Bill Text: TX HCR122 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Designating Lipscomb County as the official Turkey Buzzard Capital of Texas.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-13 - Referred to Culture, Recreation & Tourism [HCR122 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR122-Introduced.html
| 82R16136 JH-D | ||
| By: Chisum | H.C.R. No. 122 | |
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| WHEREAS, Texas is home to a diverse population of animals, | ||
| and through the centuries these creatures have become important | ||
| touchstones for the state's human residents, serving as poignant | ||
| symbols of the changing seasons and as reminders of the epic beauty | ||
| of the natural world; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The residents of Lipscomb County have found special | ||
| significance in a member of the bird species, the turkey buzzard, | ||
| which each year returns to the area, heralding the coming of spring | ||
| as it soars once more over the wide open spaces of the Texas | ||
| Panhandle; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Also known as the turkey vulture, this distinctive | ||
| bird is immediately recognizable by its bald red head and the | ||
| two-toned coloring visible on the underside of its broad wings; the | ||
| buzzards migrate into Lipscomb County and other parts of the Great | ||
| Plains during the warmer part of the year, and their arrival is a | ||
| much-anticipated event, prompting residents to hold contests to | ||
| guess the exact date that the birds will first be sighted circling | ||
| overhead in the vast blue sky; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A timeless emblem of the region, the turkey buzzard | ||
| flew above the northern Texas landscape when it was traversed by the | ||
| Apaches, Kiowas, and Comanches, and the species maintained its | ||
| lofty vigil as ranchers and farmers established new lives on the | ||
| frontier and expansive fields of wheat spread to the horizon; the | ||
| German-Russian immigrants who arrived in the early 1900s paused | ||
| their farmwork to watch the birds sailing the air currents, as did | ||
| the roughnecks who helped drill the county's first oil wells in the | ||
| 1950s; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Today, county residents and visitors alike continue | ||
| to enjoy the impressive sight of the turkey buzzards as they stand | ||
| atop their morning roosts with wings spread wide, drying their | ||
| feathers in preparation for hours of flight; at day's end, the | ||
| vultures again draw an audience as they glide through the twilight | ||
| to settle in the treetops; and | ||
| WHEREAS, These majestic birds, together with other abundant | ||
| species such as wild turkey, quail, and deer, make the county | ||
| popular with bird-watchers, photographers, and artists; moreover, | ||
| the turkey buzzard has become a beloved icon of Lipscomb County that | ||
| alludes to the area's rich natural and human history, and this | ||
| status is indeed deserving of official recognition; now, therefore, | ||
| be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby designate Lipscomb County as the official Turkey Buzzard | ||
| Capital of Texas. | ||
