. And so, we want to encourage people to take their cameras with them, and when they do: remember the equipment. It does make a difference. You want to pack light—maybe you have to hike in somewhere—you may have to limit that to one lens. And if you do, take a lens that F-stops down all the way, so that it opens up wide so you’re able to shoot fast, because wildlife tend to move. And, it’s flexible, it has a nice range; that’s the only you want to take with you when you’re packing light on those big hikes in parks.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Photographer, Russell Graves, and his brother Bubba are creating a loving tribute Bois d’Arc Creek. Find out more… on Texas Parks and Wildlife TV… Series Producer, Don Cash:

Russell and his brother are producing a documentary that they’re going to put on their website that’s about growing up in Fannin County along Bois d’Arc Creek.

Russell and I have become pretty good friends over the years, and so I’ve spent some time with him. Being with him out there has really given me a better appreciation for the land and the resources and the water. We did a canoe trip and had just a grand time and it was a beautiful spring day. And to know that they’re going to put water here, and water St. Augustine Grass somewhere, is kind of sad.

Thanks, Don.

Find out when the show airs when you log onto the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Texas Parks & Wildlife on PBS and Cable
Stations and Air Times
Times and dates are subject to change, especially during PBS membership drives.

• Amarillo, KACV-TV, Channel 2, Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
• Austin, KLRU-TV, Channel 18, Sunday, 10 a.m.; Thursday 5:30 a.m.
• Bryan-College Station, KAMU-TV, Channel 15, Sunday, 5 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.
• Corpus Christi, KEDT-TV, Channel 16, Sunday, 12 p.m.
• Dallas-Fort Worth, KERA-TV, Channel 13, Saturday, 3 p.m. Also serving Abilene, Denton, Longview, Marshall, San Angelo, Texarkana, Tyler, Wichita Falls and Sherman.
• El Paso, KCOS-TV, Channel 13, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• Harlingen, KMBH-TV, Channel 60, Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving McAllen, Mission and Brownsville.
• Houston, KUHT-TV, Channel 8, Saturday, 3 p.m. Also serving Beaumont, Port Arthur, Galveston, Texas City and Victoria.
• Killeen, KNCT-TV, Channel 46, Sunday, 5 p.m. Also serving Temple.
• Lubbock, KTXT-TV, Channel 5, Saturday, 10 a.m.
• Odessa-Midland, KPBT-TV, Channel 36, Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
• San Antonio and Laredo, KLRN-TV, Channel 9, Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Waco, KWBU-TV, Channel 34, Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
• Portales, New Mexico, KENW-TV, Channel 3, Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

Cable
Texas Parks & Wildlife can also be seen on a variety of government, educational and access cable channels in the following communities: Abilene, Allen, Atlanta, Baytown, Boerne, Cedar Park, Collin County Community College, Coppell, Dallas, Deer Park, Del Mar College, Denton, Euless, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Houston, Irving, Keller, Killeen, Lubbock, Lufkin, McKinney, North Richland Hills, Plano, Round Rock, Rogers State University, Seabrook, Temple, Texarkana College, The Colony, Trophy Club, Tyler, Victoria, Waco and Wichita Falls. Check your local listings for days and times.

TPW TV--Good-bye Bois d'Arc Creek Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

Carp is considered a desirable sport fish in Europe…and Buffalo fish, which resemble carp, also win praise from outsiders. This month, TPW TV Series takes a closer look at these species and the people who catch them. Producer Alan Fisher.

In this segment we meet some folks who’ve come to Texas to catch Carp and Buffalo.

The European anglers want to catch a big fish.

And a guide in the Dallas area who actually started a business to cater to people who are interested in coming here. It’s a high tech pursuit; they’ve got alarms on their fishing rods.

[alarm] Looky there…he’s got a fish. That didn’t take long. That was quick.

The fish can get quite large, so it’s a good sporting fight.

Texas carp fight extremely hard.

I saw a guy catch a 43 pound new state record carp right in the middle of Austin on Ladybird Lake.

[Fish in water] Nice.

Buffalo…they’re this interesting fish that people in Texas may not know much about, but they’re quite sought after by folks that live elsewhere.

And buffalo get really big here. They’ve been captured at over a hundred pounds.

They’re readily available and a lot of fun to catch.

Thanks, Alan.

That’s our show…the Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

TPW TV: Carp & Buffalo Fish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download