Sunday, June 10, 2012

South Texas Bird Photography, Part 1

Last month, I spent about a week in the deep, southern part of Texas ... the Rio Grande River Valley. The purpose was to photograph some wonderful birds that don't make it as far north as I live (Missouri) and to even try to capture a few "lifers".

We had wonderful success, seeing many "life" birds and many "old friends". Here are some of the birds that we got to spend some quality time with.

One of the first birds seen was the Greater Road Runner (Geococcyx californianus), not a "life" bird, but one I always enjoy watching and photographing:
A "life" bird for me was the Grooved-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris), quite an awesome bird:
Then there was the Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons), another "lifer":
... and the Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) ... yep, another "lifer" :o)
We ended up with several more interesting birds that I'll share with you in next month's post!

Posted by Jim Braswell (http://www.showmenaturephotography.com/)

17 comments:

  1. Stunning captures! Love everyone of them!

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments. So much fun photographing these great birds!

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  2. Magnificent Jim! South Texas is a special place, and it brings in such special birds. Well done with the Ani too. 3 times I've dipped on that bird...

    Thanks for sharing Jim, looking forward to your next installment.

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    1. Thank you Laurence, it indeed is a special place ... I'm already thinking about a return trip there!

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  3. Congrats on the lifers. Three of those would be life birds for me too. Beautiful images Jim! South Texas is definitely on my bucket list.

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    1. Thanks, Robert. Yes, south Texas should be on all birders and bird photographers' bucket list. Such an assortment of really cool birds!

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  4. They are beautiful....I love the Roadrunner!

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    1. Thank you, Linda. The Roadrunner was definitely one of my favorites, watching their amazing speed as they ran about, foraging for food!

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  5. Wonderful photos! I live in Mission, Texas, but I've been in PA with my husband for two years now on a job, so these make me so homesick!

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    1. Thanks for your kind comments, Kathy. Sorry about being "homesick", but I can definitely see why. For such a "desolate" place to us tourists, there is an awful lot of beauty there!

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  6. Muy buenas capturas de unas aves muy bonitas.Saludos

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  7. I would hoot and holler if I saw any of these beauties, as they all would be life birds for me. Lucky you! Truly fabulous photographs, Jim!

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    1. Thanks, Julie. With your photograpic talent, you'd enjoy this area very much!

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  8. South Texas is one of my favorite birding destinations. Lovely photos Jim!

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