Any nature/wildlife sites in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area?

[bob_atkins]

There's a chance I'll be in the DFW area in mid

February. Apart from the Zoos and Aquariums (or

is it Aquaria?), are there any places not to

be missed for wildlife/nature photography.

 

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Are there Prairie Dogs as far south as DFW?

I know there are some in Oklahoma.

[john_mustarde]

Texas Parks and Wildlife has an informative site at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/cityarea/dfwarea.htm that lists State Parks within a hundred mile radius of Dallas/Fort Worth. (Note: I hand copied this url, so it may be missing a dot or two.)

 

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Each park link has information about other nearby sites of interest, including commercial ventures. Each park has a phone number, so you could speak with a ranger in person to discover if the park interests you.

 

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Accomodations vary, but usually include camp sites ranging from primitive to full RV facilities. Most parks open at 7 am, and are open 7 days a week. Park day entrance and overnight fees are very reasonable.

 

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In general, state parks south and east of Dallas list bald eagles as birds that can be seen in Jan/Feb. Most parks have some combination of nature/hiking/mountain bike/equestrian trails.

 

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The busy season for Texas state parks is March or later.

 

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Caution: chiggers. If you've ever had a thousand chigger bites all at the same time, you know what I mean already. If not, just be sure to use insect repellant liberally and bathe/change clothes/launder clothes as soon as you can.

 

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Prairie Dogs: The only ones I know of around here are the two dozen or so at at the Fort Worth Zoo. They're in the Texas area in a pit-style enclosure with a waist-level wall and no fences or bars. You can get close-ups with a 200mm or shorter lens.

 

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I recommend Mineral Well State Park for great sunset photos; Purtis Creek for butterflies, dragonflies, bees, wasps, robber flies and other insects at lake edge feeding on the wildflowers and each other. Purtis Creek park was intentionally built with natural foliage intact, including lots of dead trees standing in the coves and creeks leading into the small lake.

 

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If you are ever a few miles west of the Austin area, don't miss Pedernale Falls State Park. Along the nature trail there is the finest natural spring waterfall. It drips over a cave into a pond bordered on one side by a white sand beach. They keep it viewable from a nature trail looking down on it, but allow no traffic at the spring itself. Very nice for keeping it pristine. A delicious and evocative site.

[chuck_doswell]

I am not qualified to answer this question, but if you inquire (via e-mail) of Alan R. Moller at the National Weather Service Forecast Office (al.moller@noaa.gov) I'll bet you he can steer you in the right places for that time of year .. he is an outstanding outdoor photographer from that area.

[laura_gooch]

I have a couple of suggestions:

 

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One, the Fort Worth Nature Center is located west of Fort Worth, on Lake Worth. It's north of highway 199, west of 820. My husband and I were there in late December for just a few hours, and saw thousands of double-crested cormorants, turkey vultures, black vultures, a tern, kingfisher, etc. There are some rather domesticated and dispirited looking Buffalo as well. I'm sure the staff there could help you out about where to look and go to photograph. Watch out for the 5 pm closing time; we almost got locked in.

 

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As to prairie dogs, there used to be a sizable town south of Fort Worth near the Tarrant County Juniou College South campus. If I remember correctly, it was off of I-20 at about Wichita Street.

 

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Good luck.

[bobatkins]

To answer my own question (after the trip!), I visited the

Dallas, Fort Worth and Tyler zoos, but no real "wildlife"

locations due to bad weather and lack of time.

 

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The Fort Worth Zoo prairie dogs are a pitiful sight I'm afraid.

A few animals on (and in) dirt. A far cry from any wild prairie

dog colonies I've visited. Best of the 3 zoos (from the viewpoint

of both the visitors and the animals) was probably the Caldwell

Zoo in Tyler (it's free too!). The lowland gorilla habitat at

the Dallas zoo wasn't bad. As usual though, many of the animals

were in cages rather than natural habitats. Rather sad sights in

some cases.

 

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There were subjects for photographers at all three zoos, with

a 300mm lens being the most useful most of the time. As usual,

arriving as the zoo opens is the best way to avoid crowds and

catch the animals before they settle down and rest (or hide).

[daniel_welch]

I grew up in Dallas, and the real answer is "no", not in the immediate area. The Dallas Aquarium shouldn't even be allowed to call itself that (disclaimer: it's been ~7 years since I was there). The zoo is better, but still small.

 

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A couple of hours west of Dallas is Possum Kingdom Lake, which has some interesting geology to it -- the "Devil's Gate", a pair of 100 ft. tall cliffs (one on an island) separated by a few hundred feet.

 

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You would have better luck with architectural shots in Dallas. The Ft. Worth Water Gardens are an interesting subject.

[paul_chaplo_mfa__rit_89__]

The place that is "must see" is Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, which is located just west of Glen Rose, TX on Rt. 67 'south.' It is about a 1.5 hour drive S.W. from the "DFW" area. Fossil Rim has many endangered species, e.g. white rhinos, red wolves, cheetas; many of which are free-roaming. It costs about $13 for admission to the 9 mile do-it-yourself driving tour. If you have too much money, they have safari-type overnight outings with gourmet meals. Fossil Rim has been successful at breeding their rhinos, cheetahs, wolves, and Attwater's prarie chickens. I live about 20 minutes from Fossil Rim and have discovered a world class wildlife refuge in my back yard. Bring your long lens and check it out!

[doug_pierson]

See my site URL:

 

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A Natural History of North Central Texas

http://www.cyberramp.net/~dpierson/

 

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Not a complete treatment, but a good starting point.

[winfield_ray_holbrook]

No.

[winfield_ray_holbrook]

Yesterday I posted the answer I thought to be correct. "No".

Having grown up in Dallas and having graduated from the University

of Texas at Dallas, I felt that was the right answer.

 

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Then I looked at the photographs by Doug G. Pierson at

http://www.cyberramp.net/~dpierson/critters.htm#IR.

These just go to show what can be done with a little scenery,

a good imagination and lot of talent. I am on my way to the

store to get some infrared film and try it around Austin where

I am spending the winter.

[jeriann3]

There's much to see around DFW area, if one is determined! Someone already mentioned Fossil Rim, excellent... not just for the wildlife but scenery also.. it's a hilly area with blooming wildflowers, cactus, etc.

 

The Texas Hill Country is only about a two hour drive south - southwest, and up to the North of DFW is Oklahoma's Arbuckle mountains, a ninety minute drive to a scenic canyon/mountainous area with natural streams, waterfalls, etc.

 

I will be posing photos from these areas soon on my website,

http://www.imagearray.com. Happy shooting