![]() He said you can see them on telephone wires, and when a deer feeder goes off, theyÕll come down and eat the corn and then move on to the next ranch. ÒTheyÕre down here at the feed store cleaning up. ÒAfter having been gone a little over a decade, the whole town is overrun with these collared-doves,Ó he said. When he had a local call-in radio show on KERV in the 1990s, he would get calls from people saying how unusual it was to see Eurasian collared-doves, a species of bird that used to be found only in India. He has seen a number of changes in bird population, and has written papers on ÒInvadersÓ and ÒErupting Populations.Ó ![]() HeÕs held positions as a naturalist and consultant at museums and foundations all over the country, worked as a shipÕs naturalist and is a speaker and lecturer. HeÕs been the Curator of Birds at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville and at the San Antonio Zoo. ÒIf it lives, IÕm generally fairly knowledgeable about it,Ó he said.īut birds are something of a specialty, he said, because of their portability. He knows reptiles, amphibians and mammals, and currently is working professionally with plants at a Boerne nursery. When here before, McKelvy did nature presentations for the YO Ranch and Mo-Ranch, as well as many summer camps, and would be happy to do so again. ÒThe advent of really good box calls and slate calls kind of put me out of business, but I did enjoy traveling to the ranches and taking advantage of their hospitality, fine wines and beautiful views.Ó ÒThat was kind of a run, living off of turkey calling for a few years,Ó he added. ÒHe sent me a picture of he and I and Mr. ![]() ÒI said, ÔYour majesty, this would be a really recommended time to take your shot, because this turkey is about to realize heÕs made a life-threatening decision,Ó he said. ![]() ÒHe came down that sendero like he was runninÕ home to mama for lunch and I stopped him. ÒI was the guy that got the turkey-calling job, and lo and behold if we didnÕt call up a male with about a 12-inch beard,Ó he said. McKelvey said the prince had gotten a whitetail deer and wanted a North American wild turkey for his royal game room. HeÕs also an expert in animal mimickry, and was invited by Theo Kleberg to call turkeys for Prince Philip on the King Ranch in South Texas. McKelvey said he was to have been working on a project with Ted Turner to restore condors on a California ranch, but it fell through when Turner disagreed with federal authorities on how many biologists would be required. If that werenÕt enough, heÕs saved several endangered species of birds, is the author and illustrator of three childrenÕs books Ñ ÒMaverick the Lucky Longhorn,Ó ÒCommander the GanderÓ and ÒBobby the Mostly Silky,Ó and is an accomplished wildlife artist.Īnd though he has traveled the world Ñ on the Amazon River, in the Brazilian rainforest, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius and Africa to name a few places heÕs been and worked Ñ he said of the Hill Country, ÒThis is the most fascinating part of the world IÕve ever lived in.Ó He also has a national presence, having appeared on late night television with Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman, as well as Burgess MeredithÕs ÒThose Amazing Animals.Ó He was a regular on local television and radio shows and presented nature programs to Hunt summer campers. McKelvey, who lived here in the early Õ90s, was a familiar face. ÒThe BirdmanÓ Ñ has returned to West Kerr County. ![]() After spending the last 10 years working at the Phoenix Zoo, David McKelvey Ñ a.k.a. ![]()
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