Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You'll hear references to 'Mexican free-tailed bats', these are the ones you'll see
streaming out from caves and from underneath the Congress Ave Bridge in Austin just be-
fore dusk. This is actually a migratory subspecies of Brazilian free-tailed bats (
Tadarida
brasiliensis)
.
The endangered Mexican longnosed bat has its only US home in the Chisos Mountains,
where it summers. A total of 20 bat species live at Big Bend, ranking it top among nation-
al parks in bat diversity.
Bluebonnet
Festivals
Burnet
(
www.bluebonnetfestival.org
)
Chappel Hill
Ennis
(
www.visitennis.org
)
La Vernia
(
www.lavernialions.org/
Birds
An image in many a traditional and blues song, the mockingbird
- a long-tailed gray bird that can mimic other birds' songs - is
the official bird of Texas.
Texas has more than 600 documented bird species - over 75%
of all species reported in the US. Several on that list are
threatened species. The endangered golden-cheeked warbler,
which exclusively nests in central Texas, is best identified by the
male's distinctive song heard during late spring. Delisted, but
still protected, bald eagles nest in the eastern part of the state from October to July, and
overwinter in the Panhandle Plains and central-east Texas. Aransas Pass on the Gulf Coast
is the wintering home to the endangered whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America
- males approach 5ft in height and have a 7ft wingspan.
More than 50% of species spotted in Texas are just passing through. The Central Fly-
way for annual bird migrations cuts right through Texas. Some avian navigators use this
path to commute from the Arctic Circle all the way down to Patagonia. Spring migration
starts as early as February, when ospreys are seen in great numbers near Houston, and
continues through May. Fall migration runs roughly from September through November.
Shorebirds and water fowl - roseate spoonbill, ibis, heron, egret, and of course, ducks
and geese - can commonly be found in coastal areas year round, though their numbers in-
crease come winter. For information about bird-watching in Texas, see Outdoor Activities
(
Click here
)
.
Field
Guides
Marine Life
You don't have to drag the kids to SeaWorld in San Antonio to
spot dolphins. Several species of dolphin call the Gulf of Mex-
