Workshop

Texas Birds & Wildlife – Trip 2

StartsMay 14th 2022
EndsMay 20th 2022
Price$3,850
Deposit$850
Participants4 (FULL - Returning 2025 - Email us to get on the early announce list!)
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Imagine being in a blind at ground level, 20 feet away from Green Jays, Painted Buntings, Northern Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxia, Blue Grosbeaks and many other coveted species. Now, imagine all of this with colorful perches, great morning and afternoon light and beautiful buttery, out of focus backgrounds. Join us as we travel to South Texas to some of the most iconic bird photography blinds in and around the Rio Grande Valley. This workshop is five days of shooting. We’ve limited the group size to just 4 clients so you are guaranteed a lot of personal attention and quality time together!

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Logistics

South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley area has become known for bird blind photography. But being at a blind is not enough – critical to the success of this type of photography is creating beautiful perches and settings that the birds fly in to. Steve has been creating gorgeous setups for decades and now brings that expertise to Texas.

We have selected two exceptional ranches for this workshop: The Laguna Seca Ranch and Jones Alta Vista Ranch. Each ranch offers unique features while pulling in a wonderful diversity of species.

Over the course of this workshop you will have 9 different photo shoots! You will spend time at morning and afternoon blinds, including a set of fantastic raptor blinds to take pictures of these birds at different levels. You will also have the opportunity to photograph at a very special reflecting pool.

Each day we will head to the blinds after breakfast, shoot until the light gets harsh, have lunch and a break, and then return to the blinds for our afternoon/evening shoots.

These will be very full days so come ready for a lot of fun photography!

Itinerary

Day 1

May 14, Saturday- Travel/arrival day
Today, you will fly in to Texas (typically McAllen airport) and drive to our hotel in Edinburg.

Day 2 and 3

May 15 and 16, Sunday and Monday

For the next two days, we will be shooting both morning and afternoon at Laguna Seca Ranch.
Laguna Seca Ranch has six different blinds including a raptor blind, and you will have the chance to be in all of them. There is also a terrific reflecting pool that you will have the opportunity to shoot at as well.

Day 4

May 17, Tuesday
Following breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and return to Laguna Seca Ranch for our morning shoot. Once we wrap up here, we will break for lunch and then depart for the Jones Alta Vista Ranch. Jones Alta Vista Ranch has a wonderful chef on staff and during the next few days, we will enjoy all of our meals here in the historic buildings onsite. We will meet together this evening for our group dinner and orientation for the days ahead. You will get the lay of the land with the blinds and get a feel for how to set up your gear.

Day 5 and 6

May 18 and 19, Wednesday and Thursday
We will spend these next two full days at the Jones Alta Vista Ranch with morning and afternoon shoots.

Day 7

May 20, Friday- Departure day
After a good nights rest and wonderful breakfast, you will head home.

Booking

Price
$3,850
Deposit
$850
Payment schedule
  • Deposit $850 due at booking
  • Balance $3000 due February 1, 2022

    Cost includes:

  • All lodging
  • All meals at Jones Alta Vista
  • All ranch fees, guides and set-ups
  • Single Supplement please add $395
Not included
  • Airfare to/from Texas
  • Rental car
  • Meals outside of Jones Alta Vista Ranch
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Description

The South Texas bird blinds are iconic bird photography locations for many reasons. We visited most of the ranches in the area and selected Laguna Seca Ranch and Jones Alta Vista for this workshop because they simply offer the best opportunities for making beautiful images. Each ranch has multiple ground blinds set up to take advantage of both morning and afternoon light and Laguna Seca has an awesome set of Raptor blinds as well as a specially designed a reflecting pool like the one that we have at our house – all of which you will be able to experience at this workshop.

Since it is so dry in south Texas, all of the blinds have a water feature which is one of the main attractants for the birds. An additional benefit of the water features is that they allow us to photograph different behaviors such as drinking and bathing etc.

In addition to the water, all of the blinds have feeders that are maintained daily by the owners to keep bird activity at a very high level.

The blinds themselves are roomy and comfortable with folding chairs, padded floors, and shelves, etc.

A few of the species that you can absolutely expect to see are Green Jays, Painted Buntings, Northern Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxia, Crested Caracara, Turkey Vultures, Harris Hawks, Black-crested Titmouse, White-tipped and Inca Doves, Bobwhite Quail, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Long-billed and Curve-billed Thrashers as well as dozens more of other potential visitors.

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