Wildlife
White-tailed Deer is the most popular game animal in the Sam Houston National Forest, with Eastern Gray Squirrels second. Feral Hogs are found in significant populations throughout the forest. They are an introduced species and damage the ecosystem. Quail and dove are found around newly regenerated timberland. For the water sportsman, fishing and duck hunting can be enjoyed on area lakes and streams.
Lake Conroe and the surrounding National Forest lands provide wintering habitat for the bald eagle. During the winter months, the eagle is not an uncommon sight soaring over the lake, perched on a flooded snag or in a tall pine along the shoreline.
Another bird species found here, one that is truly endangered, is the red-cockaded woodpecker. It found throughout the Sam Houston National Forest and frequently spotted by observant visitors. The small black and white woodpecker with distinctive large white cheek patches is slightly larger than a bluebird. The male has a single streak of red feathers on each side of his head. Its unique high-pitched, squeaky call can be recognized at considerable distances.
The woodpecker makes its home by pecking cavities in large, living pine trees. These cavities are later used by a variety of forest wildlife including other woodpeckers, bluebirds, screech owls, wood ducks, squirrels, and honey bees. The red-cockaded woodpecker also chips pitch wells around the entrances to their cavity nests. The resulting pitch flow gives the cavity tree a distinctive waxy appearance below the nest opening and serves to protect the bird from predatory snakes.
The red-cockaded woodpecker was designated an endangered species in 1970. This unique little bird and its habitat are fully protected on the Sam Houston National Forest. Wherever these birds are found, the management emphasis is directed toward providing the special habitat they require.
Other birds found in the forest are pileated woodpeckers, crows, owls and other birds of prey.
Read more about this topic: Sam Houston National Forest
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