ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 3, Winter 1997 Page: 4
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Page 4 EN Vision Winter 1997
Corpus District mitigation site
now part of Coastal Birding Trail'-p
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The Aransas Woods site on the Great
ENV Photo by Bill Hood
Texas Coastal Birding Trail makes use of 25 acres owned by TxDOT.Agencies, birding club team up
By JIM DOBBINS
Environmental Affairs Division
With apologies to the Spanish writer
Miguel de Cervantes, birds of a feather in
the Rockport area now have a new spot to
flock together.
A new bird habitat built with the help
of the TxDOT Rockport Maintenance
Section was dedicated in November. The
site became the latest stop on the Great
Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which
includes 93 sites in the Yoakum and
Corpus Christi Districts. Eventually, the
trail will stretch from the Sabine River to
the Rio Grande.
Located just off the State Highway 35
Bypass southwest of Rockport, the site
had been set aside several years ago as
mitigation for impacts created during the
construction of the bypass. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) approached
TxDOT's Corpus Christi District with the
idea of converting the site into a birding
trail location. The work was overseen byUSFWS, which contributed financial
support to the project under their Share
Program. Because of the unique financial
arrangement, the agreement had to be
approved by Governor Bush. Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department (TPWD)
provided the design.
The staff of TxDOT's Rockport
Maintenance Section built the caliche
access road, parking lot and sidewalk.
Volunteers added a deck and ramp
overlooking the lakes. The viewing area
was dedicated to the late Robert M.
Latimer, an avid bird watcher and
photographer whose family donated
funding for the wooden platform. The
observation areas are all wheelchair
accessible.
Bill Hood is an ENV biologist who
worked with the Corpus Christi District on
the project.
Hood said, "The birding trail site is on
Live Oak Peninsula between Aransas and
Copano Bays. The site covers an area ofabout 25 acres. The area has a number of
naturally occurring depressions in the soil
that accumulate water during wet periods,
referred to as ephemeral ponds, and
provide habitat for waterfowl. The birding
trail site provides additional habitat. An
existing pond was enlarged and two more
were created. Chano Falcon, the former
director of maintenance at the Rockport
office and now the Assistant Maintenance
Manager for the Pharr District, did a lot of
work on the project and was recognized
with a plaque from TPWD at the
dedication ceremony."
The site, known as Aransas Woods,
will be maintained by the local Aransas
Bird and Nature Club. Ray Little is the
chairman of their sanctuary committee.
"The site has lots of trees, three lakes
and some marshland" Little said. "It's a
wonderful habitat for a wide variety of
bird species. Waterfowl, including egrets,
See TRAIL, Page 8
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Texas. Department of Transportation. ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 3, Winter 1997, periodical, Winter 1997; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth606766/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.