- NARRATOR: 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.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Coming up on Texas Parks & Wildlife... - This is a pretty incredible observation I would say.

- What I really love about Caprock Canyons is it's more rugged, more raw in nature.

- I don't think you can find this kind of environment anywhere else in Texas.

[theme music] - ANNOUNCER: Texas Parks & Wildlife , a television series for all outdoors.

♪ ♪ [birds chirping] - The Davis Mountains are in the high elevations within the Chihuahuan Desert.

Up at the top of mountain tops, you get beautiful ponderosa of pine forests.

[birds chirping] These cooler areas with wetter conditions support plants and animals that live here.

You start seeing different bird species as you get higher in elevation.

It's really special to actually get to see the unique projects that pop up that are really focused on this unique ecosystem.

[birds chirping] - We're gonna have three teams tonight.

I really want everybody to be dirty.

I want you, at the end of this week, to have to wash the grit of this experience out of your hair and skin.

But I also hope that this week ends with a bunch of trekking owls.

Have fun.

Anybody sees a mountain lion, you win the bingo for the night.

[all laughing] All right, guys, break it up.

Team on 3.

1, 2.

[all cheering] My name's Romey Swanson.

I'm a wildlife biologist, and we're out here in the Davis Mountains studying owls.

[owl hooting] The effort here is all to understand how these birds are interacting with these unique ecosystems.

The assumption is that they're tied to these high elevation forests, but we need to proof that out.

We've made some pretty wonderful discoveries in the form of the northern saw-whet owl, which we found to not only be here, but also breeding in the Davis Mountains.

Rich Kostecke and I came up here one night looking for saw-whet owls.

There's never been a saw-whet owl observed on the Davis Mountains Preserve, and I can remember that night.

We're playing an owl tape, and all of a sudden above us, a couple hundred feet, a northern saw-whet owl returns a call.

We both almost dropped everything we were holding.

We were just awestruck in that moment.

That owl came and perched up right beside us, giving us a 30-minute study of a species that wasn't even well known from Texas.

It was right here in front of us sitting on a branch profile, calm, serene, and we're all looking at it, taking images.

And that was an incredible experience.

It's also the experience that sparked this entire project.

What else is there?

What else could there be?

[serene music] ♪ ♪ This truck's nickname is Beast Mode, because wherever I need her to go, she goes and she powers through.

[laughs] If you're driving the way you're supposed to, you're not really enjoying the views, because very quickly you can either fall off the side of a cliff, but if you're sitting in the passenger seat, you're probably enjoying beautiful scenery.

We're gonna take a look at an area where one of our surveyors found some elf owls, and this will probably represent one of the highest elevation occurrences of elf owls in Texas.

[upbeat music] We'll take a look around and see if we've got any nesting activity, a nest cavity that we can document.

We're about to go up Tobe Canyon.

We're looking for flammulated, saw-whet owls and all of the other species that are going to be there.

Owls are not gonna get active anytime soon.

- SHELBY: It's gorgeous back here, though.

It gets better.

- You know, right around dusk, and a little after dark, they will.

We'll take it nice and slow, and that's what we'll do.

This first part always shocks my lungs.

- SHELBY: Yep.

[laughs] - ROMEY: You know what my favorite type of person is?

It's the one that looks at you and you're sitting there in awe over this huge tree and says, "I've seen bigger."

[Shelby laughs] [Romey laughs] - SHELBY: I mean, I've been to the red woods, but... - ROMEY: I've seen bigger.

- We're up here.

It's high elevation.

I kind of like the burn.

I'm not gonna lie.

[laughs] I mean, we're just like in the thick of it, in the thick of their habitat.

[gentle music] - The night has started.

It's officially owl 30.

[Shelby laughs] - This is a really, really cool spot.

It tracks a lot of species, so hopefully we'll see or hear one tonight.

- So this is just a little portable Bluetooth speaker that I carry with me for calling owls.

[owl hooting] This is Western screech owl.

[owl hooting] [owl hooting continues] - It's closer.

[owl hooting] [owl hooting] - ROMEY: We got two now.

- Yeah.

[owl hooting] - ROMEY: Right above us.

There it is.

Right there.

- SHELBY: He's looking around.

- ROMEY: Oh, his eyes are open.

Pretty cool.

- We've got a western screech owl.

You can see his big bright yellow eyes.

And their call sounds a little like a ball dropping.

Do do do do.

- They have this unique appearance that we're seeing right now.

It's got these little tuffs that come up-- - Kind of like a cat ears.

- Yeah, like a cat ears.

They're cavity nesters.

They rely on cavities and trees or woodpecker holes.

Oh my god, that bird.

That bird is beautiful.

All right, one and done.

[owl hooting] We've got stunning looks at the western screech owl.

I mean it popped up into a branch above everybody.

And really, really got to spend some quality time with it.

Because it stuck with us for 10, 15, 20 minutes.

[owl hooting] I'm hoping I'm pointing at the right tree.

[laughs] [Shelby laughs] The goal for tomorrow is to get you guys on some elf owls.

And then send another crew deep into the canyon below that to look for all the other species.

[owl hooting] This island in the sky, it is threatened by warming conditions, drought conditions, not enough rain, which weakens a lot of trees, stresses them out.

And at some point, the island is submerged underneath the desert sea.

And no longer exists.

And that could be what happens to some of these species that rely on these upper elevations.

[owl hooting] There's an elf owl calling from this area below the mountain in this wooded area.

And we're going to see if we can key in on it.

[owl hooting] This is the world's smallest owl and he's only about this big.

You know, tiny, tiny, tiny little owl.

There it is on that snag right there.

[owl hooting] We just got the nest cavity.

It's in that second dead ponderosa pine right there.

So she's calling.

Or he.

This is a pretty incredible observation, I would say.

And looks like they're about to fly.

There it goes.

[gentle music] It's got to be one of the highest nests ever for elf owls in the state of Texas.

This is all stuff that happens at night while people are sleeping, normal people.

You don't get to see this sort of stuff.

And I don't care how many times I see it.

Every time it happens, it's just as special as the last time.

I hope to see that this preserve remains intact.

This project is creating a foundation that can be built upon by future investigations.

The coolest little birds.

Amazing.

It's fun to read about things in field guides, but it's even better when you get to experience it with your own eyes and ears and soul.

[wind blowing] [birds chirping] [upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - What I really love about Caprock Canyons and what everybody should look forward to is it's more rugged, more raw in nature.

♪ ♪ Not only is it a lot of the trails are fast, and flowing, and exciting, but you have ledges, and steep climbs, and descents, and rocky rock garden areas that challenges you to keep the rubber side down.

♪ ♪ - I like the one on 217 that's right at the mouth.

- RIDER 2: Yeah.

- That's, to me, that's the best view into the canyon.

- CHRIS: The best all round trail for a wide variety of people is probably gonna be the Eagle Point Trail.

Fast, it's flowy.

There are several little canyons you have to cross.

It's easy access to the trail from the Honey Flats campground.

[upbeat music] Beautiful.

♪ ♪ One thing people really need to look for and search out when they come to Caprock Canyon State Park is the clarity tunnel ride from Monks Crossing.

And it's amazing.

You come around the corner, and there's just this huge hole in the side of the cliff.

It's so large, the ceiling is unexpectedly tall, and it's these massive wood timbers that you know have been there for over 100 years.

♪ ♪ This is a great place to come to to ride your bike, to hike.

There are some spectacular views where you're on the rim of the canyon.

You don't have to be, you know, a hardcore cycling enthusiast.

The little kids, the casual riders are also gonna have a lot of fun on that trail.

♪ ♪ [wind blowing] [dramatic music] - We are at the South Padre Island Bird and Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary, and we are birding the fall migration.

Whoa!

- ELLE: Aw!

- We have about 43 acres of wetlands and gardens.

A little chilly out here today.

And our mission is to educate our visitors about the special coastal habitats and nature of the lower Laguna Madre area.

Let's just scope it out and see where the birds are.

This is a place where people can come get close looks at the birds in their natural environments and learn about 'em.

Oh yeah, this cold front must have brought 'em down.

After a good north wind, we like to get out and take a look around the gardens to see what kind of migratory birds are arriving.

All right, our wintering ducks are starting to arrive.

Here along the Texas coast, there are literally billions of birds migrating.

[birds chirping] We see them pushing through here with the cold front.

They're riding on that north wind to make their way south.

Now, migration is one of those spectacles of nature.

It's a perfect opportunity to see a wide range of bird species.

[upbeat music] Way up here.

- Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[birds chirping] - Look, there's the great kiskadee down low right there too.

Today we've had a really good fall migration day.

We've seen ruby-crowned kinglets just about everywhere we look.

These little birds nest up at the highest tips of the pine trees in the summer.

You'd never see 'em way up there.

But then down here, when they migrate down here, look at 'em, they're on the ground.

[bird chirping] Oh, there's another sap sucker.

Let's do another little walk down this way.

- Oh, there, oh, there he is.

Check him out.

- Another great blue heron.

Elle has been coming to our camps for a long time.

When we started birding, she was about this tall and she couldn't get her eye in the scope, but now she's just finally reached the scope, so her opportunity is opening up a lot more.

And you're tall enough now that you can look through here.

- Yeah.

I have the scope on one.

I've always been fascinated in animals.

And once I figured out what the Birding and Nature Center was, I found this pair of binoculars that my grandpa gave me in the closet, and then we just went to go try it.

And now it's just amazing.

[birds chirping] I don't think you can find this kind of environment anywhere else in Texas.

[bird chirping] - JAVIER: The lower Laguna Madre is a unique bay system.

It's a hyper-saline lagoon.

One of only a few in the world, actually.

And what makes it special is it's such a shallow body of water.

And since it's so salty, we can get freezes down here and the bays don't freeze because of the high salinity.

So that's perfect for birds because they'll always be able to find something to eat.

[water splashing] Nice open mudflat.

Let's go down that way.

[wind blowing] - ELLE: Look, there's some birds out here.

- JAVIER: I'm gonna scan those terns over there real quick.

- ELLE: Oh yeah.

- There's some way out there.

Lots of Caspian terns and... A lot of exposed mud right now for the little sandpipers.

Nice feeding conditions for the sandpipers.

Start here and then scan to the left.

You're gonna see a lot.

You're gonna see the terns first, but then you're gonna see the sandpipers on the far left.

It's starting to look like a winter beach.

Look, look, look right here.

- ELLE: What?

- JAVIER: Piping plover close by slurping worms out of the sand.

- ELLE: Oh, wow.

- Getting a good view?

- Oh yeah.

I just wanted to check something over here.

- Mainly, what I like about birding is the peacefulness and just being in the now, living in the present and just enjoying what's in front of you.

We're so busy in our lives, especially as we get older, that we miss the natural world happening around us.

- The world without birds would really... there wouldn't be one.

Some could be four feet tall, and some could be the size of the loop on your shoelace.

I mean, they're just so incredible.

[bird chirping] The world wouldn't be as cool as it is without birds.

[gentle music] [gentle country music] - We were baling the alfalfa in Iowa on my grampy's farm.

I was very close with him.

I said, "Grampy," I said, "tomorrow I wanna drive the tractor.

[record scratch] And he said, "Whoa, John, boy... you need to get really, really good education, get you a really, really good job.

You can buy some land, then you can buy a tractor, then you can drive the tractor."

[upbeat music] It's great to enjoy the world at 1.4 miles an hour.

So, I'm living my dream.

My name's John Rowley and we're at my ranch, Little Las Vegas in Lamb and Hockley County, Texas, on the east bank of the Yellow House Draw.

[insect chirping] The Yellow House Draw, it's an ancient river bed, which is actually part of the Brazos River system.

Coronado came through here.

He mapped this area, looking for the seven cities of gold.

He named it Casas Amaryllis, because of the mesas over on the other side across from us.

Quanah Parker was a famous Indian.

He camped out here.

The Indians liked camping on this side because it'd get the prevailing wind from the southwest so they could stay up here, they could see if anyone's coming, and be a lot cooler.

Our main goal is to have a lot of quail, a lot of deer, and a lot of things to do, 'cause we like to come out here and we hunt with binoculars.

Whether it's a bird or a coyote or a porcupine, we don't care.

We want 'em all to have some place to go and some place to be safe.

[birds chirping] The deal that's most impressive to me is I didn't know what I was doing and I had a lot of help from NRCS and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

And because of that, there's more abundant wildlife out here.

[wings flapping] - John is always wanting to do the right thing.

He may not always know what that right thing is.

So whenever I come out here or another biologist, he's like, "What can I do?

What can I do to make my land better for wildlife?"

- After starting this journey about 35 years ago, we've really seen a lot of benefits.

When we started, the mule deer really weren't around here.

They were kind of coming this way from New Mexico.

And so, now, those herds have expanded at this time of year, they herd up really well.

We started running water out, fresh water every day.

So, that's been the most important thing.

But you can see the quail or the dove can get up here and easily drink.

If they should have the misfortune of falling in, they can crawl out.

- So, there's two playas on the property, one of which had what we call a tailwater pit that was inhibiting the playa from functioning properly.

So, we filled that in.

Playas hold the majority of the diversity of wildlife in our region because that's where the water is.

[ducks quacking] Mesquite in this part of the country didn't use to be a thing.

We work a lot with landowners to work on removing or treating those mesquite so that we can open the grassland back up.

[upbeat country music] - This was designed to be a water feature for wildlife.

When it rains or you have heavy dew, it just pulls the water in.

These high winds dry 'em out.

So, we have to kind of nurse this along from time to time.

I don't know, it's not very pretty, but it does work.

[laughs] That's all that matters.

And then, we also feed them these bur oak.

We've got a bur oak at our house.

We throw out the acorns, have their tea and crumpets.

You know what I'm saying.

They love 'em.

[upbeat country music] - So, this is a playa, it's part of a playa.

These cracks are really important because that's how we recharge our aquifer.

- Yeah.

- Do you know the name of the aquifer underneath us?

- Ogallala?

- Ogallala Aquifer.

I have a passion for teaching other women about hunting and wildlife conservation, and John has been very generous and has opened up his land for us to do that.

- It's a true privilege to have this.

And what good does it do if you don't let other people enjoy it as well?

You know, I'm clearly in my fourth quarter, so I hope sometime, when we have to pass it on to the next family.

I would hope they'd continue to make it better and better.

My grandson loves it.

He loves riding on the tractor.

He thinks that's big time.

[John laughs] - NARRATOR: Next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife... [dove call] - Real good weather for dove.

I hope they like it.

Cause if they like it, then I'm liking it.

[dove call] - What we're going to be doing today is a gulf coast fried shrimp.

We have some great color on these shrimp.

- Amid all of this urban growth, there is this gem.

It really is a magical place.

- NARRATOR: That's next time on Texas Parks & Wildlife.

[wind blowing] [birds singing] [wind blowing] [birds singing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [crickets chirping] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] [wind blowing] - NARRATOR: 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.

Funding also provided by Academy Sports and Outdoors.

Helping hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages get outside.

Out here, fun can't lose.