One of the biggest and best bird photography hots spots is in the deep south of Texas. During the northerly migration, hundreds of thousands of birds make their way back from the south to their breeding grounds in the north. South Texas is where they first make landfall after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. The birds come in waves to find freshwater, food, and photographers! My Texas Bird Photography Workshop is timed to coincide with the migration, and you’ll be amazed at the number and variety of birds.

We start the trip on famed South Padre Island. It’s so birdy here, it is the home of the World Birding Center, and they have constructed unique locations to welcome the birds back to the US. They also provide much-needed food and water for the birds, and that helps us get gorgeous images. We will photograph from boardwalks that meander through an estuary. You never know what will appear on the walk, but you’ll be happy with the experience.

We leave the beautiful blue water and Padre Island behind and head to the desert outside of Edinburg. Our location is the famed Laguna Seca Ranch and its fantastic bird photography blinds. We will photograph local specialties like Green Jay, Caracara, Olive Sparrow, and any migrants that are remaining in the area. The blinds are comfortable and offer us eye-level photography of our fine feathered friends.

I have photographed many places around the world, and the experience in South Texas is quite unique. I have never photographed birds anyplace that offers the variety and easy access to so many birds as South Texas.

Texas Bird Photography Workshop Highlights

  • 7 Nights and 8 Days
  • Guaranteed Image Production
  • Classroom and In-the-Field Instruction
  • Max Attendees: 6
  • Professional Local Bird Expert
  • Professional Workshop Leader
Typical Blind - Best Texas Bird Photography Workshop

Typical Blind – Best Texas Bird Photography Workshop

Green Jay Best Texas Bird Photography Workshop

DATES

May 4-11, 2022 – SOLD OUT

April 21-28, 2023

LOCATION

Edinburg, Texas – USA

South Padre Island, Texas

TUITION

$2495

SUBJECTS

Birds, BIRDS, BIFs, Avians, Raptors

Overview – Texas Bird Photography Workshop

At the Texas Bird Photography Workshop, we will photograph the birds at several of the hottest bird photography locations in South Texas. You could argue they are among the very best in the United States. The first stop will be 3 days of photography on South Padre Island. The migration will still be flying, and the birds will come in droves. Scouting the location this year, I photographed almost 50 species, including numerous warblers, over a day and a half period. It was fantastic, and I am sure that you will enjoy the time we spend looking for birds along the Gulf Coast.
Our nest destination is pretty much the polar opposite as we swap the Gulf for the desert! Our photography for the next 3 days will be Laguna Seca Ranch. I have been to most birding ranches, and I believe that Laguna Seca offers the best photography. If you have never photographed from blinds before, you are in for a real treat. It’s just incredible.

The Texas birding ranches have earned their legendary status by offering unique, repeatable, productive opportunities for bird photographers to make stunning photographs. For nearly 20 years, the ranches have offered intrepid photographers a chance to brave the heat and the rattlesnakes to make magic bird mages. You’ll have opportunities that would be almost impossible in any other place. The Rio Grande Valley sits in line with one of the great bird migration routes, and for some of these long-distance flyers, this desert oasis may be the first place they could rest and eat in weeks. The weary birds are tired and hungry, and the ranches have plenty of fresh water and food laid out like a bird buffet. They have also built fantastic photography blinds to get close and improve your chances of fabulous photos to nearly 100 percent! Back in the day, these blinds were no more than folding chairs and a tent; now, they are dug into the ground with comfortable chairs and concrete floors. While we still may have a stray rattler or tarantula to deal with, it is now a lot more like the Taj Mahal than a backyard setup.

The food and water that the ranchers provide may be the only constant food source for miles, so the birds come to us! We don’t have to traipse through the desert, spooking more birds than we photograph. We sit back and let the action fly to us!

There are about 12 blinds on the ranch, and we will choose the best one for the light and target species. Some are over water, and some are more brushy, but all have clean backgrounds for beautiful bokeh no matter how fast of a lens you carry. We will have full control over decorating the perches for a far better version of bird photos than the good old “bird on a stick pics”! There is a unique blind for raptors as well. The ranch feeds the raptors year-round to keep them in the vicinity for you to photograph. Trust me when I say that the raptors appear seemingly from everywhere when we add to the buffet!

During this workshop, you will receive instruction from a professional wildlife photographer and published bird photographer, Jeff Wendorff. With Jeff’s help, your cameras will be set for optimum control of exposure for the birds and the time of day that we are photographing. Each day will include a recap of the day’s shoots with a group download and easy-going helpful commentary on your images. There will be at least one teaching session for the group on the most effective way to edit bird photography, emphasizing winning compositions. This will be a small group of 6 or less, and I will be able to sort out any issues during the shoots. My primary function is to help you make the best possible images, so I will help you as much as you require. I have also hired a local guide to help plan our shoots. Their local knowledge from shooting daily at the ranch for many years is beyond mine. With their help, we will always be in the best blind at the right time and with the beautiful perches for our target birds.

Arrive April 21, 2023 by 5PM and Depart April 28, 2023 at your convenience
Day 1 – April 21, 2023

Arrive at McAllen International Airport

Make your way to South Padre Island, to the hotel for our stay. It is about a 45-minute drive from the airport to the hotel and traffic can be gnarly. Arrive in time for a meet and greet and orientation at the hotel. Afterward, we will go for a group meal (included) to get acquainted and make sure all is well for our early start the following day.

Days 2-3 – April 22 &23, 2023

These are our principal photography days for the trip, and the activities will be mainly the same each day.

We will plan to leave the hotel at about 6:30AM each morning arriving at the days location as the sunrises. We will wander along a boardwalk through an estuary. There are numerous feeders along the way and we are sure to see an abundance of birds.

We will photograph until the light turns too bright at which point we will return to the hotel. Back at the hotel, we can start the downloading and then grab some lunch. After lunch, we will meet in the conference room for a look at the images from the morning, checking for any issues that need to be corrected before the evening photoshoot.

We will head back out about 4 and shoot until it’s too dark.

There are no activities planned after we return to the hotel.

Day 4 – April 24, 2023

We will again head out photograph at nearby locations, we will shoot with the best light and then check out and drive to our next location in Edinburg.

Day 5-7 – April 25-27, 2023

For the next 3 days we will photograph morning at night at the Laguna Seca Ranch. The shooting style here is as easy as it gets. We will be sitting in comfortable chairs in blinds as the birds come by to say hello and a drink, we will click away.

Day 8 – April 28, 2023

Today is your travel day home or your next location.

What is Included?

The workshop cost includes all the following: A welcome meeting/dinner with your fellow photographers and your guide. Instruction in the field with your photographer guides, image critiques, instructional bird photography presentation(s), digital workflow demonstration, and unlimited question answering!

What is Not Included?

The workshop cost does not include international or domestic airfare, ground transportation, lodging, travel insurance, alcohol, items of personal nature, or anything not outlined as covered.

Your guides will share their bird photography knowledge with you so that you will leave a better photographer than when you arrived. You will learn about planning, gear, and bird photography techniques.

  • How to optimize your camera settings for bird photography
  • Proper long lens shooting techniques
  • Lens stabilization for bird photography
  • Learn how to anticipate bird photography opportunities
  • Learn bird traits to improve bird photography

The tour size is limited to 6 photographers, you can count on a ton of one on one attention and education.

Be prepared for temps between 70 and 100F (21- 38 C). Loose fitting, breathable, quick drying clothes work best. Sunscreen is advised.

It is not likely to rain!

You should wear neutral colors. If you are shooting with big white lenses it would better if they were covered with something like a lensocat. This is not required, but that amount of white can spook the birds.

I prefer closed-toe shoes and socks, there are spiders and scorpions around!

Bird photography is always best with big glass, a minimum of 400mm, and as much as you have will be the proper choice for this workshop. A sturdy tripod and a gimbal head will be invaluable. If you are bringing an 800, you should also pack an extension tube.

You will take more images than you might expect so be sure you’re loaded up with memory cards.

It’s almost impossible to list everything that you’ll need, so just get in touch, and we can talk about what you have and what you might need.

Arrival and Departure Airport

McAllen International Airport (MFE) is the destination airport in Texas.

Hotels

Pick up your rental car and drive about 45  minutes to our first hotel in South Padre Island.

All group meetings, classroom sessions and carpool originations will be at the Best Western.

April 21-23, 2023 Hotel

Best Western Beachside Inn
4500 Padre Boulevard
South Padre Island, Texas 78597

April 24-28, 2023 Hotel

Best Western Plus Edinburg Inn & Suites
2708 S US-281
Edinburg, TX 78539

Departures

Depart anytime on April 28th

Trip Insurance

We always use trip insurance. It’s so much easier and with so many more benefits when you compare it with your insurance. I’ve found the costs to be reasonable given the benefits. I use Travel Guard when I travel and even though; I’ve not had a claim they were helpful and easy to deal with on the phone.

Click the Green Button at the Bottom the page and that will take you to my payment processor and you can choose your favorite method of payment. In the White Box you can enter the number of places that you would like to book.

About 30 days before departure, you will get a welcome kit with the nuts and bolts of what to expect. Of course, feel free to email me or call me and we can talk about it as much as you like!

There is a 2.5% convenience fee to pay your balance by credit cards. There are no fees with any of the listed payment methods for your deposit. Be sure to read the Terms and Conditions and or the FAQ to fully understand about deposits, cancellations and other important, but boring stuff.

I’ve been very passively advising my clients to purchase travel insurance for a while, but lately it seems like there have been multiple people having travel issues. Some have lost their deposits and sometimes even the cost of the entire trip!

Based on my client’s experience, I cannot stress more strongly how crucial it is to purchase travel insurance. Like I said before, and here it comes again, there is never a way to predict what is going to happen when you are booking trips months and years into the future.

You can read more about my thoughts about the importance of travel insurance in this blog post.

Or you can go get a free quote and book your vital travel insurance.

https://wildlifeworkshops.link/Travel_Insurance_Quote

Registration Information

Tuition

The tuition for the Texas Bird Photography Workshop is $2495 USD.

Deposit

The deposit for this workshop is $500 USD. The deposit can be paid by PayPal, Credit Card, Wire Transfer or Check. Actually, if you have another way you would like to pay, I am open to new ideas when it comes to collecting money!

The balance of the workshop tuition will be due February 20, 2023 (60 days prior).

Ready to Go?

My goal is to help you to become a better bird photographer than when you arrived, to help you make the best possible images, to provide a few laughs and even more knowledge and to make sure you have some photographs that make you proud! Ready? Hit that registration button right now!

In the White Box you can enter the number of places that you would like to book.

By submitting you agree to Wildlife Workshops Terms and Conditions.

Send A Deposit

Photo Gallery Texas Bird Photography Workshop