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There he is. See him?
He's pulling on it right now.
Hey, that's a good fish!
Deep in the dry brush country of South Texas
is the International Falcon Reservoir.
That'll go 3 1/2, 4 pounds.
This 87,000 acre
extends 60 miles upstream from Falcon Dam.
It's one of the best freshwater fishing spots
in all of South Texas.
I've been here 13 days
and probably caught 10 or 15 fish a day.
One of the easiest places to access this lake
is at Falcon State Park.
Located on the southeastern end of the reservoir,
Falcon is a year round destination
for boaters, and birders.
You see some birds right at the top of the bush?
Those are white-crowned sparrows.
Retired teacher Fran Bartle
started a birding program at the park,
which includes a morning bird walk.
They're supposed to last 2 hours
but I don't suppose I've ever gotten back in 2 hours.
It's usually more like 3.
Ok, we've got something right in here.
We've got so many different species
and so many different habitats.
Look at that egret.
And the park is just a friendly place for both the birds
and the people who enjoy birding.
Usually this time of year
they're trying to escape the cold
because we have a really wonderful, mild climate here.
When it's cold in Manitoba or Minnesota or north Texas,
birds and people flock to the warmer weather
here along the Rio Grande.
Most parks think of their off season as being the winter.
It's just the opposite down here.
The off season for us, if anything,
would be during the summer.
Each winter Falcon State Park
becomes a community of RVs and travel trailers.
And the center of that community is the recreation hall.
The hosts come in and they open the rec hall
as a store and snack bar.
A lot of them play dulcimer or banjo or guitar.
[dulcimer music]
Or they'll sit and play dominoes or cards.
And it provides really a hub for the community.
3 miles of hiking and biking trails
meander through the park's gently rolling hills.
The brushy thickets contain.
an interesting variety of animals and plants
We're in sort of an arid, semi-tropical desert here.
We get a few tropical plants that when it rains,
they'll come out and bloom and it's really spectacular.
So whether it's blooms, or birds, or bass,
Falcon State Park has a lot to see and do.
We've got the birding.
We've got desert animals and plants.
You have a spectacular sunset over the Sierra Madre Mountains
in northern Mexico.
It's just a fascinating place.
[dulcimer music]
For more information on Texas state parks and historic sites,
visit our website or call 1-800-792-1112.