Passport to Texas

Christmas Bird Count Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

More than a hundred years ago people participated in a time-honored Christmas tradition.

06—People would go out and do what was called a side hunt, and the winning group would come back with the biggest pile of dead critters.

The majority of critters in those piles were birds. Cliff Shackelford, a non-game ornithologist with Parks and Wildlife, says conservationists had a better idea.

05—Early conservationists thought that we ought to count birds and not try to collect birds.

Today we have the nationwide Christmas Bird Count. This season—between December 14 and January 5—groups of volunteers, armed with a bird list, head into the field and count birds over a 24-hour period.

15—What people do is they get into teams, and they have a defined 15 mile radius circle that they’re counting in, and that circle never moves. The hope is that you would count that circle for decades and decades and over time you would see trends.

Different groups pick different days within that three week period to count birds. Researchers then use the census information to assess the health of bird populations, and to guide conservation action.

It’s not too late to get involved this year if you like.

05—They might need a full year’s heads up to chew on it and figure out, hey, I want to do this next year.

Sure…there’s always next year if you prefer. Go to www.Audubon.org for more information. The SFWR supports our program. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Birding Legend Victor Emmanuel Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Serious birders all know the name Victor Emmanuel. More than fifty years ago he founded the Freeport Christmas Bird Count.

Since 1976, Emmanuel has operated a nature tourism company that takes people to birding hotspots around the globe.

And it all started with a desire to make his passion his work.

51—I’ve been interested in birds and nature ever since I was a little boy. And I always wanted to know how I could find some way to make a living doing it. And I met a man named Peter Alton who was doing it for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and thought, well maybe I can do that.

Peter Matheson went on one of my first tours as a celebrity leader. I got to know Roger Tory Peterson, who was kind of the person who developed bird watching as a hobby in the united states by his field guides. And he helped me. So, I had a lot of lucky breaks, and a lot of people joining me—friends of mine—who helped me get started.

Learn more about birding in Texas when you go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

FIND A CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT NEAR YOU

Christmas in the Parks 2011 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Make this holiday season special when you celebrate at a Texas State Park. The annual Christmas in the Parks brochure is available at parks and online. Bryan Frazier tells us about a few of the festive opportunities you’ll find inside.

54—Everything from Battleship Texas where you can tour it decorated like they did when the ship was at sea. They didn’t have a chance to celebrate Christmas, so they would do it on board the ship. So, there’s things like that.

Or just whatever you really want to enjoy and experience at Christmas, State Parks probably has something for you. The Christmas in the parks brochure is available at state parks. And as always, you can find out more on our website, at www.texasstateparks.org, or by calling our customer service center, at 512.389.8900.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bastrop Wildfire

TPW TV Series: Burned Plants & Desert Plants Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Because of damage from wildfires, Bastrop State Park remains closed to visitors, but a smaller nearby site is taking up the slack. Learn about it on the Texas Parks and Wildlife TV show. Series producer, Don Cash.

Thirteen miles down the road, Buescher SP, they are open; they were unaffected by the fires.

If you want to come experience a little bit of the lost pines like you could over at Bastrop SP, we have plenty of those here. We have some really great fishing opportunities. The fisheries department came out and put about 900 pounds of catfish in, so I know they’re pretty hungry by now.

Just about everything you can get at Bastrop, you can get at Buescher right down the road.

Another segment that’s going to air during the December 4-10 show takes us out to the Chihuahuan desert where there are some surprises in the plant world.

Yeah, we’re going to visit with David Long who works out at the Barton Warnock Environmental Learning Center. He’s going to show us some desert plants that people think are pretty and like to avoid, but he’s going to show us some other uses for them, including food.

Here’s one of my favorite cactus. Every spring it’s covered with purple magenta blooms, and right after that it starts putting on fruit. When the fruit is ripe, it’s a race between javelinas and humans to see who’s going collect the most of it.

If you happen to miss the show, you can also catch these segments on our YouTube Channel.

Thanks, Don.

Check your local listings.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Holiday Trail of Lights in La Grange Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Thousands of twinkling lights illuminate a quarter mile walking trail this holiday season at the Monument Hill and Kriesche Brewery State Historic Sites in La Grange.

24—The trail of lights is open to the public five nights during the first part of December. That’s December third, ninth, tenth, sixteenth and seventeenth, from 6 pm to 8 pm. And our park is decorated with lots of lights and different ornaments throughout the grounds. Kriesche house is open, it’s decorated for Christmas. We have entertainment, refreshments, and Santa Clause is there for children to tell their wishes to.

Dennis Smith is park manager.

12—[It’s] just a really pretty site here. We sit on a 200 foot bluff that overlooks the city of La Grange—and see the night lights of the city. It’s just a really spectacular opportunity for people to come out and enjoy a great Christmas celebration.

Smith says the trail of lights is the perfect family activity for the holiday season.

20—Every year we have comments from families that say we’ve been coming out here for the last 20 years. Families that come from Houston, Austin, San Antonio—just to come back to the trail of lights each year. We see more and more of that as we go by, and are just really glad to see these families keep coming back with more generations of their families to help celebrate the season.

Find complete details about the tail of lights at Monument Hill and Kriesche Brewery SHS in La Grange, including entrance fees at www.texasstateparks.org.

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