- ANNOUNCER: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure: it's what we share.

- NARRATOR: Coming up on Texas Parks and Wildlife... - That's about the average size of an alligator egg.

- Those memories and those special moments, you will not forget.

[laughs] - It's just extraordinary that we can get all these young kids out here to learn about nature and the prairie ecosystem because they are our future.

[theme music] ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: Texas Parks and Wildlife, a television series for all outdoors.

[motor revving] [upbeat music] - This park is kind of special to me.

Me growing up here as a kid, it's always been a part of my life.

The alligator's kind of the mascot of this beautiful park.

The main thing is just monitoring the nest.

It gives you a way to gauge the health of the population here in the park.

You'll kinda look and you'll start seeing a trail where she's coming back and forth, kind of tending that nest.

I just know... - NARRATOR: Barry Eversole is the longest serving Game Warden with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and his son, Cord, is a biologist with Stephen F. Austin University.

Together, these two gator guardians are going on the ultimate egg hunt.

They are here to study the nesting habits of the American alligator.

[frogs chirping] [mud squishes] - It's nice to get out of the office, for one.

So I spend a lot of time, you know, analyzing data and writing and, you know, doing office type stuff.

So that's probably the number one thing is, it's a chance to be outside and actually interact with the things that, you know, that I teach about, that I spend so much time studying and writing about.

[alligators chirping] I took an interest in not only alligators, but reptiles and wildlife kind of in general as a kid.

So I always knew I wanted to be a biologist.

Grew up here just a few minutes from the park.

So alligators were kind of just a normal part of life growing up having, you know, my dad is a Game Warden, and he was always dealing with some of the nuisance alligator calls as part of his day-to-day.

And, you know, it's always kind of cool.

It's like, oh, that's my dad.

- BARRY: I'd go catch an alligator, I'd stop by the house, show the kid.

Then he started volunteering out here at the park and everything else, and then ends up into grad school and decides his research project's gonna be based on alligators.

It was just kind of a natural fit.

[frogs and insects chirping] When he starts messing with that nest, he's got to concentrate.

He's got his head down in that nest and he can't look around.

So that's kind of what my job is, to be to the lookout and make sure that that female doesn't sneak up on him and you don't let your guard down.

[insects buzzing] - So once we find kind of where they are, then you can just kind of gently pull back the vegetation, and you do have to be really careful with the eggs.

That's about the average size of an alligator egg.

I've seen some, a little bigger, a little bit smaller.

My guess is that these are probably high quality eggs.

Here at Brazos Bend, the clutch size on average is about 30.

- BARRY: There's some of them that are cracked.

- CORD: Within the next couple of weeks, they're gonna be hatching.

[upbeat music] - NARRATOR: Once they've collected the eggs, they'll incubate them using the same methods as the female American alligator, compost.

[upbeat music] - You don't wanna rush 'em.

The mulch is going through that decaying process.

It's hot, it's humid.

We're creating, we're falsely creating the nest, the environment in the nest is what's happening.

All the visitors out at the park really like seeing the hatchling alligators.

They can see them up close, and they can use them as an educational tool.

- MONSTE: Working with the hatchlings is a really special and unique experience.

Being able to help take care of them for the year, year and a half that they stay with us, it's really rewarding.

In here I have the two hatchling alligators that we're gonna be releasing today.

They're ready to go back out into the wild.

Whenever I put him down, you're probably gonna hear him chirping a lot.

That's a call for distress for their mother.

[hatchling chirping] They've just been moved from a tank that they've been in for about a year to this whole new environment.

[hatchling chirping] - CORD: The thing that's really, I think, kind of kept my interest in alligators is that what I do on a day-to-day allows me to go out in the field with my dad.

- BARRY: I'm very proud of him.

As a father, to be able to work with his son in this type of environment is a rarity, and I feel fortunate to work with him in all the stuff we've done over the years.

Not very many people get to do what I get to do.

[gentle music] [upbeat music] - MAN: What I love about this park is the accessibility to nature.

You just never know what you're gonna see and the beauty and the natural wonders.

It's a place to explore nature.

- NARRATOR: On a gently rolling landscape in central Texas lies a welcoming natural refuge.

Lake Somerville State Park is made up of two units, joined together by a great wilderness path that weaves around the shores of an 11,000-plus acre lake.

- JOHN: Both units offer boating, birding and fishing opportunities.

- ANGLER: Nice fish!

- Here you go.

- JOHN: You can also hike, bike, ride your horse on over 40 miles of trails.

We have RV camp sites, or you can pitch your tent under the stars on the trailway, pretty much everything you'd wanna do in the outdoors.

[birds chirping] Lake Somerville State Park lies in the Post Oak Savannah and Post Oak Savannah gives you lots of Oaks, like the name implies, but also a lot of native prairie grasses and flowers, and flowers bring the insects and insects bring the birds, so it's kind of a birder's paradise.

Probably the most popular things are the Bald Eagles.

We have bald eagles here, but we also have painted buntings and just all different types of birds of prey and water fowl.

So it really is a birder's paradise.

[gentle guitar music] - NARRATOR: Lake Somerville is fed by Yegua Creek and its tributaries.

The Yegua has drawn people to its shores for millennia.

- Some of the same reasons why Lake Somerville State Park is a great area for people to visit today are the same reasons why these were great places for native peoples in the past.

We have a superlative natural resource base.

There was an abundance of game.

Some archeologists think fish as well, and certainly native edible wild plants.

- NARRATOR: In the 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers damned the Yegua Creek Basin.

The resulting lake created new outdoor recreation opportunities and Lake Somerville State Park opened in 1970.

- We have First Creek Unit and Nails Creek Unit.

We have a 13-mile trailway that connects the two around the lake.

The trailway is really where it all comes together and connects both units with nature.

[gentle guitar music] - Isn't that nice?

- Yeah.

- The main trail is 13 miles long from Birch Creek to Nails Creek, but we also have about 15 miles of other trails and spurs that go off of the main trailway.

[gentle guitar music] - MAN: That Bend look good girls, right down there?

- GIRL: Yes.

- MAN: There you go.

Way to go Evelyn.

[gentle guitar music] - TRAVIS: What I love most about the trailway is the variety of activities we have to do.

- GIRL: I'm getting you, John.

- CHRIS: I really love this set of trails because it's secluded.

You get the breeze of the lake, then you're in these canopied sections that keep the sun off of you.

And you're back to being able to see the wide open space.

It's wonderful.

It's just really something special to be able to be in a place that's not far from several major cities but really feel like I'm out in the middle of nowhere.

It just goes on and on, it seems like the trailway never ends.

- FATHER: All right, buddy, keep an eye out for the eagles.

- BOY: I heard those, those, those frogs do like, rrip, rrip, rrip, rrip.

I heard them.

- What's that, that's a flying eagle isn't it?

Is it that guy is that big thing?

What's that?

- FATHER: We're hiking, having a good time with kiddos.

- BOY: Look what the Eagles can do.

- MOTHER: Whoa, yeah.

- BOY: I was gonna lead the way.

- MOTHER: Okay, you lead the way.

- FATHER: Short loop, but enjoyable loop.

Hey, what's that, what's that?

- MOTHER: Oh wow.

- BOY: It's the Eagle!

- FATHER: Is that a bald?

- MOTHER: It's like a classic American Eagle pose.

[eagle calls] - JAMES: You know, the old saying to get away from it all, it's actually a great thing.

[food sizzling] Kind of feels like a reset.

You're back, you're a little bit cleansed in a way.

Feel like you're back at a baseline and not just the extremes of work and being busy and chores.

It just feels like you reset a little bit.

- CHRIS: Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway is quality.

[water lapping] - TRAVIS: Lake Somerville, State Park and Trailway offers something for all to enjoy.

- JOHN: It's just really a unique place in Texas.

[upbeat music] [birds chirping] - NARRATOR: Wish you could spend more time with nature?

Well, every month you can have the great outdoors delivered to you.

Since 1942, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine has been the outdoor magazine of Texas.

Every issue is packed with outstanding photography and writing about the wild things and wild places of this great state.

And now Texas' best outdoor magazine is available as an app, it's just that easy.

Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, your connection to the great outdoors.

[dramatic music] - Going out and hunting not only creates a big bond, but you get to spend more time with your husband and your children.

- All the doves are flying.

- Yeah, they're all flying.

[wings flapping] [gun clicking] Can you still hear me?

- Huh?

[group laughing] - Can you still hear me?

- At one time it was just me and the kids, we're out in the woods, you know, going, and then my wife didn't hunt.

She just loved to fish.

And then one day I asked her, "Hey, would you love to join us?"

And now that I got her in the woods, now I got an animal.

[laughs] [gun firing] - Yes, got it.

I can't stop.

I love it.

It's now a competition.

[laughing] And yes, last year I was better.

- It ain't nothing better than having a family out here, You know, it's priceless.

[sentimental music] - We're here today with my husband, two of my children, which is Scotty and Shane, [muffled speaking] and my grandson, Noah.

[hands slap] - Ooh.

Ooh.

[laughs] - It's not only about being with the family.

Just sitting out there enjoying the wildlife, the adventure, the nature.

It's so beautiful.

[birds chirping] I just love it.

[birds chirping] [dramatic music] - The benefits of having WMAs in the state of Texas are that we serve as an example of good land stewards, but also provide public hunting opportunities, because the vast majority of Texas is privately owned.

Once you pay the annual public hunting permit, you get access to nearly 1,000,000 acres of public hunting opportunities.

While the management areas also serves as shelter for a lot of native species of Texas, some of those that are endangered, WMAs help keep Texas wild.

[javelinas growling] [dramatic music] - There are a lot of great places to dove hunt across the state of Texas, but when it comes to public lands, Las Palomas WMA has been kind of the premier spot.

This is where most of our hunters see the best success year in and year out.

This property was acquired with hunter funds from the Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, and the funds from that endorsement go directly back into habitat conservation and public hunting opportunities.

- Here in the WMAs is basically the spot I'll probably stay and hunt for the rest of my life.

You come out early morning, the sun's coming up, dew's on the grass, loading up your gun, and getting ready for the day's hunt.

It's a little piece of heaven.

There are some getting up right there.

Just get your $48 license, you hunt and go home.

It's carefree.

A little high.

The hunting is great.

I wouldn't give it up for anything.

[laughs] It look like they're coming from the south side and coming across the field.

Should be able to give us some action here in a little bit.

Here comes a dove right here.

Here we go.

[upbeat music] [gun firing] [gun firing] Got him.

Looking for the birds are the hardest part.

It's not bad.

It's a good job for a dog though.

See feathers here.

Here we go.

[sighs] Gold mine.

Found her.

[upbeat music] Let's get back to work.

[cicada chirping] The patience of dove hunting.

[suspenseful music] Waiting for the next one.

[bird cooing] Here we go.

[gun firing] Five shots, four birds.

That's pretty good.

[laughs] As I'm leaving the field, I'm thinking about the next time I will put my feet on Las Palomas.

It's been a good year, and I'll see everybody next year in the same place.

- Here comes one, right over top.

[gun firing] - Oh, I missed.

- You can be my bird watcher.

So, we're gonna go down here, and we're gonna look for some birds, and you're gonna find them for me.

You ready?

[guitar music] [hands clap] Let's go, come on.

- Here comes one, right here.

Ah, you see that Shane?

[guns firing] - CAROL: Yes, got it.

- We were able to take one down, finally.

Is it a white wing or mourning dove?

- Mourning dove.

- No, it's a white one, look.

You don't usually get a family that do it all, so it's really something special, honestly, to have mom and pops and the little ones out here, honestly.

Teaching 'em the ropes.

- I got a bird.

- All right!

- First bird.

That's so awesome.

- What kind of bird is that?

- It's a white wing.

- GREGORY: You're a good little bird dog.

- There you go.

Look at him following Shane.

- SHANE: Come on, Noah.

[Carol laughing] - I'm gonna look for more birds.

- I like that he has a big smile on his face, and he's got something to go home and tell Mama.

She's gonna be proud of him.

That makes us happy as grandparents.

- Gotta look around, up in the trees, in the sunflower field.

- CAROL: Seeing our children, at a very young age, bonding, family time, the memories, all those pictures I took.

All those wonderful moments.

It's just something very precious to a mother, to see those kids loving it and the excitement and the fun that we had together.

It's tradition that's passing down.

[laughing] [guitar music] Now the family's here at my house, and this is the most wonderful part of it all.

After we go hunting, we have a great dinner.

Thank you for letting us harvest this food that we're about to eat.

What makes me happy is having the family together.

[laughing] Those traditions just keep on going.

Those memories and those special moments you will not forget, and it's just priceless.

- We've had these purple martins here since about 1997.

And we started just with one house and now we're up to 92 available cavities.

And it kind of became a hobby and a passion, then an obsession.

And now I know it's an obligation to take care of these birds.

[birds singing] And a lot of people think I must be crazy to feed them.

But we begin teaching the purple martins how to eat lunch, scrambled eggs, and it's been quite successful.

There are many of these new landowners out here that wanna learn how to do things right.

They wanna learn how to be good land stewards.

How can we bring back the birds?

How can we bring back the pollinators?

And that's what we're hoping to do with this property, is to teach people how to do that.

The girls, I call them my ladies of the prairie.

- The cattle emulate what would've been the bison on the tall grass prairie.

We no longer have those bison migrating across the plains, so we use cattle as a tool to emulate their role on the prairie, most of which would be disturbance.

- So I go out on a daily basis and check to see where we need to move the cows.

Come on.

Let's go.

Come on.

[cows mooing] Go.

- It used to be an old dairy farm, so this is truly a perfect demonstration area of going from a very overused property to the tall grass prairie - Come on.

[cows mooing] Come on, on out.

I don't let them take them down to the ground because that's why we lost our natives in the first place.

Oh, they're eating nothing but rye right now.

Well also, I think over here they were eating some docks.

- A curly dock.

- Some curly dock, and they are eating the seed heads off the top of them right now.

- Yes.

- A prairie landscape specifically is incredibly diverse, and without that diversity of the plant life, we also lose that diversity of animals and it's invaluable.

- This is Broomsedge Blue Stem.

- Yes.

- It's beautiful.

- Yeah.

I transplanted that out of the garden.

It's not a great forage, but I'm sure for lots of wildlife it's great cover.

- Yeah.

One thing that you'll know when you meet Julie is that she consistently says, "This land doesn't belong to me, I'm just a guest here."

We began working with Julie through the Pastures for Upland Birds Program and we started a partnership to help fund her outdoor classroom.

- WOMAN: Everybody say cheese.

- CHILDREN: Cheese.

- We are super excited to have all of you here at the Prairie Classroom.

So we're gonna start with an exploration.

We're gonna be looking for migratory birds.

[bird singing] - Yes.

That's a mockingbird.

- Do you see the birds up here?

So those are red wing black birds.

- Yeah, I can see one.

Yeah, there's a big one in there.

- It's just extraordinary that we can get all these young kids out here to learn about the outdoor, nature and the prairie ecosystem because they are our future.

And to have these kids experience nature and all that it has to offer, it, that's what does it for me.

- I see purple martins up, up in the sky.

- So much about learning is derived around play.

And so when children are in nature, they immerse themselves in the environment.

They learn from looking at the ground, looking up at the sky, participating with their hands.

It's a valuable tool to teach our next generation of conservationists.

- Good job.

- One, two, three.

- Cheese.

- Very good.

[birds singing] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [birds chirping] [bee buzzing] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [gentle wind, birds chirping] [gentle wind, birds chirping] This series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure: it's what we share.