Note from the Environmental Education Center
As we head into 2023, we pause to reflect on the past year. It was an exciting time for John Paul Landing Park. We added more than 40 acres of aquatic habitat, completed construction on a 5K course, held our first 5K event, added new cricket pitches, and had a grand reopening of the Environmental Education Center. The center staff presented educational programming, participated in community outreach, hosted a variety of group field trips, and facilitated habitat improvements through scout projects and volunteer efforts.
We are grateful to have had these opportunities, and we still have plenty of new ideas for the coming year. We are always excited to share our latest project with you and hope you will stop by the education center to find out what we are working on in the park!
Photos by Grace Diaz (Top) and Megan Ahlgren (Bottom)
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January Events at John Paul Landing |
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A Closer Look at Nature: Winter Finches
Wednesday, Jan. 18,
2 – 3 p.m. or
Saturday, Jan. 21,
10 – 11 a.m.
Designed for school-aged children. Registration required. Click here for more information.
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Weekly Bird Walks
Thursdays,
8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
All ages and levels of experience welcome. Click here for more information.
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Duck, Duck, Goose!
January is a great time to see ducks flying overhead or sitting on the water at John Paul Landing Park. Staff and visitors have reported seeing eighteen species so far. This year is the first time we’ve seen ducks make their winter home in the park, thanks to the recent wetland expansion and habitat improvements. We hope to see an increase in the number and diversity of waterfowl in the coming years.
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The lake at John Paul Landing is particularly well suited to attract a variety of ducks. Each type has different habitat preferences based on its feeding strategies. Some prefer shallower foraging areas, like mallards, gadwall, teal, northern shovelers, and American wigeon. They are called “dabbling ducks” and are often seen tipped up with their tails sticking out of the water as they feed under the surface. On the other hand, the aptly named “divers” completely disappear from view each time they swim down to forage in deeper waters. Diving ducks include scaup, ring-necked duck, canvasback, redhead, bufflehead, and mergansers. The lake at John Paul Landing has a mix of shallow areas and deep pools and can host either type of duck throughout the winter. The large, open water is also well suited for roosting ducks just stopping by for a snooze. However, ducks aren’t the only waterfowl attracted to prairie wetlands. Sometimes geese also appear on the lake but are most often seen flying overhead at dawn or dusk.
It is great fun to see what is visiting the park on any given day. To learn more about the birds at John Paul Landing Park, join us for weekly bird walks on Thursdays from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Click here for more information.
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Are you interested in volunteering at John Paul Landing?
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John Paul Landing Environmental Education Center plans to begin regular volunteer days in 2023. We have a wide variety of projects on our to-do list. We could use a hand with everything from daily maintenance to tending flower beds and bird feeders, maintaining nest boxes, controlling invasive species, and helping with public activities. If you are interested in volunteering, we would like to hear from you! Please answer the question below, and email johnpaullanding@hcp4.net for more information.
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9950 Katy Hockley Road, Cypress, TX 77443
713-274-3131
hcp4.net/jpl
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