The Thanksgiving holiday is well needed.  It is finally time to travel to Kosse, Texas.  Not only do I love the food and family, but I am also ready for a stress-free “vacation.”  We have been having some difficulties trying to contact some of the resources that we will need to execute the birding brochure.  It is near the holidays, so they may be busy.  I cannot imagine trying to contact resources nearing Christmas, nearly impossible.  I am excited to tell my grandmother about the birding brochure.  She is not an expert birder; however, she likes to read about them in the Audubon Magazine, she enjoys sitting on her porch listening to the different birds sing, and she loves seeing cardinals flying around her house.  I hope everyone has a safe trip and a Happy Thanksgiving!   

Nature Untold has been given an opportunity to give back to the community. Gilberto and I traveled to the Kingsville Visitor Center to research places that are not well known in Kingsville.  I was looking for information on a bird sanctuary called Santa Gertrudis Creek Bird Sanctuary to provide them with an informational flier; I had not known about the bird sanctuary and thought others may not either. I asked the director of the visitor center, Mr. Bob Trescott, if he had any knowledge in regards to a bird sanctuary in Kingsville.  He gave me a puzzling look, and to the computer he went.  

We did some research and found that the place called “bird sanctuary” was too formal of a name. It turns out that it was, in fact, a beautiful sanctuary for birds long ago.  Sadly, with the city’s lack of interest in the preservation, it is now unmanaged.  Some people have volunteered over the years to attempt to preserve it, but many do not have the time.  Mr. Trescott then brings up the opportunity of revising a bird brochure for the visitor center.  “You will be legends,” he says. Since Ashley was not able to attend, I told Mr. Trescott that we would have to discuss the project with our other group member.

The group met and decided to take on the task.  We asked Dr. Fidel Hernandez who he thought would be the best person to inform us
about birds. He emailed Mr. Tom Langschied about our need for information on birds. My group then met with Mr. Langschied, who advised us on ways to list the birds’ common or taxonomical name, and also gave us the name of someone who could better inform us about birds. The meeting helped us to understand so much more of which bird species reside in Kingsville.
I learned that the Green Jay is known as the bird of Kingsville.  Seeing Mr. Langschied’s eyes light up when he spoke about different kinds of birds, shows me that he is passionate about what he does. I hope that, one day, I can find passion in my future job as he has.

After our meeting with Mr. Langschied, we decided to meet with Mr. Trescott at the visitor center. This meeting did not go as well as I thought. My group and I felt so accomplished with the information that we were given that it was a bit of a surprise when the meeting didn’t go as well as we had planned. We felt that what we had learned was not being taken into consideration and were given instructions that collided with our findings. Mr. Trescott gave us more contact numbers for the birding aspect of the project and also referred us to an artist that may help us with the cover art and the map part of the brochure. This is a busy project, but I know that my group members and I will work through this.  I am proud that we have such an amazing opportunity being able to work on this project and to meet new people.

Located about an hour and a half from Texas A&M University- Kingsville is Mustang Island State Park.  It is quite a distance from campus, 68 miles, but it is well worth the drive.  When approaching the entrance, you will see an oddly shaped sign showing “Mustang Island State Park.”  The Mustang Island State Park resides on about 3,954 acres and contains 5 miles of beach.  The park was founded in 1972 and finally accessible to the public seven years later. The Karankawa Indians are known to be the first inhabitants along the Gulf Coast, including Mustang Island State Park.  They were able to endure in the region until the 19th century, which is when the Spanish explorers invaded the surrounding area. Spanish explorers first named the island “Wild Horse Island,” since there were wild horses inhabiting the area. They later decided to rename the island to “Mustang Island.”

At any beach, one will find that there are many sand dunes.  When I was a child, I always thought that they were imported for cosmetic feature on the beach.  Little did I know, sand dunes are used to help prevent wind and water damage that is produced by storms.  They also provide a habitat for endangered species and numerous species of plants.  Without sand dunes, many inland areas would be destroyed and many plant and animal species could not survive in the coastal areas.  During the fall of 2010, two of my friends and I decided to take a camping trip to Mustang Island.  We had to purchase a beach parking permit to ensure the park rangers that we had permission to stay at the park overnight.  I would recommend you to bring extra blankets and extra batteries for your flashlights.  Even though it may seem hot during the day, it can be quite chilly at night. The day that we traveled back to Texas A&M- Kingsville, we had to drive with the windows open, we smelled like salt, sweat and sand! 

While walking on the beach, you need to watch where you step.  Many people say that they want to take a romantic walk along the beach; well they evidently have not mistaken a dead Portuguese Man-of-War body for a clump of seaweed. I have not either, but I hear that it is painful.  When the dead bodies of the Portuguese man-of-war wash onto the shore, they still have the ability to sting.  During the spring of 2012, my friends and I arrived at Mustang Island around sunset.  As we walked along the beach, I noticed that there were many Portuguese man-of-war bodies that had washed ashore.  Since the upper portion, or "head," of the Portuguese Man-of-War appeared to be jelly-like, we wondered what it would feel like if we touched it, but never developed the courage.  We also had fun chasing little blue crabs that scurried from the ocean water to their hideaway.  Some of the blue crabs had the courage to chase us around the beach too, which is funny to think that something so small could scare something the size of a human.  I guess that is how they survive in the wild.

Also located along the water’s edge, were these tiny fish, Blacktail Shiner.  They seemed so helpless; the water was not strong enough to pull them back into the water.  Seeing the Blacktail Shiner flopping around like a fish out of water, we tried to help throw them back into the ocean.  Sometimes there were at least one or two visible, but sometimes there were too many for us to throw back into the ocean before they died. I would recommend people to visit Mustang Island at least one point in their life.  I have had many good times with friends, became closer to some, and had many laughs.