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24 Jul 2000
South Texas - Thoughts about Watchable Wildlife
“The appeal of nature does not always
grab us in a chokehold. Nature is often subtle, an acquired taste. Yet
we in Fermata, as we work in rural communities throughout this world,
are frequently presented with the certain statement that "there is nothing
here that anyone would want to see." To those doubters, to those who see
only the obvious, to those who believe that all nature is as presented
on television (you know, Australian crocodile wrestlers and such), we
offer a simple statement. All in nature is interesting if explained and
exposed, and all wildlife is watchable.”
 July
steams in Texas. Summer 2000 has been especially blistering, with records
set throughout the central portion of the state. The community council
for the World
Birding Center gathers monthly, summer no exception. The meeting on
July 20 called us to the Rio Grande Valley (Valley), not known for its
mild climate in the heat of summer. We prepared for the worst — a
week of wildlife and Gatorade.
In truth, the afternoon breezes from the nearby
Gulf kept the Valley pleasant, a surprising break from the low 100s we
had been suffering in Austin. Yet, the Valley is still decidedly tropical,
with most wildlife active in summer only at dawn and dusk. Most wildlife,
I will note, that the wildlife recreation savants classify as "watchable."
"Watchable Wildlife" serves as a generic
term for wildlife considered worthy of viewing, photographing, or feeding
by the public (and institutionalized as such by the various wildlife agencies
and conservation groups). In addition, "Watchable Wildlife"
(now Watchable Wildlife, Inc.) is a formal term that describes a national
effort to establish wildlife-viewing programs in all states and many federal
agencies. In both cases, however, wildlife promoted for viewing is limited
(and in my opinion, myopic).
 Watchable
Wildife, as an extension of hunting, encompasses most of the charismatic
game mammals. Deer, Moose, Wapiti, Pronghorn Antelope, Bighorn Sheep,
Bears (Black and Grizzly), American Bison, and marine mammals such as
whales are examples of animals that have been promoted both as game and
now non-game (non-hunted, either for sport or commercially) species. In
a few locations in the country, bats have gained in popularity as Watchable
Wildlife (such as in the Texas Hill Country). In most cases, however,
wildlife agencies manage for animals that are both hunted and viewed.
White-tailed Deer, for example, is the most popular game and non-game
animal in the United States.
 Birds
are an extension of this logic. First hunted (for sustenance and for commercial
gain, and now for sport), birds are rapidly gaining popularity as Watchable
Wildlife. The progress made in optical equipment, field guides, and viewing
opportunities (both on private and public lands) has opened the world
of birding to many within our society. As Americans have become increasingly
urbanized, traditional wildlife-related activities such as hunting have
become more difficult and expensive (for example, in obtaining access
to hunting lands). Non-traditional wildlife-related recreations such as
birding have gained in popularity due to their appropriateness in an urban
setting (therefore the growth in the popularity of backyard bird feeding
and gardening) and their appeal to an urban population.
Yet Watchable Wildife seems to lose its steam
and its vision after birds. Why do wildlife agencies spend so much effort
in promoting such a limited view of what wildlife is or is not watchable?
Is a damselfly less worthy of watching than a duck? Is a butterfly less
appealing than a White-tailed Deer? What about the world of wildlife that
surrounds us that is not so obvious? What about wildlife that we have
never hunted (and therefore have no tradition of appreciation)? What about
wildlife that is subtle, or minute, or cryptic, or frightening, or anonymous?
What is so daunting about this mystical world of nature that surrounds
us so that we recognize only the thin, obvious veneer at the surface?
 As
noted in an earlier article about the World
Birding Center, the focus of this system of nature centers will be birds.
Yet while admittedly the Valley is famous for its avifauna, it is challenging
to find any aspect of its flora or fauna that is not equally prolific,
distinctive, and restricted in its range. The Lower Rio Grande Valley
is a cornucopia of plants, bugs, snakes, frogs, turtles, lizards,
and the like. Birds may receive the attention, but they are hardly the
only Watchable Wildlife in South Texas.
Between various community meetings and site visits
last week, I concentrated on the Watchable Wildlife that goes largely
unrecognized. I will admit, however, that of this enigmatic group (most
of the wildlife in the world) butterflies are rapidly gaining popularity
both with me as well as in the Valley. Mission holds a butterfly
festival in October, and many of the local communities and refuges
(such as Santa Ana NWR) have planted butterfly gardens. Of the butterfly
fauna in the United States, 40% has occurred in the Valley. More incredibly,
10% of the butterflies of the United States have only been recorded
in South Texas. Butterflies, therefore, are a logical first step toward
an expanded definition of Watchable Wildlife.
 As
the birds quiet for the morning, the insects begin to stir. The heat of
the Texas summer is ideal for a cold-blooded bug, so butterflies and dragonflies
only become their most active as the day warms. No time is without its
compliment of fauna, and one simply shifts focus from birds to butterflies
when the appropriate time of day arrives.
Since my schedule clipped the days into a scattering
of segments, I simply took advantage of the time afforded me, and the
wildlife active at that moment. I confess; I did look at birds. I discovered
the Estero Llano Grande to be at perfect shorebird depth, and in the course
of two evening visits I identified 14 species of shorebirds. The highlight
of the Estero came early — my first evening. As dusk approached,
a young female Peregrine Falcon swept into the Estero for a late evening
meal. She worked along the treeline, periodically venturing out onto the
mudflats to surprise a weakened or unsuspecting wader. Yet, by dark a
pair of White-tailed Kites had put her to flight, and calm returned to
the gathering flocks of shorebirds, herons, and egrets.
 Continuing
with my confession, I did also visit Weslaco in search of a Yellow-green
Vireo reported a few days earlier. Although I did hear the vireo sing
briefly, I never laid glass on the bird. However, a dark bird slipping
through the canopy drew attention, and soon I enjoyed spectacular views
of a preening Blue Mockingbird. I have seen and heard dozens of Blue Mockingbirds
in Mexico, but always in deep thickets near the ground. Here we were thrilled
by an unobstructed view of this rarity in full sun nearly 25 feet above
the ground where it typically resides.
 Yet
I tried to devote my unscheduled time to butterflies and other bugs. The
butterfly garden that fronts Santa Ana NWR is yet to be in fall bloom
(when the eupatoriums blanket the garden in a blue mist), but the lantanas
attracted a number of Valley butterflies. Photos that I took of several
of these accompany this text. None is found regularly outside of South
Texas, with the exception of the Clouded Skipper. These butterflies are
as special to South Texas as the Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca, and the
Altamira Oriole.
There are field guides for identifying butterflies,
and these insects are often vividly marked, brightly colored, and approachable
(far more so than birds). But what about the other insects such as the
odonates (dragonflies and damselflies)? The first field guide to the dragonflies
of the United States is only now in publication, and damselflies have
yet to earn their own. Other insects are hit-and-miss, with the general
trend being toward technical guides that depend upon the collecting of
the bug in question. Yet aren’t these insects as "watchable"
as the wildlife we have labeled as such?
 The
North American Butterfly Association (NABA)
is attempting to establish a butterfly center adjacent to the World Birding
Center headquarters in Mission. In my opinion, this is a splendid way
of expanding the concept of Watchable Wildlife beyond beasts and birds.
Butterflies through Binoculars, by Jeff Glassberg, is an initial
attempt to create a field guide that applies a similar approach to identifying
butterflies in the field as we have used with birds for decades. My only
hope is that this trend is catching. What is intriguing, beautiful, fascinating,
challenging, educational, or entertaining is in the eye of the beholder.
In truth, all wildlife is watchable.
 The
appeal of nature does not always grab us in a chokehold. Nature is often
subtle, an acquired taste. Yet we in Fermata, as we work in rural communities
throughout this world, are frequently presented with the certain statement
that "there is nothing here that anyone would want to see."
To those doubters, to those who see only the obvious, to those who believe
that all nature is as presented on television (you know, Australian crocodile
wrestlers and such), we offer a simple statement. All in nature is
interesting if explained and exposed, and all wildlife is watchable.
As I sit finishing this note, a refrain keeps
echoing in my thoughts. No doubt this snippet of a hymn imprinted on me
during Vacation Bible School in Bryan, Texas in the 1950s.
"All creatures great and small…"
Trip du Jour, July 24, 2000
South Texas - Thoughts about Watchable Wildlife
by Ted Eubanks
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