The Houston Urban Wildlife page is here to help inform the public about wildlife issues in the urban environment of Houston and the Upper Gulf Coast.
(16)
Comment Guidelines: http://on.fb.me/cWf2LL COMMENT GUIDELINES
You are encouraged to share your thoughts as they relate to the topic being discussed. We expect comments generally to be courteous. To that end, comments are reviewed according to the following guidelines. We reserve the discretion to remove comments that:
- Contain obscene, indecent, or profane language;
- Contain threats or defamatory statements;
- Contain personal attacks or insulting statements directed toward an individual;
- Contain hate speech directed at race, color, s*x, s*xual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, or disability; or
- Promote or endorse services or products;
(Note that non-commercial links that are relevant to the topic or another comment are acceptable.)
- Are unrelated to the topic being discussed;
- Are of a repetitive or “spamming” nature (the same comment posted multiple times)
The views expressed in comments reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Texas Parks and Wildlife or the Texas state government.
Operating as usual
The City Nature Challenge starts Friday! Explore and share nature in this friendly competition among cities (though you don't have to live in one of these cities to play). A great activity to do with kids! Details at https://tpwd.texas.gov/naturechallenge
https://fb.me/e/1ff4L36Gt
We’re excited to announce the introduction of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act into Congress today. Bipartisan action will help us recover our most imperiled wildlife and disappearing habitats. Without investing in proactive wildlife conservation, scientists estimate that one-third of wildlife species in the United States are at risk of becoming threatened or endangered. The outdoors is more important than ever, for fish and wildlife and for our health and wellbeing, and needs protecting. The bill would create 33,000 new conservation jobs and is supported by the entire conservation community
Video explaining the bill: https://vimeo.com/462694167
The text of the bill is here:https://debbiedingell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/dingmi_138_xml.pdf
We’re excited to announce the introduction of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act into Congress today. Bipartisan action will help us recover our most imperiled wildlife and disappearing habitats. Without investing in proactive wildlife conservation, scientists estimate that one-third of wildlife species in the United States are at risk of becoming threatened or endangered. The outdoors is more important than ever, for fish and wildlife and for our health and wellbeing, and needs protecting. The bill would create 33,000 new conservation jobs and is supported by the entire conservation community
Video explaining the bill: https://vimeo.com/462694167
The text of the bill is here:https://debbiedingell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/dingmi_138_xml.pdf
CALLING ALL TEXANS - Help protect migrating birds this spring by turning Lights Out, across Texas! Here’s how you can help: turn out all non-essential lights from 11 pm - 6 am every night through June 15, especially during the peak migration period of April 19 - May 7, when half of the total spring bird migration traffic passes through Texas. Join in and spread this message far and wide to help protect the approximately one billion birds that travel through the Lone Star State. Learn more and sign up for bird migration alerts: bit.ly/LightsOutTexas
#LightsOutTexas
CALLING ALL TEXANS - Help protect migrating birds this spring by turning Lights Out, across Texas! Here’s how you can help: turn out all non-essential lights from 11 pm - 6 am every night through June 15, especially during the peak migration period of April 19 - May 7, when half of the total spring bird migration traffic passes through Texas. Join in and spread this message far and wide to help protect the approximately one billion birds that travel through the Lone Star State. Learn more and sign up for bird migration alerts: bit.ly/LightsOutTexas
#LightsOutTexas
The monarchs are back and they need your help! It’s the start of monarch migration north from Mexico into Texas. This video shows some ways that Texans can help these creatures thrive, such as planting nectar-rich plants and native milkweed. Since the freeze wiped out many of the blooming landscape plants, butterflies and bees are finding nectar in tree blooms right now, such as Mexican plum, rusty blackhaw viburnum, and Texas redbud. Planting blooming native plants will help the adults complete their migration and native milkweed will create a place for the monarchs to lay their eggs.
Monarch butterflies are in need of your help! Reports out of Mexico state there has been a significant decline in numbers this year. Fortunately, by planting...
In the southern states, especially along the coast, there have always been small populations of overwintering Mexican free-tailed bats. These bats store body fat along their back to help them survive the cold winter temperatures. When temperatures dip below 50 degrees, the plump overwintering bats often stay in their bridge crevice and go into torpor, subsisting on body fat. February is usually the tail end of our Texas winter along the coast. Due to this, the overwintering bats were running out of stored body fat when the winter storm hit recently. The temperatures dipped extremely low – and remained cold for an extended period of time, which was very difficult for these overwintering Mexican free-tailed bats to withstand. Many young adult bats, likely born the summer of 2020 had not had enough time to build up fat storage like the more experienced adults. Check out this article featuring one of our Urban Wildlife Biologists commenting on the situation directly after the storm. Since the storm, has passed over 200 bats in the Houston area have been taken to local rehabilitation centers and the majority have been released back into the wild.
The bat colony under the bridge at Waugh Drive in Buffalo Bayou Park, a beloved staple of...
https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20210223a
News Release, Feb. 23, 2021: Public Help Sought to Report Fish and Wildlife Impacted by Winter Storm Uri
Texas Parks and Wildlife is seeking your help in cataloguing wildlife impacts from Winter Storm Uri. If you saw birds, bats, or other wildlife that you suspect were killed by the storm, please consider adding your photos to this iNaturalist project: https://bit.ly/UriWildlifeImpacts
Texas Parks and Wildlife is trying to better understand the impacts of Winter Storm Uri (mid-February 2021) on wildlife. Please contribute any observations of wildlife that you suspect were killed due to the cold and include photos where possible. Please also complete the extra observation field "Nu...
Houstonians, please take 15 minutes to watch BAYOU CITY, a new short film by our program, directed by Olivia Haun, about Houston's bayou ecosystem that is featured in this year's FREE Wild Film Tour. It's available to stream all December long via www.bit.ly/bayou_city.
Check out Bayou City, a new short film by our program that is featured in this year's FREE Wild Film Tour. It's available to stream all December long via www.bit.ly/bayou_city.
Our agency has 4 short films featured in this year’s FREE virtual Wild Film Tour that runs throughout the month of December, including our program's own film about Houston called BAYOU CITY. Watch now at: https://bit.ly/WildTexasFilmTour.
TPWD is excited to have 4 short films featured in this year’s FREE virtual Wild Texas Film Tour that runs throughout the month of December, including our program's own film, BAYOU CITY. Here's how to watch: https://bit.ly/WildTexasFilmTour. The Wild Film Tour showcases wildlife, adventure, and conservation stories from across Texas. Here's a preview:
Colonies of urban bats can be found in several of our bridges around the city including Waugh Bridge and Watonga Bridge. Check out this video put together by Houston Parks Board highlighting the colony of Mexican free-tailed bats and the prairie restoration being done along White Oak Bayou.
Have you seen the bats at Watonga Bridge yet? Every year between March-October, hundreds of Mexican Free-tailed bats emerge at sunset from their home under the Watonga Parkway Bridge. Free-tailed bats roost during the day and emerge at dusk.
The most impressive columns can be seen in August and September, when the young bats begin to join their mothers leaving the roost. Be sure to visit Watonga Parkway Park at sunset to witness this bat colony this month!
The Watonga Prairie Project is one of several ongoing Houston Parks Board restoration projects. Prairie habitat is extremely important to local wildlife and supports rainfall infiltration which reduces flooding. This restoration project supports the bat population by supplying a reliable food source. Our volunteers and staff work diligently to establish native plants.
The new multi-chamber bat box is mounted in the restored prairie to provide additional shelter. The open space of a prairie is an ideal location to allow bats to drop in and out like a natural roost and reduces their vulnerability to predators at night.
Watonga Parkway Park is located at 4100 Watonga Blvd, Houston, TX 77092, and parking is available in a parking lot on Watonga Blvd, just north of W 43rd St. For METRO, take bus route 23 and get off at Watonga Blvd & 43rd St or TC Jester Blvd and 43rd St.
Happy National Wildlife day! We’d like to celebrate by giving you a behind the scenes look into the urban wildlife research done by our team.
We recently wrapped up summer field collection for our urban coyote diet project. Volunteers and researchers collected coyote scat samples from urban greenspaces across the Houston area. We then sat down and processed each sample, identifying bones, fur, fruits, and other materials that had been digested. Some interesting finds included a Northern Cardinal feather, insect exoskeletons, fishing line, and the jaw bone of a skunk seen in the last picture. Coyotes are a vital part of the ecosystem and it is important to understand how an urban environment influences their dietary habits. We can also compare our results to similar studies being done in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and other urban areas. In addition to scat collection, we set up game cameras to get some neat shots of our urban coyotes in the wild.
#urbanwildlife #htx #texaswildlife #NationalWildlifeDay
We had the pleasure of working with Dr. Dittmar on wildlife disease related issues in the Greater Houston area over his tenure with TPWD. Always the professional, Bob went above and beyond to assist with any issues we had. He will truly be missed.
On behalf of the Houston Urban Wildlife Office, we extend our thoughts and prayers to the families of these fine men. All of these men went above and beyond to help maintain and protect the wildlife and habitat they held dear.
https://www.facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife/posts/10157748966868693
Today we honor our colleagues who died in a helicopter crash on Saturday while conducting bighorn sheep aerial surveys in Brewster County. These men dedicated their careers to conserving Texas wildlife and their efforts will be felt for years to come. We welcome you to share your thoughts and memories.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of these three colleagues. Our condolences go out their families, friends, and every person that was influenced by their passion for wildlife.
We are devastated to report that 3 of our colleagues died in a helicopter crash yesterday while conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep on TPWD's Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Brewster County. Here are the details: https://bit.ly/2PFzV9P
Waugh Bridge Bat Emersion
Alligators play an important role in aquatic ecosystems even in urban settings. They are top predators within our rivers, bayous, and lakes controlling populations of fish, turtles, and other prey species. They also create habitat for aquatic organisms by creating dens in the bank. This large male took a dive in the San Jacinto River outside of town to cool off from the Texas summer heat.
What do you do if you see an alligator in the Houston area?
• Leave it alone. When given their space, alligators are very rarely aggressive toward humans and will not pose a threat. Keeping a safe distance of at least 30 feet or more will reduce the risk of conflict keeping both the alligator and you safe.
• If you hook a gator fishing, the best thing to do is cut the line. Alligators have extremely strong stomach acid that can digest the hook without harming the animal.
• You should NEVER feed an alligator. This can condition the animal to human presence and result in up to a $500 fine.
• If you are unsure if the alligator is a threat or have questions call our office at (281) 456-7029 for guidance.
Return of the Endangereds — ABNC
Armand Bayou Nature Center is a living museum, an island ecosystem located in the midst of one of America’s major metropolitan areas. We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Great article from Texas Monthly on the status of black bears in Texas! Once found across the state, black bears were almost completely wiped out in the early to mid-1900's. Since then, natural recolonization have allowed them to slowly move back into East Texas areas as well as habitats in far West Texas. You can help TPWD monitor the status of this threatened species by reporting any black bear sightings to your local TPWD biologist.
Yes, that viral video is cute. No, black bears aren't returning to Texas because of the pandemic.
Here's the real reason for their steady comeback:
Read more here about Alligator Snapping Turtles and the awesome work being done in Buffalo Bayou by our partners at TSA.
Macrochelys Monday!
Even as juveniles, the Alligator Snapping Turtle still has one menacing mug. This juvenile was recaptured by our TSA North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group last weekend as part of our ongoing research in southeast Texas.
Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) are both predatory and opportunistic in their feeding habits. Like their cousin the Common Snapping Turtle, they are an important part of their aquatic ecosystem, cleaning it of dead animal matter, or carrion. In this day and age, however, these scavenging habits can be deadly.
Throughout their range, the most pervasive threat to Alligator Snapping Turtles is active or discarded fishing lines, hooks, and weights. These silent killers drown an untold number of turtles each year. In our research sites, dead snapping turtles are not an uncommon site.
You can help us continue our important research and conservation actions for the Alligator Snapping Turtle by becoming a TSA Donor today! http://bit.ly/DonateToTheTSA
Special thanks to Texas Parks and Wildlife, Memorial Park Conservancy, and Hess Corporation
Photo credit: Eric Munscher
Lunchtime in East End Park makes for difficult social distancing.
A wasp (Family Vespidae), scarab beetle (Genus Melocanthon), and a House fly (Musca domestica) share the remains of a dragonfly on the trail.
#urbanwildlife #entymology #lunchtime #TexasWildlife #HTX
Radio Telemetry in Buffalo Bayou
The diversity of snake species in the Bayou City makes it a great place to celebrate #WorldSnakeDay. Snakes play an important role as predators in ecosystems. They control populations of many other creatures that we consider pests and help to keep our environment healthy.
Species in order: Speckled Kingsnake, Red-bellied Mudsnake, Cottonmouth, Eastern Coachwip, Plain-bellied Watersnake. @ Houston, Texas
On this July 4th weekend remember to clean, drain, and dry your boat. Invasive species like zebra mussels and giant salvinia can be transported by boats and become a major problem in Texas lakes.
You have an important role to play in protecting the lakes we love from invasive species like giant salvinia and zebra mussels. They can hitch a ride on your...
Meet one of the more secretive inhabitants of Buffalo Bayou in Downtown Houston: the Alligator Snapping Turtle. Until recently, researchers knew very little about the size of this species’ population in bayou. Over the past four years, The TPWD Urban Wildlife office has supported the Turtle Survival Alliance with the capture of 82 alligator snapping turtles in Buffalo Bayou making Houston home to one of the largest urban population of Alligator Snapping Turtles in the United States! In 2018, ten of these turtles were equipped with radio transmitters to study their movement in the bayou system.
These amazing creatures play an important role in the food chain and contribute by keeping fish species populations at a healthy level. Recent research has also shown that these turtles rarely move across land and have a special genetic makeup depending on which watershed they live in. This makes our Buffalo Bayou population even more uniquely Houstonian. @ Buffalo Bayou
Texas Nature Trackers - Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept Program
Happy National Pollinator Week!🐝This little beauty (Family Andrenidae) was found grooming herself outside of Bastrop State Park in late May. Most bees we found with TPWD Invertebrate Biologist Ross Winton were COVERED in pollen, or “saddle bags” as he liked to call them. Any cool pollinator sightings this spring? Send them our way by tagging Texas Nature Trackers - Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept Program
#nationalpollinatorweek #saveourpollinators
14320 Garrett Rd
Houston, TX
77044
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Urban Biologists are here to help an ever increasing urban public understand and acknowledge the benefits of the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
| Monday | 08:00 - 17:00 |
| Tuesday | 08:00 - 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00 - 17:00 |
| Thursday | 08:00 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 08:00 - 17:00 |
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Texas Parks and Wildlife - Houston Urban Wildlife posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Texas Parks and Wildlife - Houston Urban Wildlife:
Apparently, these guys didn't get the memo on social distancing... Here we see 2 male green anoles (Anolis carolinensis) getting into a skirmish to see who is going to be ruler of this territory. The size of a green anoles territory is dependent on it's size. The larger the male...the larger the territory. On average, their territorial range can be from 50 - 100 square meters.
When we think of cities, we often imagine lots of concrete, traffic, and very little nature. But our skies are full of wildlife species that have adapted to living in cities and they're doing quite well. With a little help from us, wildlife can thrive and provide numberous benefits for us too! To learn more about urban wildlife and the TPWD Urban Wildlife Program, visit: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/urban_program/
Did you REALLY see what you thought you saw? Maybe take a second and think: Did I REALLY see Big Foot, or was it just a man in a gorilla suit? Did I REALLY see a chupacabra or was it just a mangy coyote? 👽
Think you saw a cottonmouth? 👀Watch this to find out more about these incredible snakes and how to tell the difference between cottonmouths and other common Texas species. 🐍#WildlifeWednesdays #SnakesofTexas
Bats have a special place in the heart of many Texans. Not only do they help control our insect population, which in turn helps farmers secure their crops, but they are also MAMMALS THAT FLY! Come see one of Texas' many bat emergences throughout the state now through fall. #BatsOfTexas #Bats #MammalsThatFly 🦇 For more information about batwatching sites, visit: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/
With the advancements in remote video technology, video doorbells and home security cameras have become a valuable tool for homeowners to keep tabs on their property when away from home. We have all seen the videos of package thieves and other colorful characters visiting peoples front doors. This video was sent to our office by one of our landowners that asked for our help to improve the habitat on their property. By the looks of these nighttime trespassers, we may have been successful!!!
Imagine the surprise when a Woodlands homeowner spotted this critter in her backyard pool! River otters have been spotted in water bodies all over the Houston area, including wilder spots like our creeks, San Jacinto river, and our state parks, like Sheldon Lake State Park. They were once heavily trapped for the fur trade, so their populations were low in Texas for a long time. With trapping decreasing, river otter populations are rebounding and their range is expanding across Texas… We would like to send out a special thank you to Paige Beach for taking and sharing this wonderful footage with us!!!
Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) love to make their homes in tall, man-made structures, like - yup, you guessed it - chimneys! These small birds build their nests on the walls of chimneys, and serve as an excellent form of pest control by eating thousands of flies, beetles, and others insects. Unfortunately, their populations are declining worldwide. But you can help by donating your chimney to the cause by taking the cap off your chimney in the summer to allow the swifts to roost. Watch the video below for more info on how you can help these little birds!
Our office gets calls regularly asking what is the status of the Waugh Street Bridge Bat Colony. We are pleased to say that the colony seems to be recovering quite well. This video was shot recently at the bridge and shows a large number of bats exiting for their nightly hunt.
Check out this video clip showing the amazing bats of Waugh bridge in Houston. Imagine 250,000 bats all leaving their roost at the same time… The video was taken by Kelly Walker, member of the Houston Area Bat Team, who was observing the bat emergence at sunset on May 5, 2016. This month and through the summer months, the bridge is full of pregnant female Mexican free-tailed bats. Like most pregnant ladies, they are HUNGRY and fly from the bridge in huge clouds, off on their hunt for insects. Each female bat can eat up to her body weight in insects at night. Beginning the end of May and into June, the female bats will be giving birth to their single pups. The pups are pink and hairless when born, gradually growing grayish fuzzy fur. As mammals, the mothers feed the pups milk at first until the pups are old enough to fly and catch insects on their own. The first of the pups begin flying around first week in July. Take the time to visit Waugh bridge and watch a bat emergence! Teams from the Houston Area Bat Team are on-hand there every Friday night from March through October to give ‘Bat Chats’ and answer any questions. We’re there 30 minutes before sunset on those Friday nights.
MINE! MINE! MINE! As we all know, animals like to have their own territory and property. Since the majority of the animal kingdom does not use barbed wire or purple paint to mark their property lines, they have to use a different method. Our friend Mr. Coyote demonstrates one of the most widely used methods of marking property: scent. Scent is used by much of the animal kingdom, both wild and domestic, to say "this belongs to me." When your cat rubs against you, you are being greeted as a friend and marked as their territory. Ever wonder why Precious wants to stop and sniff EVERY mailbox you walk by? Well, it's because someone left a little calling card behind saying they claim this mailbox as part of their kingdom. And of course, Precious has to leave a little note of his own behind. Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center
We had reports from the park staff at Sheldon Lake State Park that a bobcat had been seen crossing Park Road 138 on a number of occasions. We put out cameras in hopes of getting it documented. Unfortunately, we never caught it on camera but we did catch this little one browsing the side of the road. What do you do if you ever come upon an "abandoned" fawn? Leave it alone! First of all, the fawn has not been abandoned. Mother white tail deer will often leave their young hunkered down in the cover of the tall grass prairie while she browses for food and will be back for the fawn later.
This summer, the Houston Wildlife Office's intern is doing a wildlife survey of the Lawther - Deer Park prairie and a part of the restored prairie at Sheldon Lake State Park. Part of the survey includes "camera traps" set out at strategic locations that we believe wildlife regularly use for travel. Pablo has caught images and video of white-tailed deer, coyote, heron and crows. The other night, he caught a glimpse of a critter walking away from the camera but it was a bit out of the range of the camera so we could not make a positive ID. This prompted us to put the cameras back out in the same location the following night and this is what we caught... This video was shot at Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center.
Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learn
14140 Garrett RdSouth Lake Houston Emergency Medical Services
14418 Beaumont HighwayNorth Shore Senior High Baseball
353 N Castlegory RdSan Jacinto College EMS Education Program
5800 Uvalde RdHOPE, Inc - Hearts of Parents Endure, Inc
5800 Uvalde RdMarine Corps Recruiting Station Northshore, T
15119 Wallisville Rd, Ste 400Barrett Station Community Center
808 1/2 Magnolia Ave, Crosby
NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
13000 Space Center Blvd
Houston-Galveston Area Council
3555 Timmons Ln, Ste 120
Houston Concealed Handgun Licensing Service
15426 Poolview St
India in USA (Consulate General of India, Hou
4300 Scotland St
Honor Guard - Harris County Sheriff's Office
1200 Baker
Harris County Sheriff's Office Citizens Polic
Harris County Texas