Crescent Bend “Nature” Park
November has been a spectacular month for birders. Unlike most years, rare birds have been popping up throughout Bexar County. Most of these rare birds will stay only a short time before moving on to their normal habitat. This year the rarities are staying longer to the great delight to local birders.
Crescent Bend Nature Park is being blessed with three very unique rare birds. The Ringed Kingfisher is normally a South Texas bird seen down in the valley. A female was first spotted along Cibolo Creek on October 28th. The Sage Thrasher is a western U.S. states bird that was first seen in the park on November 6th. The Red-naped Sapsucker is also found in western U.S. states and is the rarest of the three. A female was first spotted in the park on Oct 30th.
All three of these birds are being spotted regularly in the park which is a good sign the birds feel safe to stay in the park’s habitat. During November, many local birders and out-of-towners have been visiting the park in search of these unique birds.
These rarities may be lost in the future at Crescent Bend. Promoting activities such as horseback riding and mountain bikes does not mix well with a nature park. The Schertz Park Advisory Board, managers of this Bexar County park, is allowing horse riding throughout the park. There is talk about encouraging mountain bikes to use the park in the future.
A division of the US Fish & Wildlife Service conducted a survey in 2006 about birding in the US. Here are some of the results.
- 48 million people call themselves “birders”, that’s 21% of the population.
- 20 million take birding trips
- The average birder is 50 years old, well educated with above average income
- Annually they spend $36 billion dollar on trips and equipment to bird
The Texas Tourism Industry estimates tourism to be $50 billion annually in Texas and supports over a million direct jobs. Birding and nature tourism play a big role in our state with northerners coming south for the winter to enjoy our beautiful weather and unique nature.
Texas A&M University did a recent survey in Rio South Texas. They estimate $300 million annually is put into the economy by bird and nature tourism. And this supports over 4,400 direct jobs.
In Cibolo/Schertz, there is the Warbler Woods Sanctuary. Its reputation as a birding hotspot is known throughout the US. The sanctuary attracts an average of 2500 visitors a year, many from out-of-town. Down the road is Crescent Bend Nature Park which is slowly being recognized as another birding hotspot. In between the two is the City of Schertz. A perfect birding day is spending the morning birding at Warblers Woods, having lunch at a nice Schertz restaurant, and then birding the afternoon away in beautiful Crescent Bend. Birders will be greatly gratified and so will the City of Schertz.
Crescent Bend Nature Park is located in a unique place in northeast Bexar County. It’s in a more rural setting surrounded by farmland, away from the traffic and subdivisions, with the Cibolo Creek as a water source. There are various habitats to support a range of wildlife. The opportunity for wildlife to thrive here is greater than most other parks in the city and county. Since the park's opening in September 2009, birders have report 185 bird species in the park.
Crescent Bend as a nature park also brings many educational opportunities for our children. Many of Schertz parks provide outdoors activities and sports. But none provide the true experience to interact with nature. Keeping Crescent Bend as a nature park can only enhance the variety of parks available to people in Schertz and the county.
In the spring, the city should consider promoting a Kids Nature Photo Contest at the park. Children have a great imagination and may just show us some surprising things about the park. Or maybe promote a Kids Nature Scavenger Hunt at the park. This would be a nice science project to teach them about locate nature and then let them go find and experience it in the park. These are the activities we should promote at the “nature” park. These are the experiences that can put the spark in a child to inspire them to become our future naturalists, scientists, park rangers, or maybe just another birder.
And these are just a few reasons why Crescent Bend should be managed as a nature park.
With proper management of this wonderful park, everyone will be able to experience the nature in Crescent Bend “Nature” Park, now and in the future.