Kickapoo Cavern State Park

Transcription

(wind) >> THERE ARE FEW PLACES LEFT THAT HAVE NOT BEEN LARGELY TOUCHED BY OUR CULTURE. BUT AT KICKAPOO CAVERN STATE PARK NATURE IS ALMOST UNTOUCHED, THE WAY IT USED TO BE. (music) >> IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO JUST GET AWAY FROM IT ALL, YOU CAN UNPLUG FROM ALL THE DISTRACTIONS IN THE CITY. WE'VE GOT APPROXIMATELY 6,400 ACRES AND LOTS TO DO, WE'VE GOT BIRDING, HIKING, MOUNTAIN BIKING. UM, IT'S JUST A GREAT PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL AND GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH NATURE. >> MUCH OF THE BEAUTY OF TEXAS IS HIDDEN. TO SEE IT YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT, SOMETIMES CATCHING ONLY A FLEETING GLIMPSE. OVER 230 SPECIES OF BIRDS HAVE BEEN SEEN IN THIS PARK. >> WE GET A LOT OF BIRDERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY THEY'VE READ ABOUT IT. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF DIVERSITY HERE AND THEY'RE HERE A LOT OF TIMES TO FILL THEIR LIFE LIST WHETHER THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THE BLACK CAPPED VIREO OR THE GOLDEN CHEEKED WARBLER WE'VE GOT THEM BOTH HERE SO IT'S A GREAT PLACE FOR BIRDING. (birds) >> JESSICA KLASSEN IS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY STUDYING THE ENDANGERED GOLDEN CHEEKED WARBLER. >> HERE IS ONE OF OUR GOLDEN CHEEKED WARBLER NESTS. THEY MAKE THEIR NESTS OUT OF THE STRIPS OF ASH JUNIPER BARK SO THE LITTLE CLUMP UP THERE OF ASH JUNIPER THAT YOU SEE AT THE CANOPY OF THE TREE IS OUR GOLDEN CHEEKED WARBLER NEST, AND DIRECTLY BELOW IT IS YOU'LL SEE OUR CAMERA THAT WE'RE USING TO MONITOR THE NEST WITH. BUT WE LIKE TO DISTURB THEM AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE SO WE STAY AT THE NEST SITE FOR AS SHORT OF PERIOD AS POSSIBLE. >> BY USING AN INFRARED CAMERA AND A REMOTE RECORDING UNIT JESSICA IS ABLE TO MONITOR THE BIRD NEST WITHOUT DISTURBING IT. >> WE'VE BEEN SEEING NESTLING TYPE BEHAVIOR SO WE'VE SEEN BOTH MALES AND FEMALES CARRYING FOOD, WHICH WE CAN INFER WOULD BE TO HUNGRY NESTLINGS IN THE NEST. (birds) (music) >> ENTER THE DARKNESS OF THE SUBTERRANEAN WONDER OF KICKAPOO CAVERN AND WITNESS ROUGHLY FOUR MILLION YEARS OF NATURE'S ARTISTIC HANDIWORK. >> DID Y'ALL SEE THIS FORMATION? PRETTY COOL. >> THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL BEING DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS. >> YOU GOT TWIN COLUMNS. THE COLUMN ON YOUR RIGHT IS THE LARGEST COLUMN IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. IT'S 80 FEET HIGH WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER EIGHT STORIES. YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT COLORED DRAPERY OFF OF IT, ALL THE JELLY FISH LOOKING STUFF. I SEE MOTHER NATURE AT ITS BEST. (bats' wings) >> THE INTRIGUE OF THE PARK LIES AS MUCH ABOVE THE GROUND AS BELOW. STUART BAT CAVE TEEMS WITH MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BATS. >> THE BAT FLIGHTS ARE PRETTY SPECTACULAR. THEY ARE 500,000 BATS HERE AT THE CAVE. IT TAKES APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR-AND-A-HALF FOR ALL THE BATS TO GET OUT OF THE CAVE. >> IN OUR EVER EXPANDING, FAST PACED WORLD, IT'S WONDERFUL TO KNOW A PLACE LIKE KICKAPOO CAVERN STATE PARK EXISTS. >> IT'S A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PLACE AND WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT THAT WAY, WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT AS NATURAL AS POSSIBLE. IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO JUST GET AWAY FROM IT ALL AND ENJOY A PART OF TEXAS A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN.