Geese in flight...

[Didereaux]

White-fronted

Snow

Ross's (Blue)

 

[WesternGuy]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

 

[Didereaux]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

 

[WesternGuy]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

 

[Didereaux]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

For extended stay with the best centralized location (and costs) I would suggest Baytown, Columbia, Brazoria area. That also gives easy driving distance to Padre Is at Corpus Christi. The coastal areas are expensive tourist traps. None of the area mentioned require any sort of special vehicle. Half the time we jump into the wifes little Toyota Corolla rather than my noisy old diesel pickup truck.

January is the deadest month, and then things pick up as the further south waterfowl and such start north around the first part of Feb. Good raptoring throughout the winter.

 

[WesternGuy]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

For extended stay with the best centralized location (and costs) I would suggest Baytown, Columbia, Brazoria area. That also gives easy driving distance to Padre Is at Corpus Christi. The coastal areas are expensive tourist traps. None of the area mentioned require any sort of special vehicle. Half the time we jump into the wifes little Toyota Corolla rather than my noisy old diesel pickup truck.

January is the deadest month, and then things pick up as the further south waterfowl and such start north around the first part of Feb. Good raptoring throughout the winter.

Thanks for the insight and the advice. My wife and I do like to get out of the Great White North in late January to mid February as that is usually when it is coldest here. We usually head for Florida as that is where the big birds are - herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks, bald eagles, ospreys, etc. and it is warm, even hot for us on a few days.

WesternGuy

 

[Didereaux]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

For extended stay with the best centralized location (and costs) I would suggest Baytown, Columbia, Brazoria area. That also gives easy driving distance to Padre Is at Corpus Christi. The coastal areas are expensive tourist traps. None of the area mentioned require any sort of special vehicle. Half the time we jump into the wifes little Toyota Corolla rather than my noisy old diesel pickup truck.

January is the deadest month, and then things pick up as the further south waterfowl and such start north around the first part of Feb. Good raptoring throughout the winter.

Thanks for the insight and the advice. My wife and I do like to get out of the Great White North in late January to mid February as that is usually when it is coldest here. We usually head for Florida as that is where the big birds are - herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks, bald eagles, ospreys, etc. and it is warm, even hot for us on a few days.

WesternGuy

With that time frame. I would stick to Florida. Only really remarkable birds in number at that time are the shorebirds, and all species are generally over represented. Although we have an over abundance of 'big birds' year around here....only ones missing are the Flamingo. mid-April, and mid-Sep no place can touch us though.

 

[WesternGuy]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

For extended stay with the best centralized location (and costs) I would suggest Baytown, Columbia, Brazoria area. That also gives easy driving distance to Padre Is at Corpus Christi. The coastal areas are expensive tourist traps. None of the area mentioned require any sort of special vehicle. Half the time we jump into the wifes little Toyota Corolla rather than my noisy old diesel pickup truck.

January is the deadest month, and then things pick up as the further south waterfowl and such start north around the first part of Feb. Good raptoring throughout the winter.

Thanks for the insight and the advice. My wife and I do like to get out of the Great White North in late January to mid February as that is usually when it is coldest here. We usually head for Florida as that is where the big birds are - herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks, bald eagles, ospreys, etc. and it is warm, even hot for us on a few days.

WesternGuy

With that time frame. I would stick to Florida. Only really remarkable birds in number at that time are the shorebirds, and all species are generally over represented. Although we have an over abundance of 'big birds' year around here....only ones missing are the Flamingo. mid-April, and mid-Sep no place can touch us though.

Thanks. I should still put this on my bucket list as it sounds like it would be a great place to go in the early spring. Maybe a late winter/early spring holiday(?).

WesternGuy

 

[Didereaux]

Texas has swamps? Just kidding... Nice captures - this looks like a place where I could spend a lot of time photographing birds in various situations. Care to share the location? I am always looking for alternatives for a good winter vacation.

WesternGuy

No prob. the Galveston Bay area. In the Spring it is maybe the worlds' largest bird migration funnel point. from Mar to about mid-may ~ 300-350 speciies pass through here, most have crossed the Gulf from Yucatan and so tired and alight in anything not wet when they reach the coast. The Fall is more scattered for small birds, but great for migrating waterfowl, including the Whooping Crane. Two nat'l Wildlife Refuges are prime for this Aransas NWR, just south of here and Aahuac NWR just north. Whoopers at Aransas, and almost everything else at Anahuac. From mid-Aug to late Sep is the hawk migration. There is a hawk watching tower at Smith point on the Bay and the counts have reached way over 10,000 raptors a day. Look it up on GOOGL 'Smith Point Hawk Watch'. The general ambiance of this area sucks! but the birdlife is almost unequalled, it is the best No. American birding without question. In the Spring migration thousands of birders from all over the world come here to annoy their little feathered friends! lol

Thanks for the information. I will definitely do some research on Google. Sounds like it might be an interesting alternative to Florida for a winter's retreat.

WesternGuy

For extended stay with the best centralized location (and costs) I would suggest Baytown, Columbia, Brazoria area. That also gives easy driving distance to Padre Is at Corpus Christi. The coastal areas are expensive tourist traps. None of the area mentioned require any sort of special vehicle. Half the time we jump into the wifes little Toyota Corolla rather than my noisy old diesel pickup truck.

January is the deadest month, and then things pick up as the further south waterfowl and such start north around the first part of Feb. Good raptoring throughout the winter.

Thanks for the insight and the advice. My wife and I do like to get out of the Great White North in late January to mid February as that is usually when it is coldest here. We usually head for Florida as that is where the big birds are - herons, egrets, spoonbills, storks, bald eagles, ospreys, etc. and it is warm, even hot for us on a few days.

WesternGuy

With that time frame. I would stick to Florida. Only really remarkable birds in number at that time are the shorebirds, and all species are generally over represented. Although we have an over abundance of 'big birds' year around here....only ones missing are the Flamingo. mid-April, and mid-Sep no place can touch us though.

Thanks. I should still put this on my bucket list as it sounds like it would be a great place to go in the early spring. Maybe a late winter/early spring holiday(?).

WesternGuy

One last note, and for the life of me I cannot think why I didn't say this in the forst response....go to my picassa album and when you click on a photo at the side will be a map showing the specific location of that shot.

 

[WesternGuy]

Thanks for the referral. You have some very nice pictures there. I will definitely put this corner of your world on my list.

WesternGuy