[music] [birds calling]
THESE ARE THE COLONIAL WATER BIRDS OF THE TEXAS GULF COAST.
[music] [birds calling]
JUST A FEW MILES AWAY
THESE ARE THE BIRDS OF CLIFF MAUS VILLAGE
I see crows. I see a lot of doves. I see bats at night.
AND THIS IS JOE.
HE KEEPS TRACK OF THE BIRDS HERE.
...some right there, on top of the roof.
IT'S A LOT OF WALKING BUT JOE MAKES HIS ROUNDS EVERY DAY.
[music] [sound of basketball game]
[Joe] There's a bird's nest right there.
[Ken Rice] They're all up in these trees.
THIS IS KEN RICE.
HE'S A BIOLOGIST WITH THE US FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE.
[Ken] Let's see...
Where are they at?
[Joe] Right there.
[Ken] Oh yeah, I see it.
You found them over here? Wow.
[Joe] One day I was walking and I looked back here
and there were these birds flying inside the couch
and they’ll go behind it for some shade.
[Ken] I think they’re probably getting nesting material out of here.
[Joe] They got some of this wood for their nest.
Some of this, too.
I think they put this around their nest inside.
[Ken] Makes it easier for them when they lay their eggs, huh?
[Joe] Yeah, make it softer.
[Joe] We got some laser sharp.
We got some more things for the hooks.
A FEW TIMES A MONTH JOE GOES FISHING WITH HIS DAD.
[dad] Mostly everything that he knows I taught him.
[Joe] This is a 1 1/2. That's a 1.
[dad] How to cast a net, how to hook the shrimp,
how to put the bait on.
That’s how he learns. When he was a little baby, he learned everything, so…
He likes animals. He likes sea life.
He asks questions.
He’s good at that.
BUT JOE'S OWN EXPERIENCE WITH NATURE
HAS ALWAYS ENDED AT THESE PIERS.
[music] [birds]
HE'S NEVER SEEN THE OTHER WORLD
THAT'S JUST OUT OF HIS REACH.
[music]
[Joe] There’s a--I think a dolphin, like that.
[Ken] Did you see a dolphin, Joe?
[Joe] See him?
[Ken] There he is, isn't he?
[boy] Aw, that was awesome.
[Ken] Oh, did you see that fish jump? Lookie there!
AND THAT'S WHERE KEN RICE COMES IN.
[boy] Wow.
Dude, there are birds over there. Look.
There's a pink one.
Dude, this looks awesome.
Right there is a pelican.
JOE IS HERE WITH 4 OTHER BOYS
FROM CLIFF MAUS VILLAGE.
[boy] They're cool.
AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME FOR ANY OF THEM
TO SEE A ROOKERY ISLAND.
That’s a baby chick right in here.
See the baby chick?
[boy] Gawd! Look!
KEN DOES AROUND 50 OF THESE TRIPS EACH YEAR.
[Ken] Dump it in here, Ray, and let’s take a look and see.
A CRASH COURSE IN THE STEWARDSHIP
OF OUR COASTAL ENVIRONMENT.
[Ken] Fish are very similar to the birds. They need...[fades out]
[Ken] I have a real love for the outdoors
and I like to share that with others.
Going out there and,
and seeing a mullet jumping
and crabs and shrimp
and all the birds.
This is a big squid and we’re going to take a look at it.
[kids] Awww! Oh, that's bad!
[Ken] Once you learn to appreciate them
that’s when you’ll take care of them
and that’s when the battle’s won.
[Joe] Okay, if there’s this ink, can this fish die?
[Ken] No, not so much.
They release the ink so that they can get away.
Ow!
I knew that he would do that.
He’s got a beak on him so you gotta be very careful, guys.
This is his beak, right here.
[boy] It hurts?
[Ken] And he pulls it in and he will bite you.
It’s like a parrot. See how he drew a little bit of blood?
[Joe] I know how that goes.
Just read them swimming as they go up and they’ll follow.
[Ken] Joe's got an advantage where he has a father that
has an interest in fishing.
And he’s just taking it one step further
so he’s now moving into the birds and tying that association
of the fish and the food source and everything
to the birds
and taking the appreciation and the beauty
of the whole environment.
[music] [birds]
KEN HAS A GOOD REASON
FOR BRINGING KIDS LIKE JOE OUT HERE.
YOU SEE, THE LONG-TERM SURVIVAL OF THESE BIRDS
IS VERY MUCH UP IN THE AIR.
AND THE GREATEST THREAT COMES NOT FROM POLLUTION
OR EROSION
BUT FROM SIMPLE HUMAN CONTACT.
BECAUSE AS OUR POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW
WE'RE ENCROACHING MORE AND MORE
ON A FEW NESTING ISLANDS THE BIRDS HAVE LEFT.
[Game Warden] I think the biggest challenge we face is over the years
the boating public has increased to the point
where you have people out there every day of the week.
The more people you have, the more traffic you have there
so it presents a challenge just keeping them educated
about the fact that nesting birds are there.
I honestly think that most people that disturb nesting birds
don’t realize what they’re doing. It’s just unintentional.
Once they’re aware of the fact that they're
creating a problem for the birds, they’re more than happy to move on.
THE PROBLEM IS, WHEN THE BIRDS ARE DISTURBED
THEY MOVE OFF THEIR NESTS
LEAVING THE EGGS EXPOSED TO PREDATION AND HEAT.
IN AS LITTLE AS 3 MINUTES
THAT EGG WILL LITERALLY COOK
AND THE CHICK INSIDE WILL DIE.
IF THE BIRDS ARE DISTURBED OR STRESSED
ON A REGULAR BASIS,
THEY'RE APT TO PERMANENTLY ABANDON THEIR NESTING SITE
IN SEARCH OF A SAFER PLACE TO RAISE THEIR YOUNG.
[biologist] When you have all these different islands in here,
they're really valuable nesting sites.
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TOOLS AVAILABLE
TO AVIAN BIOLOGISTS
IS THE TEXAS NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE,
WHICH TRACKS COLONIAL NESTING SITES
AND THEIR SENSITIVITY TO DISTURBANCE.
If they don’t have a place to nest,
all the other parts of their life can be there
but if the nesting site isn't there,
if they don’t have a safe place to raise their young,
or if we’re constantly scaring them off their nests,
then they’re not going to be there no matter how much food is there.
BUT THE MESSAGE TO KEEP AWAY FROM THE BIRDS
ISN'T GETTING OUT AS QUICKLY AS SOME WOULD LIKE.
[biologist] These days, there’s hardly a day I’ve come out here
that I don’t see something like this, somewhere.
We go on as we are and these islands all get disturbed
and that just increases over time with more and more people here.
We’re going to end up with islands with nothing but gulls.
And eventually even those are going to go away.
People just aren’t getting the message
and they're not staying away from the islands
and something has to be done.
[music]
[Ken] So, with a little bit of help and protection,
we call that stewardship,
we try to take care of these things.
Who wants to hold the stone crab?
AND THAT BRINGS US BACK TO KEN RICE,
PLANTING SEEDS THAT WILL SPROUT THE NEXT GENERATION
OF STEWARDS.
[Ken] If we want to protect the environment,
it's up to us as individuals.
And the way to go about doing this is through education.
You need to find time for kids to just fully experience
and look at the intricacies of nature.
That's when the stewardship comes.
It's the thought that turns to action.
[music]
AND THAT LESSON IS A POWERFUL ONE
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN SEE IT FOR YOURSELF.
JUST REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE.
[music]
[boy] Oh, that's cool!
[music]