Fort Worth ISD students are campaigning for your vote on city’s first official bird

One of six options will become Fort Worth’s official bird: the barred owl, the Carolina chickadee, the great egret, the red-bellied woodpecker, the eastern bluebird or the red-shouldered hawk. (Courtesy images | Fort Worth ISD)
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As election season takes flight in Tarrant County, the candidates on this ballot stand out — each has a beak, feathers and wings. 

Community members have through April 5 to cast their online vote for Fort Worth’s official bird. Fort Worth ISD elementary school students have been tasked with presenting arguments for each candidate: the barred owl, the eastern bluebird, the Carolina chickadee, the red-bellied woodpecker, the red-shouldered hawk and the great egret. The species were approved by the Fort Worth Audubon Society for research. 

“The idea came about as the science department was engaged in professional learning around using local phenomena to engage students in culturally relevant instruction,” Fort Worth ISD spokesperson Cesar Padilla said in December. “While studying the state bird of Texas, the (northern) mockingbird, we thought that picking a bird for our community would be a wonderfully unique opportunity for our students to engage in many scientific practices.”

Students from Rufino Mendoza, Glen Park, J.T. Stevens, Westcliff, Van Zandt-Guinn and Westpark elementary schools will deliver presentations on their birds during the district’s science fair. Community members are encouraged to view displays and vote on their favorite species 5-7 p.m. April 4 at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.

After voting wraps Friday, the district will send the winning bird to Fort Worth City Council for recognition in an official proclamation. View video from each school supporting their species of choice — and excerpts from their school presentation — below. 

Rufino Mendoza Elementary — Barred Owl

“Barred owls work together, caring for each other and looking out for each other’s young and help. This reminds us of our Northside community and all the communities in our beautiful city. We always come together to help each other in times of need.” 

Glen Park Elementary — Carolina Chickadee 

“Chickadees are known to consume common pests that are typically avoided by other birds … Wheel bugs, ants and bees are all known for painful bites or stings to humans when threatened. So with the Carolina chickadee as Fort Worth’s official city bird, you can be hopeful that they will be useful within our community.”

J.T. Stevens Elementary — Great Egret

“Great egrets help cattle stay healthy. They eat bugs off of their back that may include flies and ticks. This keeps the cattle from getting sick. Here in Fort Worth, cattle are a big deal so it helps us out a lot.” 

Westcliff Elementary — Eastern Bluebird

“If you want a bird just like us, the eastern bluebird is your bird. They are very territorial and protective and they are very social with other birds just like us.”

Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary — Red-Shouldered Hawk

“Scientists studying the red-shouldered hawk have described it as aggressive defenders of their territory and nest. This resembles Fort Worth because Fort Worth is known to be aggressive defenders of our territory.”

Westpark Elementary — Red-Bellied Woodpecker

“The red-bellied woodpecker should be the Fort Worth bird because this bird has a lot of really cool features. Some of these really cool features about our bird are red-bellied woodpeckers will usually use birdhouses. Fort Worth has a lot of those.”

Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org. 

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