Green River State Wildlife Area

Transcription

[music] [birds chirping] Can you see that Snowy Egret? Yeah, can you see its legs? WAY DOWN IN SOUTH TEXAS THERE'S A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GO TO SEE BIRDS... [volunteer guide] Its feet are yellow and its legs are black. ...LOTS OF BIRDS This is Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas, part of the World Birding Center. [birder] The one on the left is probably a Couch’s or a Tropical Kingbird. There’s a Least Grebe in the middle of the pond. No. The World Birding Center consists of 9 sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley. 3 of those are state parks. I’d like to welcome you all to Estero Llano Grande State Park. [bird squawks] HERE YOU CAN SEE BIRDS IN A TREE, BIRDS ON THE WATER, BIRDS ON A WIRE, AND BIRDS ON A NEST. [Garcia] In the park we have approximately 216 bird species recorded. On just a regular day you can sit on this deck for and hour or two and easily spot 30 to 40 species of birds. ALL OF THESE BIRDS COME TO ESTERO LLANO GRANDE BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT HABITATS IN A LITTLE BIT OF AREA. [Garcia] We have shallow wetlands, deep wetlands, woodlands, thorn scrub. The diverse habitat brings in the diverse species and that’s real important to have here in South Texas. Diversity begets diversity. This is the Fulvous compared to the Black-bellied, which we saw a lot of. What have we seen today? Black-bellied whistling duck, Black-necked Stilts, beautiful views of the Sora today. For us eastern birders these are southern specialties. NOT ALL OF THE RESIDENTS OF ESTERO LLANO GRANDE HAVE WINGS. THE BIRDS SHARE THE SPACE WITH A VARIETY OF ANIMALS SOME SLOW, SOME SLITHERY, AND SOME SUBSTANTIALLY SIZABLE. Yes, we do have a few alligators. They are a major attraction and we’re hoping that really pulls in some of the locals because they’re really interested and often come just to see the alligators and walk out in the park. [guide] We do have a family of alligators that live out here, 2 adults. [O'Haver] So many people in the Valley haven’t heard of this park. It’s often that you forget about the things that are closer to you and you travel to go see amazing things. [guide] And they’ll be swimming out here, getting some air… [O'Haver] We’re starting to teach them by these school groups. They’re quite amazed at what is right here in their backyard. There’s something for everybody here at our park. [music] [birds]