July 14th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
Think of cats and you’ll probably think of your family’s own animal companion…but for the state’s natural wildlife predators, those same pets are tapping into their food sources…
06—Some people estimate that cats will take a total of 39-million prey animals per year.
Kelly Bender is an Urban Wildlife Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Even well fed pet cats allowed to roam outdoors prey on the same food sources…including birds and mice…posing a risk to native wildlife.
04—From a wildlife management standpoint, we really should be keeping our cats indoors…
To limit the competition, locate bird feeders in areas that don’t provide cover for cats to lie in ambush. And don’t keep pet food dishes outdoors.
:09—…and realize that by not spaying or neutering our cats, we are producing an awful lot of predators each and every year.
Above all, do not release unwanted cats in rural areas, thinking it a more humane option than taking them to a shelter.
It is, in fact, an inhumane practice. Dumped in an unfamiliar setting, they are vulnerable. If they survive, this is when they become a threat to wildlife…and it’s not their fault.
Contact your local animal welfare organization for help.
That’s our show. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Birding, Education | Comments Off on Killer Kitties: Birds Beware
July 13th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
There are more than 600-million cats worldwide; 100-million live in America. And while most are “house cats” that don’t venture outside their owner’s home, an increasing number are free-ranging felines…or feral cats…
06—A feral cat is not under the direct care of humans…they are the ones out roaming around.
Kelly Bender is an Urban Wildlife Biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife. Because cats are natural predators, feral cats are competing with wildlife predators for the same food sources…
10—They outnumber them and they out-compete them. So they are using the same kinds of prey animals that our native predators are using, like hawks and exerting an amount of pressure on them.
While small mammals such as mice make up about 70 percent of a feral cats’ prey, birds make up another 20 percent—at least. It’s said a single cat can kill up to 1,000 animals (including 200 birds) a year, for an estimated death toll of 39 million birds annually.
11—They can even cause the endangerment of some species, especially those species that are already under pressure from habitat loss or habitat degradation.
Coming up on tomorrow’s show…
06—From a wildlife management standpoint, we really should be keeping our cats indoors.
That’s our show for today. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.
Posted in Education | Comments Off on Cats: Domestic Predators
July 12th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
While the mockingbird might be the official state bird of Texas, every July it’s the hummingbird that earns a place of distinction in the state.
08—July is usually the start of our hummingbird migration when we’ve got thousands of ruby-throated hummingbirds heading this way from the northern regions.
Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Mark Klym heads up the annual Hummingbird Roundup Survey in Texas, where some 18 different species of hummingbirds have been documented.
07—The round-up really provides us with information about the hummingbird population here in Texas and gives us an idea of where they’re being found.
While the bird count takes place year-round, the birds are more prevalent in the state from July to October.
19—This would be a good time to start looking at possibly increasing your number of feeders if you have a yard that is going to be actively used by hummingbirds…the best way to get hummingbirds in your yard is to prepare a good hummingbird garden. Lots of plants that will feed the birds, salvias, Turks cap, trumpet vine.
Take part in the annual Hummingbird Round-up and receive your own survey kit…find out how… when you visit the outdoor learning page on the Texas parks and Wildlife website.
That’s our show for today…remember: Life’s Better Outside…For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti
Posted in Wildlife | Comments Off on Rounding Up Hummingbirds
July 11th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
[SFX – hummer]
Summer is a great time for hummingbird viewing in Texas.
03—Obviously the places people see them most often is around feeders.
Mark Klym is in Wildlife Diversity and a hummingbird enthusiast. You can attract hummingbirds to your yard with a hummingbird feeder filled with a solution of one part sugar to four parts water. And once you’ve put up a feeder, Klym says it’s imperative to keep the contents fresh.
08—During the summer months you want to change that every two to four days. During the winter months, you might get away with four to six days, but certainly no longer than that.
If you’d prefer to see hummers in the wild, you’re in luck: we have eighteen species of the bird in Texas, but you have to know where to look for them.
18—If you’re looking in the wild, you’re going to want to look in areas where there are a number of flowering plants available. The do require shelter, so they’re going to be around evergreen or well-leaved trees – depending on the season. And they’re also going to be found where there’s water. Water is a critical element of their environment, and they’re going to be found where there’s water.
Post your hummingbird sightings and pictures on the Texas parks and Wildlife Facebook Fan Page. You’ll find it www.facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife.
That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti
Posted in Wildlife | Comments Off on Humming Along with Texas Hummers
July 8th, 2011
This is Passport to Texas
If not for the invention of the automobile, we might not have state parks. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier explains.
The state park system in Texas, this year, is 88 years old. It started back in 1923; Governor Pat Neff was there at the forefront of that. In fact, Mother Neff SP was considered the first state park.
And even though a part of the mission of state parks all over the country—not just in Texas—was to alleviate some of the traffic and pressure on the National parks, it was also to follow the burgeoning automobile industry back in the 1920s and 30s. We had these newfangled inventions called cars, and the tourism initiative was to give these new traveling motorists convenient places to stop and rest and camp and have a picnic and have some pretty scenery to look at.
That’s really the heritage of most state park systems in the United States. And it’s been great; it evolved today here in Texas to be more than 600-thousand acres of beautiful state parks, historic sites, great camping and great fishing. So, it’s origin goes back to that, in the1920s, and it is what it is today thanks to so many people.
Thanks, Bryan.
Learn more about the park system at texasstateparks.org.
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.
Posted in State Parks | Comments Off on A Brief History of Texas State Parks
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