B.J. Bishop Wetlands / Presidio County

Fantastic news for birds and birders, the eagerly anticipated wetland is finally birdable! *post is backdated

EDIT: via Carolyn Ohl -
"I was there about a month ago and they wouldn't let you drive the road down to the wetlands. Apparently you have to use a scope from the highway. There is a dirt dike that you can get a little closer on."


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Subject: [texbirds] new birding location at Presidio
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:10:51 +0000

Dear TexBirders,
There is a new man-made wetland in Presidio County that is open to the public. The B.J. Bishop Wetlands at Loma Paloma is located 0.5 miles east of Fort Leaton State Historic Site on the south side of Ranch Road 170. The new sewage treatment facility for Presidio is located on the opposite side of the road and the wetland is fed by treated water that is released from that plant. Parking is located on the northeast corner of the wetlands and access is on a maintained gravel road 0.3 miles farther east across from the Loma Paloma RV Park. Please park in the designated area and walk around the wetland on the road that encircles the site. I was there on 11 November and although I did not see anything unusual I did have 27 species of birds during my short visit. Highlights included Snow Goose, Wood Duck, Ferruginous Hawk, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and singing (western) Marsh Wrens. I have placed a photo of the wetlands taken from RR170 on my Flickr site at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/70194759@N05/

If you are working on a Century Club list for Presidio County, this is certainly a place that can't be missed. To my knowledge it is the only publically accessible wetland in the county.

Mark


Mark Lockwood
402 E. Harriet Ave.
Alpine, Texas 79830
mark.lockwood@tpwd.texas.gov

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More information:
I was at the BJ Bishop wetland in mid-August and again on October 30. The RV Park Manager, Donna Arce, is very friendly, and very interested in the birds that are visiting the wetland. You might be able to sweet talk her into accompanying you down closer to the wetland on the gravel road that Mark Lockwood mentions, but my experience is the same as Carolyn's concerning trespassing.
Eventually the owners of the wetland plan to build a bird blind up by the Ranch Road, but it sure would be nice to have it be closer to the wetland.
Maybe a more local birder could persuade them?
Nice birds on October 30 were 2 White-faced Ibis, a Long-billed Dowitcher and ducks.
Jane Tillman
Austin
P.S Fort Leaton picnic area was quite birdy too with Green-tailed Towhee
and Brewer's Sparrow very cooperative.

Presidio Wetlands?

I just heard rumor of the Presidio Wetlands via Carolyn Ohl - http://cmoasis.blogspot.com/2015/06/whirlwind-day.html

This is fantastic news for birds and birders and looks like a promising endeavor! If only the Marathon ponds could turn into something like this...

http://bigbendnow.com/2015/05/presidio-wetlands-open-for-visitors/

In case the archived version doesn't work, here's the text:

Presidio Wetlands open for visitors

The B.J. Bishop Wetlands is now another roadside attraction in Presidio, Texas. Bird Watchers now have a great place to see the birds of the Big Bend. This project was made possible by a matching grant from The North American Wetlands Conservation Act that conserves North America’s waterfowl, fish and wildlife resources while producing a variety of environmental and economic benefits. Its success is driven by partnerships involving federal, state and local governments; nonprofit organizations and community groups. Every federal dollar provided by NAWCA must be matched by at least one dollar from non-federal sources. The partners in B.J. project are The Trans- Pecos Conservation Land Trust, The Lajunta Heritage Center, and the City of Presidio. In kind donations of Land and labor served as the match with a local parties working together. The Texas Conservation Corps was on site this past week transplanting aquatic plants from the Presidio Waste Water Treatment Plant that uses them in the process to filter the nutrients out and treat the effluent to TCEQ reuse standards. The recycled water can be sent to the wetland or into the Rio Grande as needed. The water is not for human consumption but perfect to support a new habitat for our local birds, butterflies and wildlife. Viewing overlook is on the levy just off FM 170 East at half mile past Fort Leaton.

For more information call Presidio Tourism 432 229 3517 X 106 or email bnewton@presidiotx.us