Attwater's Prairie Chicken
The Texas City Prairie Preserve, owned by the Nature Conservancy, is dedicated primarily to saving the endangered coastal prairie and the Attwater’s prairie chicken. Over 2,000 acres have been set aside for this goal. Volunteers work to remove invasive plants and captive-bred prairie chickens are reintroduced on the preserve. Some of those introduced birds were hatched by the Houston Zoo!
There is a small section of the property, however, that is not used for the prairie chickens. Instead, it is a living classroom, set up to help educate the students of the Houston area about this dwindling habitat. Every other week during the school year, staff from our education department meets a group of students to introduce them to the coastal prairie and to give them a taste of field research.
The TCPP adventure includes marine seining, water quality testing, bird and plant ID, and insect sweeping. Or, as the students probably remember it, wading through the water with nets to sample the aquatic life, running chemical tests on the water, and looking at the life on land. It usually takes at least 3 education staff members or volunteers, and today is one of my days to go. I like to do the land activities the best (can’t pass up a chance to inspire new birders!) but I am also comfortable doing the water quality testing, too. It should be a fun, full day. I just hope it doesn’t rain.
