Playa lakes, which form in shallow depressions in the earth, are common in the High Plains of Texas, but are uncommon as water bodies go.

Well, with a playa lake, when a drop of water falls, it goes into the middle of the lake basin and that’s where it stays. This water may work its way down into the Ogallala Aquifer, or it may evaporate, but each playa lake is the lowest point in its own watershed.

Bill Johnson, is a waterfowl and wetlands biologist in Canyon, Texas, and says the water you see in the playa today, may not be there in a few months’ time.

Playas tend to go wet and dry. And there’s nothing wrong at all with a dry playa. We’re a semi-arid region, and our evaporation rate is much, much higher than our rainfall rate.

In fact, if a playa were wet all the time, says Johnson, it would not be nearly as important to waterfowl.

When a playa goes dry, it causes the germination and growth of moist soil plants. These plants are generally annual plants—such as the smart weed, or barnyard grass. Now these plants are very productive, and they produce the seeds that ducks eat. If these playas didn’t dry up, then they would have an entirely different pant community that wouldn’t be as productive—they just wouldn’t produce as much food.

Information about playas is at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for wetland conservation through the Private Lands Enhancement Program.

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

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.

How festive. 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 may be a little late to get involved this year, but there’s always next year.

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.

Go to Audubon.org for more information. The Sport fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our show. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Ninety percent of the 12-hundred vertebrate species in Texas—that’s including fish—are non-game.

04—It doesn’t even include all the invertebrates that we have.

Invertebrates are estimated at 50-thousand. Matt Wagner, deputy Director for the Wildlife Division at Parks and Wildlife, says hunting and fishing license sales support conservation of game species and their habitats.

13—When you talk about non-game, and the species that aren’t hunted, there’s a lack of funding there. Although hunters have been paying for habitat work, we need to expand the number of folks that are contributing to conservation through their pocketbooks.

There are several ways for Texans to do that, and one way Wagner suggests celebrates a spiky Texas icon.

08—If you buy a horned lizard license plate for $30, $22 comes back to the agency to do non-game programs.

Sales of the horned lizard license plate generate between a quarter million to 300-thousand dollars annually.

12—We take that money, and then we leverage it with grants that come from the US Fish and Wildlife Service into the agency so that we can implement our Texas Conservation Action Plan.

Tomorrow: species that have benefited from Texans’ purchase of the conservation plate.

Our show receives support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…funding the private lands and public hunting program.

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

Eagles and hawks are raptors—birds of prey; and these amazing creatures hunt primarily using their long, sharp talons.

05—Raptors are the birds that are living just almost the same level as we are.

John Karger is Executive Director of Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy. He rehabilitates injured and orphaned birds and—when feasible—releases them back into the wild, where they play an important role.

13—The raptors are prime indicators. When they get sick, we’re going to be sick. Thus in the 1960s we realized that we put a lot of chemicals on the earth. We knew that we did that because the birds were disappearing.

Karger travels around Texas with his raptors to demonstrate their prowess, and more importantly, to encourage in everyone a sense of stewardship.

18—If could get them to do one thing – just take a moment – realize how incredible nature is, and that it can really give you a sense of awe…a sense of incredible. What I really want people to do it to come to the Expo and realize that the whole outdoor world is there, and it is ours for just enjoying tremendously if we just take care of it.

Find links to information about raptors and the Last Chance Forever Bird of Prey Conservancy at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…We receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…for Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Hawk Watch website

For the price of an inexpensive meal for two—including tip…

[SOUND EFFECT: cha-ching]

…you can have access to almost a million acres of public hunting land for an entire year.

05—Public hunting is [when] you hunt on either owned or leased public properties that Texas Parks and Wildlife manages.

Vickie Fite is public hunting coordinator. A public hunting permit costs only 48 dollars, and gives users access to diverse terrains. Once you purchase the permits, Fite says you’re going to receive a book that contains hunting information with phone numbers and information on how to reach these areas.

09—I strongly recommend that you call the areas and find out what they say their forecast is going to be for this year, or what the hunters have been able to do so far this year.

Whether you hunt deer, upland game birds, or waterfowl, you’ll find these opportunities and others on public lands.

15—And, remember, with the forty-eight dollar annual public hunting permit, it offers a great opportunity for day hunts and even weekend hunts during the holidays. And once you purchase the permit, you can take kids under seventeen hunting for free – which is a great deal for families.

Maybe a Thanksgiving hunting trip is in order this year.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… funded by your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuels.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Habitat requirements vary between species, yet some critters make themselves at home anywhere.

06—Wildlife are really adaptable, and there’s going to be some wildlife that thrive in whatever type of habitat that’s provided.

Kelly Bender is an urban wildlife biologist. She says even a perfectly manicured monochromatic monoculture known as lawn—will attract some wildlife.

20—In a typical urban area—where you’ve got really closely mowed Bermuda grass lawn, or St. Augustine lawn, and then just a few really tall mature trees and kind of nothing in the middle? That kind of habitat is really good for grackles, and pigeons, for possum and raccoon, and kind of the species that you see in a disturbed habitat.

Bender says most people don’t mind seeing those species sometimes, but not all the time.

15—And so what we try to do is to encourage people to create a more balanced habitat. And what I mean by that is to provide native plants that provide natural food sources—fruits, nuts, berries, leaves, etcetera—that provide a balanced source of nutrition for the animals.

This balanced habitat is called a wildscape, and we’ll tell you more about Wildscaping tomorrow.

That’s our show… visit us online at passporttotexas.org and leave a comment on our blog…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

This month folks who reside in the Central Flyway of Texas may get a treat if they cast their gaze skyward, because whooping cranes are in migration.

18—Usually on a route down from the Muleshoe National Wildlife refuge area through the Hill Country and down to the coast. These birds are on migration so they’re on a pretty direct flight. And usually they’re moving during the day and they roost in good numbers at the various national wildlife refuges along the Central Flyway.

Mark Klym is with Wildlife Diversity. Whooping cranes are an endangered species, numbering slightly more than 260 birds—that’s up from a low of fewer than 20 animals in the early 20th Century.

Whoopers migrate in small groups of six or less, as well as on the fringes of migrating sand hill crane flocks. Klym asks that you contact him if you see these big birds along their migration path.

19—Once we’ve got a confirmation, our biologists use that to anticipate where we would see them next and try to follow them as they’re coming south to give us an idea if they’re going to run into any problems. You’ve got migratory bird hunting season at that time and we encourage the hunters to know what they’re shooting at. And, if there may be a problem, we may have to look at other actions to protect the birds.

We have the phone number for you to call to report seeing these birds at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program… for Texas Parks and Wildlife …I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Whooping cranes are protected by federal and state endangered species laws, and Texans can help safeguard this national treasure by helping to prevent harm or harassment to whooping cranes. Anyone sighting a whooping crane is asked to report it to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, extension 4644 or alternatively at (512) 847-9480. Sightings can also be reported via e-mail at leeann.linam@tpwd.state.tx.us.

This time of year when you look high overhead, you might just see whooping cranes.

10—Every year, about this time of year, we start getting emails and telephone calls from people all excited that they’ve seen whooping cranes flying over; and usually it’s between 50 and 100 birds.

But, Mark Klym, with the agency’s Wildlife Diversity program, says if you do witness a huge flock of big birds in the clouds…

07—I’m sorry, that’s not whooping cranes. Whooping Cranes never fly in a flock larger than about 10 birds, and very rarely more than six birds.

Well, maybe what you saw were sand hill cranes. Even so, North America’s biggest bird could still mingle in the mix.

05—Usually they’re off to the side. You’ll get the sand hills in a group and the whooping cranes off in a group on their own.

Whooping cranes, on the endangered species list, come through Texas’ Central Flyway this month on their way to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge to overwinter.

15—We are optimistic that we are going to see a good population at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Certainly a recovery from what we saw in the past winter.

Well, with the drought, we had very few blue crabs in the bays and as result suffered; we had a few losses.

If you do see whooping cranes in migration, contact Mark Klym. You’ll find his information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… for Texas Parks and Wildlife …I’m Cecilia Nasti.
_________________________________________________________

Whooping cranes are protected by federal and state endangered species laws, and Texans can help safeguard this national treasure by helping to prevent harm or harassment to whooping cranes. Anyone sighting a whooping crane is asked to report it to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at (800) 792-1112, extension 4644 or, alternatively at (512) 847-9480. Sightings can also be reported via e-mail at leeann.linam@tpwd.state.tx.us.

Check out this YouTube video of whooping cranes at Aransas national Wildlife Refuge.

You have until the end of the month to nominate candidates for the Lone Star Land Steward Awards.

08—Lone Star Land Stewards award program is a program that recognizes private landowners for the good work they do on their private lands in Texas.

Linda Campbell is program director for private lands and public hunting. The awards program honors people for exemplary habitat management on private lands.

12—We feel like we have a great diversity of landowners that have participated and been nominated for recognition. And it just really highlights the diversity of the types of innovative management for wildlife that’s going on in Texas.

Next year marks the 13th year for the awards program.

08—Anybody can nominate for Lone Star Land Stewards. Landowners can nominate themselves. They come in from other agencies, as well as from our biologists.

Whether you nominate yourself or someone else, time is running out.

15—November thirtieth is the date that we’d like to have the nominations in for the various eco-regions. We take those, and we have a team of biologists that visit each of the nominated places, and they decide which ones are most worthy of recognition. And then we present the awards in May.

Nominate a landowner. Learn how on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today… with support from the Wildlife Restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Public Hunting Program.

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

Fall is when television series air new shows, and Texas Parks and Wildlife’s PBS television series is no different. The new season begins this month; series producer, Don Cash has details.

63—Our show has been going for a little over 20 years; I’m not sure exactly how many. But what we’ve been doing every year is really focusing on conservation, and land use and land management, and taking care of what we have here in Texas. This season is going to be no different. We do a little hunting and fishing—we’re really not a hunting and fishing show—but when we do it, we’re going to sneak in a little education, let people know how these resources are doing and how hunting and fishing actually helps manage some of those resources. We’ve got a lot of different things coming up. One of the things we’re going to have this year that we’ve been having the last few years, are short features on our Lone Star Land Steward award winners. And these are people who are just doing phenomenal things with their land. One of the things we’re going to do is a youth duck hunt on the Katy Prairie. Part of what these kids get in the course of a weekend, is hunting ethics and land ethics, and a part of what they’re teaching these kids is conservation of this land. You can catch the TV show on Texas PBS stations, so don’t miss it.

Thanks Don.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.