Local Wildlife
Below you can find resources for teaching about local wildlife, including endangered species.
Overview
Gulf coast toad (image courtesy of Patrick Feller)
Houston is well known for its diversity but what many people don’t know is that it is also incredibly biodiverse. Many habitats merge here at the Bayou City, including the Piney Woods, Columbia and Trinity bottomland hardwood forests, Katy prairie, bayous, coastal bays and estuaries, and the amazing Gulf of Mexico – to name a few. These incredibly diverse habitats support a lot of different plants, insects, reptiles, mammals and birds, including resident and migratory. Nature can be found everywhere, including your school yard, back yard or your favorite park.
Wildlife
Texas is home to tens of thousands of native animal and plant species across hundreds of habitat types. With such varied ecosystems, a list of all local wildlife would be very long! However, linked below, are many resources that will help you and your students to learn which creatures inhabit areas near you.
Attwater’s prairie chicken (image courtesy of FWS)
Conservation
Lands are being protected all across Texas to preserve habitat for native wildlife.
National Wildlife Refuges near Houston, operated by US Fish and Wildlife Service
State Parks near Houston, operated by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Cultural Connection
The Gulf-Houston Region is situated in one of the most ecologically diverse major urban areas in the country. The forests, prairies, savannahs, bayous, bottomlands, coastlines and ocean around Gulf-Houston Region make up ten ecoregions. Ecoregions are large areas of land or water that contain geographically distinct groups of species, natural communities, and environmental conditions. Seven of our ecoregions are land-based, three are water-based and all are super important to our native wildlife! For example, a massive number of migratory birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors pass over the Houston area every year. They rely heavily on good habitat to rest and refuel during their incredible journey!
As Houston grew and developed, some structures were built close to the water for trade and aesthetic purposes causing those structures to flood frequently. As a result, many bayous were modified and their biological diversity was nearly eliminated. Few natural bayous remain. Development of the floodplains and prairies has caused the city to reevaluate its flood prevention plans and focus on the preservation of our natural bayou systems. Crayfish, butterflies, turtles and ducks are some of the native inhabitants of these ecosystems.
Local Resources
Texas Wildlife Association resources:
On-demand webinars with follow-along worksheets about animal adaptations, cycles, metamorphosis, ecosystems, & food webs. Can be adapted for K - 12.
Schedule a Wildlife by Design presentation for your classroom with Ali or Adrienne
Stewarding Texas is a compilation of lessons designed to develop an understanding of land stewardship within our youth, focusing on those in Grades K-8.
Critter Connections magazine is available in pdf, online, in English and Spanish with follow-along activities.
Discovery Trunks are full of hands-on, natural resource materials and lessons are free for groups of 40+ students and can be shipped to your school
Houston Audubon resources:
Webcams set up at Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary and Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary for a virtual birding experience.
Bayou Buddies or Titmouse Club or Bird Buddies (ages 3 - 5)
After school Nature Explorers Club (ages 6 - 12) at Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary
For all students, you can plan a field trip to Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary or immerse students on an avian adventure at the Raptor and Education Center on Sims Bayou
Try a virtual field trip, so your students can see raptors and interact with an ornithologist.
Houston Zoo resources:
Bringing the Zoo to You - archived videos of Facebook Live zookeeper encounters with wildlife, with corresponding at-home-learning activities for children (K - 12)
Field Trips are free for Public and Private schools located within Houston city limits, and Title 1 schools in outlying cities. Make reservations in advance.
Houston Zoo School Partnership Program forms relationships with schools and connects them with wildlife saving actions. Partner through one of three ways:
Mascots for Saving Wildlife - you’re school’s passion can be channeled to saving that animal in the wild
Pollinator Garden Partnership - connect students with wildlife in their school yards
Project-Based Learning - empower students to learn through action
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory resources:
Public bird bandings on the third Saturday of each month, from 8am-12pm. A great opportunity for all ages and every level of bird interest to see and learn about local birds up-close.
Read along and learn about Winnie the Wilson’s Plover in this children’s book written for the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory.
Learn more about birding with their Online Bird School resources, including videos and modules.
Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement resources:
Junior Duck Stamp Program - art- and science-based curriculum featuring wetlands and waterfowl conservation for K-12
Virtually WILD - both synchronous and asynchronous experiences around Houston
Bat Conservation International resources:
Borrow a local bat trunk filled with activities and materials from Project EduBat
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department resources:
Borrow a local trunk filled with activities and materials for Texas Bats or Wild in the City
Galveston Bay Foundation resources:
Borrow a local trunk filled with activities and materials to introduce Galveston Bay dolphins to your students
Activities/Lessons
Elementary School
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Activities, including insect sweeps, habitat musical chairs and adaptations, for elementary students in Word Format from the National Wildlife Refuge System
Learn about conserving and protecting the endangered Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken and its coastal prairie habitat. Discover how different professionals work together in protecting this unique bird. Lesson brought to you from the Friends of Attwater Prairie Chicken National Refuge! (Science, Grades K-5, TEKS: 2, 3, 9 & 10)
Why do birds migrate? And what makes it so hard? Learn the answers to these questions and more with this fun program from the National Wildlife Refuge System, complete with a craft and a migration game! (TEKS Science: K-5)
Description of four different Birding Beat Games for Young Children, including the topics of camouflage, beak adaptations, and bird watching
Use Mumbles the Rhino at the Houston Zoo to teach about animal adaptations
Use the seals at the Houston Zoo to teach about animal adaptations, balance, & animal training
“Insects and Pollinators” 5E Lesson Plan PDF Version or Word Version - Science, Kindergarten, TEK- 10
Can you survive in a wetland? Find out about critters who can with Wetlands 101 Word or PDF Versions from the National Wildlife Refuge System- (Science, Grades K-5, TEKS: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 & 10) Activity can be used with “Wild Wetlands” video (includes Spanish subtitles)
Build-A-Bird Workshop creatively helps teach about the different parts of a bird. Word or PDF Versions from the National Wildlife Refuge System- (Science, Grades K-5, TEKS: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 & 10) Activity can be used with “Wild Birds" video (includes Spanish subtitles)
Get a kinesthetic learning experience with Home Sweet Home activity PDF Version or Word Version from the National Wildlife Refuge System - (Science, Grades K-5, TEKS: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 & 10) Activity can be used with 'Who’s Living Here?’ video (includes Spanish subtitles)
Follow along and enjoy a Butterfly Origami craft from the National Wildlife Refuge System
Migratory birds love the city of Houston and riparian habitats! Enjoy this activity from the National Wildlife Refuge System about bird migration and obstacles faced. (Science, Grades K-5, TEKS: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 & 10)
Red-cockaded woodpeckers live just north of Houston. Try this habitat lesson from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department about forests, conservation, wildfires, and protecting endangered species. PDF version of lessons for 3 - 10th grade & additional fact sheet on the woodpeckers.
Middle & High School
Citizen’s Science Project: Students look through spectacular images captured by drones. Watch Using Aerial Imagery to learn more about why this science is so important. This will help biologists get a better understanding of migratory bird populations. Review some instructions and get started documenting here!
Texas Gateway Resources offers an activity on Energy Transfer in Food Webs (Science, Grade 7, TEKS: 5B)
Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute created many interactive maps & lessons about quail, hogs, turtles and other Texas natives, including threatened or endangered species. They’re short, interactive and include a quiz at the end. Appropriate for 6th and 7th grade, or for an introductory activity in high school.
Search the database at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to find species in your county, and make a local food web, discuss adaptations to our ecosystems, and investigate the impact of urban sprawl on the wildlife community.
Take a little walk, and look for the Top Birds in Houston (according to Houston Audubon) in your learning space - from grackles in the parking lot to sparrows in the eaves, you’re sure to find someone interesting outside. Use this idea from Flying Wild as guidance. Common Backyard Birds handout to give kids as they search the schoolyard. Upload your data to iNaturalist and compare with other locations.
Learn how forensic science and DNA analysis is used to limit the illegal trade of protected shark fins in the activity Wildlife Forensics, High School version for Biology TEKS 6, 11 or Aquatic Science TEKS 11, 12 or Env. Science TEKS 9. or Middle School version for TEKS 7.14 and 8.11. Great for distance learning.
Written by a local teacher: “Invasive Species/Adaptations” 5E Lesson Plan PDF Version or Word Version- Science, High School.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers live just north of Houston. Try this habitat lesson from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department about forests, conservation, wildfires, and protecting endangered species. PDF version of lessons for 3 - 10th grade & additional fact sheet on the woodpeckers.
Virtual Field Trips
Meet Simon the Great Horned Owl at Houston Audubon’s Raptor Center.
Meet Alex the Barn Owl at Houston Audubon’s Raptor Center.
Download the corresponding, TEKS-aligned activities for K-12 on owls, adaptations and ecosystems.
Part of a series on Green Jobs in Houston. Jeanette is a wildlife caretaker and educator.
Meet a copperhead at Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center.
Part of a series on Green Jobs in Houston. John is a wildlife caretaker and educator.
Download corresponding, TEKS-aligned activities about snake adaptations and ecosystems.
Meet an Eastern Screech Owl at the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
Download corresponding, TEKS-aligned activities for K-8 on animal adaptations and wildlife of Texas.
VIDEOS
More videos on the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition’s YouTube Channel
Houston toads are an endangered amphibian species native to the Greater Houston region.
Visit Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve and learn how to build a bee house.
This video is an update on the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis).
Includes SPANISH subtitles. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Houston Community Partnership and Engagement program presents, "Wild Birds." Your host, Felice, takes you on an adventure to the W.G. Jones State Forest, west Galveston Bay, and the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. Join her to learn more about the red-cockaded woodpecker, American oystercatcher, and the dancing, booming Attwater's prairie chicken!
The Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle is making a comeback from the brink of extinction.
Includes SPANISH subtitles. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement Program proudly presents Wild Wetlands! Your host, Felice, takes you on a journey to Anahuac and Brazoria National Wildlife Refuges. There, she interviews biologists and conservationists about wildlife and their wetland habitats.
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Dance -
Winnie the Wilson's Plover is a children's book written for Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, an organization that protects birds and their habitat all across the Gulf Coast and beyond.
Wilson's Plovers are shorebirds that nest right on the beach. Because they nest on the ground, there are many problems that they face as they try to incubate their eggs and keep their chicks safe. This story is about one brave little plover who nests on the beach and the shorebird monitor who helps protect the nest. Will Winnie's eggs be able to hatch? Let's read the book and find out!
Screech Owls at The Wildlife Center of Texas
Sphinx Caterpillar at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
Alligator adaptations at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge
Includes SPANISH subtitles. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Houston Community Partnerships and Engagement Program proudly presents 'Who is Living Here?' Your host, Ranger Felice, takes you on a journey to Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge and Houston Parks. She meets up with a wildlife biologist and natural resource expert to learn more about special habitats along waterways. Follow along to learn more about the Bald Cypress Tree and all the critters that call it home!
Owls with Houston Audubon.
How to tell its a copperhead.
Keep fishing line out of the water.
Banner video courtesy of Bill Morris. Thanks, Bill!