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The Owls of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Texas

10,000 Birds

Along with Hawk Mountain and the Platte River, there were two destinations in Texas near the top of the page – Padre Island National Seashore and the Rio Grande Valley. One of the highlights of birding in this Texas state park is the chance to see five owl species that breed here. Photo by © KS Nature Photography. Stygian Owl.

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What to Do at High Island When the Winds are South

10,000 Birds

Sure, there were Summer and Scarlet Tanagers and a few “good” warblers, but most of the migrants were sailing on those south winds over our heads to other parts of Texas. I love American Avocets and I rarely see them in such marvelous breeding plumage, so I was in heaven. You just need to know where to look. Clapper Rail.

Houston 226
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes 2015 Expansion of Hunting and Fishing Opportunities on National Wildlife Refuges

10,000 Birds

Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced as part of Great Outdoors Month the agency is proposing to expand fishing and hunting opportunities on 21 refuges throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Service is committed to strengthening and expanding hunting and fishing opportunities,” said Ashe. “The

Fish 145
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The Beautiful and Colorful Mourning Dove

10,000 Birds

Even though the female lays only two eggs per nest attempt, they enjoy a protracted breeding season in which multiple nesting attempts can occur every 30 days, and in Southern locations, nearly year round. Use of non-toxic shot when hunting waterfowl has been mandatory, nationwide, since 1991. The Mourning Dove is a prolific breeder.

Hunters 181
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Listening to Falcons: The Peregrines of Tom Cade

10,000 Birds

Raised in and around the West Texas steppe country where temperatures reached 100 degrees with regularity, he began life as the Dust Bowl and Great Depression converged. His parents moved where opportunity beckoned, taking him from San Angelo, Texas, to Columbus, New Mexico, then to Dallas, and finally on to California.

Falcons 191
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The National Wildlife Refuge System: Birders Leading the Way

10,000 Birds

For example, essentially the entire population of the endangered Whooping Crane winters at Aransas NWR in Texas. Farallon NWR , a group of islands near San Francisco, hosts the largest colonies of breeding seabirds south of Alaska. Individually, many NWRs protect crucial bird habitat.

Wildlife 189
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Feral Cats in American Cities

10,000 Birds

If left unchecked, free-roaming cats will breed and their populations increase at locations where they find suitable shelter and food, resulting in environmental/property damage, and public nuisance. Free-roaming cats will hunt and kill birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, resulting in wildlife mortality.