View the gallery below for a sample of some images I made during my two research trips to the locations we will visit. Many more edits to come.

Travel considerations: Fly to Rockport (within 30 minutes of our first hotel) or to Houston (2.5 hours north of our hotel, but usually the cheapest flight).

Likely Species on the trip. Species in bold will be the easiest/most likely with effort - species in italics = chance of seeing these is very high. Chance of some kind of photo, decent. Chance of an excellent shot, not real high, but we’ll try

• Whooping Crane

• Sandhill Crane

• Roseate Spoonbill

• Snowy Egret

• Tricolored Heron

• American Oystercatcher

• Black-bellied Whistling Duck

• Green-winged Teal

• Blue-winged teal

• Northern Shoveler

• Northern Pintail

• Plain Chachalaca

• Bobwhite

• Least Grebe

• Inca Dove

• Common Ground Dove

• White-tipped Dove

• White-winged Dove

• Greater Roadrunner

• Common Pauraque

• Buff-bellied Hummingbird

• Black-necked Stilt

• White-tailed Kite

• White-tailed Hawk

• Harris’s Hawk

• Crested Caracara

• Golden-fronted Woodpecker

• Ladder-backed Woodpecker

• Aplomado Falcon

• Eastern Phoebe

• Great Kiskadee

• Green Jay

• Black-crested Titmouse

• Verdin

• Long-billed Thrasher

• Curve-billed Thrasher

• Clay-colored Thrush

• Olive Sparrow

• Altamira Oriole

• Northern Cardinal

• Pyrrhuloxia

Check out the gallery below for some images by John Crawley who joined me on one of my research trips to the locations we will be visiting.

What to pack

• Boots: Hiking boots and comfortable socks.

• Clothes: I recommend against wearing shorts. I always wear jeans to protect my legs, along with a t-shirt, button-up, and sweatshirt layered and take off layers as temperature changes with elevation and time of day.

• Jacket: You will want a coat. Be prepared for temperatures in 40's early in the morning in Rockport. In the afternoon temperatures will often reach the 80s, so wear layers and be prepared for a variety of temperatures.

• Hat and Sun Protection: A baseball cap and sunscreen is a good idea for the daytime.

• A yoga mat or elbow pads could be nice if you want to get low on the deck of the crane boat.

Camera Gear. You’ll probably want two lenses for this trip. First, bring your longest telephoto lens for shy and small birds. With your teleconverter added, you’ll probably want at least 600mm. Second, it will be very useful to have a medium length lens when we are in a blind and photographing larger birds (and you can’t back up). A zoom or mid range telephoto would be good. 400mm f2.8 would probably be the absolute best but a 100-400mm, a 300mm, even a light 500mm would probably work.

Cell Phones and Internet: The hotels all have wifi. We should also have phone reception 90% of the time in the field.

Weather and Schedule:
We will use as much photograph-able light as we can each day, shooting sunrise through 10am, and 3pm to sunset, or all day if it’s cloudy.

SUN DATA
Sunrise 6:45am
Sunset 6:35pm

Transportation: There will be a lot of driving during this trip in order to gain access to a variety of habitats. If you are interested, ask about riding along with me in a SUV. Even if you do use my vehicle, you will still need to find a way to and from the airport.

Hotel:
More information to be provided about where to stay upon signing up for the trip. Half of the hotel costs are included in the trip fee.

Meals: This trip takes place near civilization so we'll have plenty of restaurant options. Have breakfast on your own. Our hotels will not provide breakfast at the time we meet. Most participants opt to have fruit and granola bars or something of the like in their room before we meet. Lunch will usually be early.

Learning / Slideshows:
I will have an intro slideshow and also go over species, site locations, and tips at lunch when possible. While in the field I’ll list my camera settings, point out shooting angles, and discuss behavior to watch for.

My job is to know the area, do many hours of research, know and be able to ID the birds instantly both by sight and sound, and understand their habitat and behaviors, drive you to the most productive areas at the right time of day, be prepared to attract the birds or assist the group in stalking them, advise on how to make the most of each photo opp, ensure that everyone has their physical needs met, and ensure that everyone gets the most and highest quality images in the time we have.

Your job is to communicate your needs and have fun. I want to emphasize that each of you please communicate and keep me aware of your needs and well as create a positive mood for the group.

Physical Requirements:
Four of the five days we will photograph right near the vehciles or from the boat. On one day, we will need to walk from four parking lots into local parks, each walk will consist of a slow pace between 1/8 mile orin one case 1 mile. I’m. more than happy to help carry gear. Bring a portable stool for this day if you aren’t comfortable standing for more than 15 minutes in a given spot.

Photographic Objectives:
I want to maintain a balance between seeking out difficult/ high quality species, and simply getting beautiful images of birds in beautiful settings.

Cancellation Policy: Participant will receive a full refund of their deposit minus a $250 re-listing fee if we are able to fill the cancelled space. If we are unable to fill the cancelled space, we cannot issue a refund or credit of any kind.