Several recent studies suggest that climate change could make the trip tougher for many migratory birds, with shifts in the arrival of spring affecting their ability to fuel up for migration.

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who as attorney general had attacked climate science and fought Obama-era measures to counter climate-disrupting pollution, dodged a reporter's question about whether he now thinks climate change helped cause Texas weather disasters in recent years.

With urbanization and sprawl ongoing concerns in Texas cities, the question of how to build in ecological resilience grows more pressing.