| 1 | 1 | | By: Harper-Brown (Senate Sponsor - Hancock) H.C.R. No. 54 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 2, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Administration; May 8, 2013, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 8, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The purple martin is one of this country's |
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| 10 | 10 | | best-loved songbirds, and the city of Grand Prairie has become a |
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| 11 | 11 | | leading center for purple martin conservation in the Lone Star |
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| 12 | 12 | | State; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, Members of the swallow family, purple martins are |
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| 14 | 14 | | admired for their iridescent blue-black coloring, their pleasant |
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| 15 | 15 | | song, and their graceful aerial acrobatics; they feed on insects, |
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| 16 | 16 | | catching all of their food in flight, and drink by skimming the |
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| 17 | 17 | | surface of a pond and scooping up water with their lower bills; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Purple martins fly north in the spring to breed in |
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| 19 | 19 | | Mexico, the United States, and Canada; after their young are |
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| 20 | 20 | | hatched and able to fly, a process that takes approximately 70 days, |
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| 21 | 21 | | the birds migrate south again to their winter range in the lowlands |
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| 22 | 22 | | east of the Andes Mountains; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, In the western part of North America, purple martins |
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| 24 | 24 | | still nest in natural cavities in trees and cliff faces, but east of |
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| 25 | 25 | | the Rocky Mountains, for more than a century now, the bird has |
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| 26 | 26 | | nested almost exclusively in artificial housing supplied by humans; |
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| 27 | 27 | | today, it is estimated that more than a million "landlords" put up |
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| 28 | 28 | | housing for purple martins, who typically return to their last |
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| 29 | 29 | | successful homesite; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, Since the founding of the Purple Martin Landlords of |
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| 31 | 31 | | North Texas in 1999, the group's members have supported research |
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| 32 | 32 | | concerning these birds and have worked to educate area citizens |
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| 33 | 33 | | about their needs; based in Grand Prairie, the club has further |
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| 34 | 34 | | promoted the construction of purple martin housing in various |
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| 35 | 35 | | public locations around the city, including at schools, libraries, |
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| 36 | 36 | | the municipal golf course, the Kirby Creek Natural Science |
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| 37 | 37 | | Education Center, and Loyd Park on Joe Pool Lake; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Each year, the mayor and city council of Grand |
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| 39 | 39 | | Prairie proclaim Purple Martin Day to raise public awareness and |
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| 40 | 40 | | encourage support for the perpetuation of the species; and |
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| 41 | 41 | | WHEREAS, Grand Prairie residents have demonstrated a special |
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| 42 | 42 | | affinity for purple martins and devoted considerable time and |
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| 43 | 43 | | resources to help them flourish; thanks to the keen interest and |
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| 44 | 44 | | energetic efforts of these citizens, springtime in the city now |
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| 45 | 45 | | heralds the return of large numbers of this shimmering bird, whose |
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| 46 | 46 | | distinctive song and aerial displays have become a source of |
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| 47 | 47 | | immense delight to countless observers; now, therefore, be it |
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| 48 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 49 | 49 | | hereby designate Grand Prairie as the official Purple Martin |
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| 50 | 50 | | Conservation Capital of Texas. |
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| 51 | 51 | | * * * * * |
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