- NARRATOR: The Texas Parks & Wildlife television series
is funded in part by a grant from the
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.
Through your purchases of hunting and fishing equipment,
and motorboat fuels, over 50 million dollars
in conservation efforts are funded in Texas each year.
And by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Helping to keep Texas wild with the support of proud members
across the state.
Find out more at tpwf.org
Additional funding provided by Ram Trucks.
Guts.
Glory.
Ram.
- NARRATOR: Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife ...
- Bumblebees are great pollinators because bees
deliberately collect pollen.
- Millions of birds cross the Texas coastline each spring
and fall during migration and the question is
'Why would you put a wind farm in a site like that?'
- So no matter your skill level of mountain biking,
we have really something for everybody here at Brazos Bend.
- [theme music]
♪ ♪
- NARRATOR: Texas Parks & Wildlife ,
a television series for all outdoors.
- Maybe up here.
- NARRATOR: Jessica Beckham is on a quest....
- JESSICA: I see all sorts of things flying around.
- NARRATOR: ...to catch some fuzzy flying insects.
- JESSICA: No bumblebees though.
- NARRATOR: With great bee expertise....
- JESSICA: That is a sweat bee.
- NARRATOR: ...she searches.
- I think those are so pretty.
That is not what I am trying to catch today.
[laughs]
- NARRATOR: The bees that beckon are bumblebees.
- JESSICA: Today we are out here surveying bumblebees in a
little roadside area of Denton County.
That is an American bumblebee right there.
- NARRATOR: Jessica has been studying bumblebees at the
University of North Texas while pursuing a
Ph.D. in environmental science.
- Here in Texas we have sweat bees, digger bees,
leaf-cutter bees, resin bees, about seven to eight hundred
species of bees that are native bees,
including nine species of bumblebees.
[adding machine clicking]
Usually when people think of bees they think of honeybees,
but honeybees are actually non-native species.
Honeybee declines have been noted in the news.
- RADIO ANNOUNCER: Back in 2005 we started hearing about a
phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder.
Unusual numbers of honeybees were dying off and nobody
understood quite why.
- NARRATOR: In these troubling times for honeybees,
Jessica wanted to understand how native bees are doing.
- I am studying native pollinators, bumblebees in
particular, because native pollinators might serve as
an insurance policy against these losses of honeybees.
- RADIO ANNOUNCER: Bees are critical to the food supply.
Bees pollinate cherries, apples, almonds, onions
and many other crops.
They pollinate billions of dollars of crops each year.
- JESSICA: Insect pollinators in particular are responsible for
about 80% of the pollination of wild flowering plants
and about 75% of our agricultural plants.
Bumblebees are great pollinators because bees deliberately
collect pollen and they have a lot more hair than honeybees
and they move a lot of pollen from flower to flower.
I do not know what they are.
I will take about a 15-minute walk through this big patch
of flowers to determine what species are here, and ultimately
look at the persistence of these species in our area.
Got another one!
- NARRATOR: Studying bumblebees takes time...
- Shoot!
- NARRATOR: ...and some fast reflexes.
- Dang it!
[sigh]
I feel like I struck out!
[laughs]
- NARRATOR: But field work is the fun part, right?
[sneeze]
- JESSICA: It is hot, I mean you get chiggers and ticks.
[buzzing]
Sometimes you see a bee and you do not catch it.
[laughs]
Really though it is pleasant work for me.
Now I got her.
[playful music]
This is bombus pensylvanicus, which is known as the
American bumblebee.
This is our most common species here in Texas
but nationally this species is declining.
And so Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has designated
this a species of greatest conservation need.
You ready to go girl?
- NARRATOR: Texas Parks and Wildlife has helped fund the
research, in part, through sales of conservation license plates.
- JESSICA: We have received a horned lizard license plate
grant as well as a state wildlife grant.
[door opens]
- NARRATOR: To understand Texas bumblebee trends,
Jessica compares her surveys with specimens at the
Elm Fork Natural Heritage Museum at UNT, where the
bumblebee collection spans 60 years.
- JESSICA: Museum collections provide a rich resource for
determining historic presence of lots of different species.
- NARRATOR: The comparisons have been encouraging.
- JESSICA: What we have found is that the current presence of
bumblebees here in northeast Texas is almost identical
to the historic presence.
About 85% of our roadside sites had at least
one bumblebee.
- NARRATOR: Further research has examined bumblebee genetic
diversity, and the kinds of urban habitats they use.
- JESSICA: I looked at eight different sites, some community
gardens, an organic garden...
Are any of them blooming at this point?
...some urban wild spaces as well.
We want to know what type of green spaces are good for bees
and also how we can manage our greenspaces as we grow cities.
- NARRATOR: The research suggests ways we can help
pollinators in public spaces, like roadsides,
and even in our own backyards.
- You want to try and have flowers that are blooming
all the way from about March to October here in Texas
because bumblebees are active throughout that time.
And you also would do well to avoid the use of pesticides
because not only are they effective in killing your pest
species, but they also are bad for your pollinator species.
- NARRATOR: Jessica has completed her studies
and is Dr. Beckham now.
But her work will continue to benefit bee conservation.
- JESSICA: American bumblebee.
- NARRATOR: As if a sign of gratitude, the hundreds of bees
she handled kept their stingers to themselves.
- JESSICA: I have never been stung by a bumblebee,
surprisingly.
- NARRATOR: Since they help our food and flowers grow,
maybe we all owe some thanks to the humble bumblebee.
- JESSICA: Yea for bumblebees.
[music]
[music]
- NARRATOR: Texas leads the nation in wind energy
production.
With little regulatory oversight in place, this new industry
can build wherever there's good wind.
- We need to change where we are getting our energy sources,
we will have to locate wind turbines in places that
are precious to lots of people.
- NARRATOR: And here on the coast where the wind may be
strong, it's also home to the Central Flyway -
a major migratory bird corridor.
- Millions of birds cross the Texas coastline each
spring and fall during migration and the question is
'Why would you put a wind farm in a site like that?'
[music]
- NARRATOR: Songbirds like the Hooded Warbler,
to migrating raptors like these Swainson's Hawks,
To the threatened Reddish Egret.
Hundreds of species either live on the coast or migrate through
Texas as it sits squarely in the Central Flyway,
a migration route from breeding grounds in the North
to winter quarters in the South.
And in this same area wind farms set up to capitalize on these
prime coastal winds.
- The real concern is not the day to day collisions that
might take place but the circumstances that might create
a major migratory bird fall out where you have a storm
and literally thousands of birds trying to find a place to land
and flying through the middle of a wind farm.
[wind turbines]
- NARRATOR: One wind farm that's concerned about the birds
and the Central Flyway is the Penascal Wind Plant
situated on the Kenedy Ranch along Baffin Bay.
- The wind blows hard here in South Texas.
Everybody knows that,
but the wind blows hard when everybody needs it the most,
so it's almost a perfect location in terms of
customer demand.
- JIM SINCLAIR: We can have well over a hundred species at one
time in these motts.
- NARRATOR: Penascal staff biologist Jim Sinclair studied
the property for four years before any of the
82 wind turbines went up.
- When they come in, they come in very high.
- NARRATOR: And one top priority was to keep the turbines away
from these sheltered bird resting spots called oak motts.
- JIM: This is where the songbirds will stop to rest
and feed during the daytime during the migration,
but one of the reasons for creating a buffer around
these oak motts for the turbines is it's going
to significantly reduce the chances of strikes
because the birds concentrate in the oak motts,
and there can be a lot of times when there are
a lot of birds in here...
- JAN: Yeah!
[hum of radar motor]
- NARRATOR: Working to reduce bird strikes even more
is Merlin.
- GARY ANDREWS: And we can see some low level bird activity
occurring.
- NARRATOR: This radar system can see what birds are coming
from four miles away.
- GARY: We can actually see the turbines and we can see the
birds as they move around the turbines.
Most of what we are detecting today the birds are moving
above the wind farm and above 500 feet.
[hum of radar motor]
- NARRATOR: Now the magic of Merlin, it has the capability to
actually shut off the turbines if birds fly into the wind farm.
- JIM: The radar itself generates a curtailment command
and within less than one minute all the of turbines will be
turning at less than one RPM, very very slowly, and within
five minutes all of them are completely stationary.
[hum of radar motor]
The ability to shut down the turbines under abnormal
conditions is what really helps turn wind energy
into truly green energy.
[wind from of wind turbine]
- ANDY: Will the costs of turning off the turbines
be so high that they won't do it.
And so the real issue is not so much whether or not they
can do it, it's whether or not they will.
- NARRATOR: That's just one of the questions on the minds
of both Andy Kasner and wildlife biologists from
Texas A&M Kingsville.
- BART BALLARD: Boy this strong south wind probably had some
good movement.
- NARRATOR: So right next door on the neighboring King Ranch,
they are using another Merlin to monitor the birds as well.
- STUDENT: User friendly screen with biological targets
moved in.
- NARRATOR: Andy is here to meet research scientist Bart Ballard,
to get a feel for just how many birds could be affected by
further wind development along the coast.
- BART: Well our main objectives for this study are to assess how
many birds travel through this area, the altitudes they fly,
how weather affects their flight characteristics.
There's potential for some pretty large impacts.
- NARRATOR: This study funded in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife
will look at several migration seasons.
A bird count before more wind development arrives.
- ANDY: Because of the tax credits that are available to
wind energy production, it's beneficial for them to develop
a sight as quickly as they can and get the wind turbines
up and running.
[sounds of wind turbine]
But the flip side of that you don't have time in that case to
do adequate scientific studies to monitor and make decisions
based on wildlife impacts and whether or not that sight
is safe for wildlife.
[duck calls]
- NARRATOR: Back at the office...
- BART: It's interesting, these peaks.
- NARRATOR: Bart crunches the numbers, and in one
fall migration Merlin counted three million birds
coming through the corridor in just three months.
- I think during most of the time these birds are
flying high enough and have good visibility
it's not going to be an issue,
it's those times when they do migrate when it's foggy out,
their visibility is very poor, and we think it pushes em
down at a lower level, lower altitude when they are flying.
Those are the conditions we are concerned about at least
in terms of some development along the coast.
[wind from wind turbine]
- JIM: We're going to be able to observe large avian movements
during a variety of weather conditions that we have
never been able to see before.
- NARRATOR: There are wind farms using the latest technology.
- And if we can make sure that were doing it in the
most responsible way, taking it very, very seriously that is
one way to help us clean up our energy supply.
- NARRATOR: Scientists...
- BART: We have 14 Reddish Egrets.
- NARRATOR: And their long term studies on protecting
these Texas treasures.
- BART: Our hope with this research is that it'll be used
in the future to help sight some of this development,
where it will have less impact on our bird populations.
[wind from wind turbine]
- ANDY: We just have to make sure that the individual
developers make the right sorts of sighting decisions,
that's really what it boils down to in Texas or anywhere else.
- NARRATOR: Chances are, this new renewable energy source
is here for good.
[ducks fly off]
And now it's up to us to make sure it stays green.
- NARRATOR: Wish you could spend more time with nature?
Well, every month you can have the great outdoors
delivered to you.
Since 1942, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine has been the
outdoor magazine of Texas.
Every issue is packed with outstanding photography
and writing about the wild things and wild places
of this great state.
And now Texas' best outdoor magazine is available as an app,
it's just that easy.
Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine,
your connection to the great outdoors.
[theme music]
- Hi I'm Andy Gluesenkamp, I'm the state herpetologist
for Texas Parks and Wildlife and today I'd like to talk to you
about the Texas Rat Snake.
The Texas Rat Snake is the most commonly encountered snake
in Texas, and they occupy a wide range of habitats.
This snake is harmless, they are completely non-venomous,
they don't attack people, in fact they are major
rodent predators.
Hence the name rat snake.
[rattle]
Probably the best way to tell a rat snake from a venomous snake
in Texas is to look at the head shape.
Pit vipers, which includes copperheads, cottonmouths,
and rattlesnakes, they tend to have a very chunky head
with steep sides to the face.
Whereas if you look at the head of a rat snake,
the head tends to be more rounded and less angular.
This snake is in the process of shedding, during that process
we call them in the blue, that individual will get an opaque
color to its skin, it's eye's become milky blue.
It's not sick or injured, they just need a few days
to find a quiet place to hang out while they shed
their old skin to reveal a new fresh layer underneath!
Rat snakes get a bad rap -
they are large snakes, they are frequently encountered,
they are not particularly friendly.
But I'd like to point out that their primary diet is mice,
rats, and other rodents - that's pretty beneficial snake
to have around.
So three things to remember about the Texas Rat Snake,
they're the most commonly encountered snake in Texas,
they're completely harmless, and they're beneficial.
[music]
- I am spreading what amounts to chicken scratch.
- NARRATOR: Bret Collier is trying to tempt some turkey....
- We'll have birds out here probably tomorrow.
- NARRATOR: ...he's setting out breakfast and setting up a trap,
all to learn more about the birds.
- BRET: We bait up an area and we set up a trail camera.
We set up a big net, and wait and see if the birds
are coming to the bait.
[winch gears clicking]
- NARRATOR: Fortunately, Bret has some help.
- BRET: One, two, three...
- There's a lot of different organizations
that are all pitching in.
Texas A&M, you have Parks and Wildlife, ranch personnel.
- You could not find a better place to have a
collaborative relationship between a university,
a state agency, and a private landowner than right here
where we are in Duval County.
I'm in, all those...
- NARRATOR: This high-tech turkey work is taking place
on the Temple Ranch, two hours south of San Antonio.
Being open to research is just one way the ranch works to
enhance turkey habitat.
- The last few years we've had some pretty rough droughts
here in South Texas and we've lost I'd say up
to 50 to 70% of our hackberries, which is the main roost tree
here in this part of South Texas for turkeys.
So what we're trying to do, we're putting up some artificial
roosts in place of the hackberries that have died
due to drought and they're really getting some good use
out of them.
[tractor passing]
- NARRATOR: More traditional improvements, like brush
management and the use of prescribed fire,
have also helped wildlife here.
But fully understanding what Rio Grande turkey need
requires being aware of their every move.
For Bret and crew, that means some very early workdays,
in this high-rise office of sorts.
- BRET: We get up about 4:45 in the morning, make sure that
everything's working, and then we wait on the birds to come in.
Wow.
That's a good number of hens.
Twenty-five or 30 in sight right now, and there's a
flock of about 15 males.
Look at that.
Our primary focus is to look at the habitat use of Rio Grande
wild turkeys in South Texas.
[turkey gobbles]
- JUSTIN: There's a lot that goes into it but it only
takes just a couple of seconds to happen.
[turkey gobbles]
- BRET: Are the deer gone? I can't see...
When the net goes off our primary goal is always
the safety of the bird.
[net releases]
Drop! Drop! Drop! Drop!
- JUSTIN: It's pretty exciting when that net drops.
- BRET: Any birds on the edge -- back corner!
It is very fast and furious.
Roll 'em up underneath if you need to!
- ROBERT: We try and do it as fast as we can,
and reduce stress on the birds.
- BRET: What took you guys so long?
- ROBERT: It's quite a rodeo sometimes.
[banjo music]
[banjo music]
- BRET: Good work, everyone.
We're going to leg band about 10 of them, maybe 12,
and then transmitter the rest.
[box closes]
[rummaging for pliers]
- KYLE MELTON: Putting leg bands on them, putting radio collars
on them, or backpacks in this case.
- BRET: Go ahead and grab one more...
We put a backpack transmitter on them that uh we can use to
follow the birds around.
And currently we've developed some that are using
GPS technology.
- KYLE: Frequency number 151-340.
- BRET: You can use that information to identify habitat.
[transmitter beeping]
- NARRATOR: Traditional tracking technology only allows locating
an animal when a biologist is available to go look for it.
- KYLE: The transmitter emits a beep.
We can receive that beep.
We can hone in on an individual and figure out where it's at
and triangulate and determine what kind of habitat types
they're located in.
Just down the road here.
- NARRATOR: But this requires manpower and does risk
disturbing the birds.
- KYLE: He's on the move.
We're pushing him.
- NARRATOR: Newer GPS technology allows much more location data
to be collected unobtrusively.
- It's not us going out once or twice a day
and saying well there's the bird at 10:00 in the morning
and there's the bird at 4:00 in the afternoon.
We can tell where they're going on their timeframe.
- BRET: We can map daily movements, seasonal movements,
we can identify the core areas the birds like to spend their
time in, um we can really do a lot of neat stuff, and to be
honest we're really probably just scratching the surface
with some of the things we could do with this type
of information.
- Now with this project we're learning where they like
to nest, where they like to roost, where they like
to raise broods.
[turkey flapping]
It's just really helping us out to where we need to work on
certain spots on the ranch.
- BRET: Let her loose.
- NARRATOR: The research is ongoing, but the findings are
already shedding new light on what turkey need to succeed.
- ROBERT: We're happy with how it's going.
[turkey flapping]
- JASON: We're getting better at answering the question
'What do these landowners need to do to really provide
quality habitat?'
I think whenever we're done here in a couple of years
we'll have something really valuable for the people of
South Texas and hopefully Texas in general.
- Hi, I'm David Heinicke, park ranger at
Brazos Bend State Park, and we've got some of the
best mountain biking trails in the Houston area.
Let's go check em out!!
[bike tire shreds trail]
Here at Brazos Bend State Park we have over 35 miles
of multi-use hiking and biking trails here in the park.
We have narrow single track trails that weave up and down
through the forest.
We have nice wide gravel trails that are more family friendly.
[birds chirp]
- KID: It's a real beautiful park!
- DAVID: So no matter your skill level of mountain biking,
we have really something for everybody here at Brazos Bend.
[bikers roll along bridge]
[Snowy Egret calls]
The Elm Lake trail is one of the best places to see the
wildlife in the park.
With the lake on one side and the marsh on the other side
the amount of wildlife out here is just fantastic.
It's not uncommon to see eight and ten foot alligators
right on the side of the trail here.
[music]
[splash of alligator]
Whew!!!
These are the trails on the Brazos River, they're a
little more suitable for the more advanced rider.
Uh, they're single track dirt trails,
They've got some topography changes, so you get some
ups and downs, some drop offs, some hairpin curves,
so they offer a little more challenge to the mountain biker.
Come out to Brazos Bend State Park, with over 35 miles
of mountain biking trails, we've got a trail that suitable
for everybody, and what's even better is we are less than an
hour's drive from Houston, so come on out and join us!
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
[birds sing and chirp]
- NARRATOR: This series is funded in part by a grant
from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.
Through your purchases of hunting and fishing equipment,
and motorboat fuels, over 50 million dollars in
conservation efforts are funded in Texas each year.
And by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Helping to keep Texas wild with the support of proud members
across the state.
Find out more at tpwf.org
Additional funding provided by Ram Trucks.
Guts.
Glory.
Ram.
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