Sharing this Pine Warbler I photographed the first day of 2025. I found a nice flock of Yellow-Rumped Warblers and a few of these guys going through the bald cypress trees of a nearby lake. Loved this connection as the bird briefly paused before moving on with the group. Date Taken: January 1, 2025

Back in the first week of January, I visited a local lake in search of ducks. With beautiful misty conditions, I decided to photograph this Lesser Scaup in a high-key style, leaving plenty of negative space for it to float through. Date Taken: January 4, 2025

Photographing Common Yellowthroats has proven quite the challenge for me. They are not a breeding species in Texas, and I get them in very few spots in the winter. Common Yellowthroats are more often heard than seen, so I tried to incorporate that feel with this image. They are just nonstop with movement and difficult to get out in the open, but I’ll happily take this foreground image. I would love to get these birds on pretty sunflowers one day, but this is the best I could do here lol Date Taken: January 4, 2025

Pied-Billed Grebes in the misty shadows as sunrise begins. Date Taken: January 11th, 2025

A Pied-Billed Grebe during some early morning orange water. The morning started off with a very calm, and misty haze over the water. As the sun began to clear away the mist, this Pied-Billed Grebe began to show itself on this beautiful morning. Date Taken: February 1, 2025

Now that fun sparrow season is coming to a close, I was able to go through quite a few edits of this very comfortable Field Sparrows in its happy place, a nice open field with Ashe Junipers to perch on! I don’t often go with vertical crops, but this image felt like it was worth using. Date Taken: February 8

Date Taken: February 8, 2025

I have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in an amazing photo contest this year. The @wildlifeinfocus contest pairs up photographers and landowners in a friendly competition, with the mission to promote preservation and conservation of native Texas wildlife and their habitats. The message of this contest is great. We are seeing a rapid change of demographics in Texas. The state’s population is growing at a rapid rate. People are moving out of rural communities and moving in urban areas. Landowners are under constant pressure to convert their ranch land, farm, and wildlife habitat into other uses, such as building apartments and new neighborhoods. Simply put, the goal of the WiF contest is to give inspiration for all to see the true beauty of Texas, I’m all for that! I am paired up with a wonderful family that owns over 2,000 acres of property nestled right in the convergence of 4 eco-regions in southwest Texas, a true hotspot for bird photography! We spent the whole day scouting the area and preparing for the arrival of local breeding birds, which is in just a few weeks. This Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay is one of the many birds I saw over the weekend. Perched atop Ashe Juniper, I could have spent all day photographing these noisy birds. Date Taken: February 22, 2025

Date Taken: March 11th, 2025

A close up of an early arrival around these parts. I was able to get a close look at this bird along a ridge that seems to attract many different songbird species. Date Taken: March 21, 2025

I might have already had my favorite birding moment of 2025. Lately, the wind has been relentless, and bird activity hasn’t been what I’d expect around this time of year. I’ve had several outings with little to no luck finding early spring migrants. Recently, I found a spot bursting with blooming Texas Redbuds and have been visiting often, hoping to catch something passing through, feeding on the insects drawn to the nectar-filled flowers. This morning started off like any other, lots of birds around, not much in front of my lens, until I caught a tiny flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. It darted from dense foliage into a Texas redbud tree. Northern Parula? I waited. Then, it popped out, and in that moment, I was stunned—Tropical Parula! I managed to snap a few quick shots, capturing maybe one or two different poses, and just like that, it was gone. For years, I’ve dreamed of finding the perfect location to photograph birds in Texas Redbuds. For that bird to be a Tropical Parula? Unreal. I’m at a loss for words. This is definitely one of the rarest sightings I’ve had in recent years. These birds can be found in Texas, but way further south. I’m hoping it sticks around my area this week so I can try for it again soon! Date Taken: March 23rd, 2025

Back in late March, I captured this White-Eyed Vireo in one of my favorite plants, a Mexican Buckeye! I know this photo doesn’t show off the true beauty of this plant too well, but it’s an absolutely stunning plant, when in bloom, with beautiful pink flowers. Date Taken: March 27th, 2025

Back in late March, I found a new location to photograph Northern Parulas in some great native Texas habitat. These Boxelders are some of my favorite trees to photograph songbirds in thanks to their beautiful emerald green foliage and spacing between branches. I was able to capture many different poses and looks as these birds foraged and sang in these trees. I’d love to photograph more of these birds but the buntings are popping off lately so I’ve put a lot of attention to those. Thats what I’ll be focused on this weekend, as I wrap up a photo contest and push hard to get that done. Date Taken: March 28th 2025

Got some Northern Parula photos to sift through from an outing a few weekends ago. This one gave me a lot of good looks as it foraged through the Boxelders. I hope you enjoy this habitat-themed image and have a wonderful week! Date Taken: March 28th, 2025

Northern Parulas are such stunning little warblers. This spring, while scouting new locations to photograph (the few) warbler species that breed in my area, I came across a park where recently planted native trees lined a stretch of river. From experience, I knew this was the type of habitat these birds often sing over and forage around. I watched this vibrant male Northern Parula feeding high in the more mature trees when, unexpectedly, he flew across the road and landed in the younger trees on the opposite side of the park. Instantly, I knew the potential… the backgrounds over there were softer, cleaner, and far more photogenic. I quietly and quickly moved into position, crouching low and anticipating his next move. Based on his foraging pattern, I guessed which tree he’d climb next. Moments later, he proved me right. That brief window of preparation paid off, allowing me to capture this image as he worked his way upward through the foliage. Date Taken: March 29th, 2025

It’s been a beautiful early spring here in the Texas Hill Country. Last weekend, I spent quite a bit of time photographing our local breeding warblers—though only a few species nest here. Our most famous, of course, is the stunning Golden-cheeked Warbler. This little guy was full of energy all morning, hopping from tree to tree, foraging, and occasionally stopping to call. The key to photographing these Golden-Cheeked Warblers, like many songbirds, is getting to eye level. I positioned myself along a ridge with a small pond nearby, waiting for these birds to make their rounds. I was lucky enough to capture a singing pose of this guy. In my favorite location, it’s not uncommon to see/hear 10-20 different Golden-Cheeked Warblers in just 1 morning hike. I’m thankful to have been able to spend the last 5 years studying these birds, learning their habits, and what works best not only for myself, but ultimately, the most important aspect of Golden-Cheeked Warbler photography, the conservation and protection of this endangered species. Date Taken: March 30th, 2025

Got a little Rufous-Crowned Sparrow in some warm sunset backlight a few month ago back when spring had just started to pop. Even though there was so much color around me with all the beautiful returning songbirds, I still make time for the year round birds. Date Taken: April 8th, 2024

Golden-Cheeked Warbler photographed in the afternoon with some backlit bocca. These birds already got fledglings runnin’ around and I’ve stopped photographing them about 2 weeks ago. Now to cull through the images…. fun Date Taken: April 11th, 2025

Endemic to Central Texas, the Golden-Cheeked Warbler stands out against the juniper green after a morning rainstorm. Each spring, they return from Central America to nest only in the Texas Hill Country, relying on the bark of Ashe junipers to weave their homes. Moments like this remind me how deeply place and species are connected, and how conservation starts with noticing what’s right in front of us… Golden-Cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) photographed in the Texas Hill Country. Date Taken: April 20th, 2025

The heart stoppin’ tree toppin’ Summer Tanagers are back filling the fresh spring air with their beautiful calls. I see many of these birds during the spring and summer, but don’t usually spend much time with them. Date Taken: April 26, 2025

Going with a double dose of blue today (and week!) with a Blue Grosbeak perched on Ashe Juniper deep in the Texas Hill Country. I’ve seen a couple new features rolled out recently on instagram, and both have their fair share of controversies. The one I’m interested in the most is the “repost” feature that many, if not all of us, now have on our home pages. Repost is an opinion Instagram users now have that allows others to reshare your public reels and images, similar to a “retweet” that the platform X has. So I’m curious, how will these features affect the mighty instagram algorithm and does this drive more engagement your way? Are feature pages now going to “repost” images they feature? Anyways, back to birds, this Blue Grosbeak was a star for me at the very end of an outing during a wonderful spring morning. The sun had already made it through most of the morning clouds, except for a small patch in the sky. I almost packed up and left but decided to some extra driving and found him singing. After waiting a few minutes, another small group of clouds passed over the sun, and I was able to capture this image. Date Taken: April 26th, 2025

Trying to sift through all the blue bros I was fortunate enough to photograph in the spring. Most are all gone now. Actually, I did have one surprisingly show up at my favorite fall spot over the weekend. Although it probably was just a passer by, only staying for a day or so, it was a nice memory of a wonderful 2025 spring. Date Taken: April 26th, 2025

Cassin’s Sparrow, perched on a prickly pear cactus that’s about to bloom. It was a lot of fun photographing this boisterous little sparrow back in spring. In all my years photographing at one of my favorite locations, I had never seen one of these birds there, and an added bonus was that a female was hanging out there as well! I presume the two were mates. Anyways, it was a lot of fun watching him do the little skylarking display, and listening to what might the prettiest sparrow call of them all. Date Taken: April 27th, 2025

During late April, I took a trip to the gulf coast to catch some spring songbird migration. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t pan out, and most of the good stuff had already passed us by. But that was no problem at all, because the shorebirds were still around, and this ended up being a great trip for those birds! Out on these coastal mudflats, hundreds of shorebirds had gathered up for rest and fuel for their own migration. Birds like this Wilson’s Phalarope were seen in great numbers. It was a real pleasure watching these fast moving little birds feed on the aquatic critters in these shallow pools. Date Taken: April 30th, 2025

A Great Blue Heron surveying the open marsh. Finally back from a weekend trip to the Texas gulf coast, celebrating family, fun, and of course… birds. I was fortunate enough to spend a few mornings at a marsh 5 minutes from our family home, and the shorebirds were out in full force. Date Taken: April 30th, 2025

A Great Egret surveying the marsh during a peaceful afternoon. One of my favorite connections to nature is to lay down on my yoga mat and watch shorebirds in their habitat do their natural behaviors while remaining undetected. Being able to share the same space as these birds is an experience I do not take for granted. Date Taken: April 30th, 2025

Spent last week building up a collection of shorebird images to share for the next couple of months. First up, the spotlights shine down on the star of the show, the Black-Necked Stilt. There were quite a few of these guys hanging out in some shallow pools that overlook the city of Corpus Christi Tx. It’s really nice sometimes to just enjoy a peaceful afternoon with no one else around except you and the birds. Date Taken: April 30th, 2025

The bird with the best lookin’ honker in the shorb kingdom goes to the Wilson’s Plover. I got this fella passing through the exposed mudflats along the Texas coast with some soft pastel early morning colors in the sky. Date Taken: May 1st, 2025

Lovely pastels and gorgeous morning photographing a Black-Bellied Plover from my trip to the Texas gulf coast earlier this month. Not an easy bird to get for me, and it’s probably my favorite shorebird so getting it in this scene really makes me happy. Date Taken: May 1st, 2025

Greater Yellowlegs walking the exposed mudflats along the gulf coast on a beautiful warm sunrise morning. Date Taken: May 1st, 2025

I capped off a great couple of vacation days last weekend with a shot of a female Scott’s Oriole—a bird that’s not easily photographed! While not as flashy as the male, I’ll gladly take this any day. In my experience, female Scott’s Orioles tend to be more reclusive, often staying tucked away in the trees, while the males are more commonly seen in the areas I frequent. While photographing a Cassin’s Sparrow, I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye—a bird landing on a prickly pear cactus right in front of me. I didn’t have a clear view, so I tried to turn that into an advantage by shooting through the bush in front of me to add some natural texture. If you look closely, you can spot the tiny specks of nectar the oriole was feeding on within the cactus flowers. Overall, I’m pretty happy with this shot. Even though I wasn’t able to include more of the cactus in the frame, I like the added foreground elements and the story they help tell. Date Taken: May 2nd, 2025

Back in early May I had one of the most memorable outings of the year photographing a bunch of our Hill country breeding species. The sights and sounds were absolutely stunning, as the land was filled with birds like Painted Buntings, Scott’s Orioles and Blue Grosbeaks (just to name a few), that had staked their claim to breeding territory. This Prickly Pear Cactus must have been the talk of the town as I had watched multiple birds stop and perch on these flowers and take some delicious nectar. I didn’t have enough time work on a few more edits last night, but I’ve got some shots of this Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in flight with the wings blurred out that I really like, so I’ll share those sometime in the upcoming weeks. Date Taken: May 2nd, 2025

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, mid-flight, enjoying some tasty nectar from an Opuntia (Prickly Pear). Date Taken: May 2nd, 2025

Painted Bunting backlit, morning glow. Date Taken: May 2nd, 2025

Northern Parula giving a classic coy look while framed in between the American Sycamore leaves. Date Taken: May 11th, 2025

A shot not for everyone, but I absolutely love this Northern Parula peekaboo habitat shot. During early spring, I dedicated a good chunk of time photographing Northern Parulas in some unique, but challenging, environments. One location was a big public park that was full of joggers, dog walkers, and daily foot traffic. Not exactly a serene birding haven, but these Parulas didn’t mind. The second spot had no elevation, but I was able to find a decent enough spot with these Sycamore trees, where light filtered through just enough to catch this sweet little guy moving through. These weren’t easy conditions. The light was a little tricky, the angles were awkward, and the birds of course do not cooperate, but I think part of the thrill for me is the hunt for these special locations that provide a wonderful connection to nature. Date Taken: May 11th, 2025

Found a Northern Parula during early spring, that had been foraging through a Sesbania drummondii aka a Rattlebush. I was a bit early to include some of the beautiful flowers these shrubs produce, but I do love the fern-like leaflets. These plants provide a great cover and habitat for birds and are loved by pollinators as well. Unfortunately the seeds are quite toxic for others animals. May 11th, 2025

Northern Parula peek through, featuring the ol’ Sesbania drummondii. Loved the opportunity photographing this awesome little bird in such a cool native shrub earlier in the spring. The seeds from this plant are extremely toxic to animals if ingested, but the birds don’t seem to mind snacking on the insects! I also saw a hummingbird go after some of the flowers during this outing. May 11th, 2025

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a picture of the sweetest little grebe around. This little one was photographed back in spring, and as a matter of fact, I haven’t seen too many this year. Hopefully gonna get a few chances to find some more before the year ends. Date Taken: May 15th, 2025

Here’s a Cassin’s Sparrow I’ve had the pleasure of photographing a couple of times now. I captured this image the other day after work, near an open field surrounded by wildflowers. I’m almost positive this guy and his lady friend have a nest really close to this native agarita bush! I’ve also never seen Cassin’s Sparrows in this area before, so it’s been fun going out and reliably finding this species. Date Taken: May 20th, 2025

Wait why is this leaf blue and red, but the rest are green? Painted Bunting photographed on a ranch in west Texas. Date Taken: May 26th, 2025

Back in June, I had been trying really hard to get any bird interacting or even just perched on the beautiful Texas native, Cenizo, aka Texas Sage. I did managed to get one bird on this plant, but I haven’t even looked at those files so not sure if they’re even good enough. Date Taken: June 11th, 2025

Some mornings just feel like they were made for small joys. Like watching this Dickcissel post up like it owned this sunflower field. I discovered this small sunflower field unfortunately about a week after peak season, so there weren’t too many beautiful sunflower blooms around, but it was still a great outing despite the late arrival. I love the line up here with Boca ball, which is a light from a warehouse way off in the distance, sunflower, and bird. Date Taken: June 14th, 2025

Early morning blue hour in the sunflower fields as the Red-Winged Blackbirds begin to wake up, and their famous call fills the air. Date Taken: June 14th, 2025

Red-Winged Blackbird, the king of all sunflowers…. in this particular patch anyways. Other than a couple of Dickcissel, this guy reigns supreme in this patch located far out in the rural farmlands of east/central Texas. I had one opportunity to visit, and while the species variety wasn’t great, and many of the sunflowers had already started to lose their petals, it was nice to take a scenic drive and come home with a few images. Date Taken: June 14th, 2024

Spent a few days last week photographing a Lesser Nighthawk with a couple of chicks that have survived quite a few interesting weeks of south Texas weather. Couple of days of heavy downpours and some strong winds. They are now almost fully fledged and shouldn’t be too long until they’re off on their own. Date Taken: June 17th, 2025

Couple of the images of the Lesser Nighthawk and chick(s). There’s actually another one in there haha, just really tucked away. I was able to get this cute interaction by being a good distance away from the family. Zoomed all the way out at 600mm and not moving an inch allowed me to blend in with the area and capture this beautiful little interaction. Date Taken: June 17th, 2025

Still getting a few good looks at some of our breeding songbirds as summer rolls through. I photographed this Blue Grosbeak in shade while the background was in full sun. Some editing required but I’m happy with the shot and still being able to get some solid looks at these birds. Date Taken: June 28th, 2025

A damp little Painted Bunting after a quick rain shower in the Texas hill country. Date Taken: July 2nd, 2025

Blue Grosbeak perched out in the rain.. These Blue Grosbeaks are fairly easy birds to find out in the hill country. Usually, you’ll hear their calls throughout the area before seeing them and that’s what happened here. We had a pretty wet July by our standards, and I was fortunate enough to get a few songbird images with the rain, before they started to move out for migration. Date Taken: July 2nd, 2025

Got a colorful image today of a Painted Bunting that was photographed on a not so colorful perch. It had just rained, and the bird was already molting, so I didn’t think much of this image’s potential at the time. However, I lowered myself down just a bit and was able to add some foreground from a shrub that was between me and the bird. I love the textures that came out with this shot and in the field it was a very beautiful way to end my painted bunting season. Date Taken: July 6th, 2025

A beautiful male Summer Tanager perched in a Live Oak tree, high up in the Texas Hill Country. I was able to capture this shot after an early morning rainstorm. This guy was a little damp, but I’m sure very happy. Photographing birds in Live Oak trees can be tricky—especially in older trees where dense foliage creates distractions and makes visibility tough. But younger trees like this one offer great opportunities: cleaner perches, fewer distractions, and still a natural, habitat-like feel to the shot. Live Oaks are iconic natives of the Hill Country and are also widely used in landscaping. Unfortunately, they’re susceptible to oak wilt but thankfully, this one shows no signs of it. Date Taken: July 13th, 2025

Here’s a funny picture for ya…. I’m so backlogged on editing photos for the year, I’ve just kinda been scrolling through my Lightroom catalog picking whatever I see looks quick and easy enough to share. I totally forgot about this soggy little Vermillion Flycatcher I photographed back in the summer during a pretty significant downpour for Texas hill country standards. Just a hilarious image to me with the frosted tips hairdo, I hope you also get a little chuckle out of this one like I did. I’m sure he was not enjoying this rainstorm but I certainly was enjoying taking his photo! Date Taken: July 13th, 2025

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird feeding on a Eysenhardtia texana (Texas Kidneywood). A wonderful native shrub and one of my favorite pollinator magnets around. I can just smell the beautiful fragrance through my phone! Date Taken: July 13th, 2025

A Lesser Goldfinch “hanging by a moment” during a golden summer sunset. This year has been a great year for me and these birds. I’ve been gifted with multiple opportunities this summer to photograph them in places where the native plants have been thriving and abundant with all the rain we’ve had. Date Taken: July 18th, 2025

Starting Monday off with a Lesser Goldfinch on a wonderful native plant, the Cowpen Daisy. Also known as Golden Crownbeard, this is an excellent pollinator and Finch magnet! These Lesser Goldfinches have been great for me this year, I’ve gotten lucky with multiple different great encounters during these hot summer months, and it has thankfully stretched out my typical shooting schedule. Mid July-August is typically a bit of a lull period for my photography and me personally, so getting a few extra images has been very nice. I hope your summer days have been great as well, and hopefully still getting some great bird shots! Date Taken: July 19th, 2025

Painted Bunting framed with the beautiful color of Cedar Elm. Date Taken: July 20th, 2025

We’ve got a lot of shorebirds migrating through the area right now, so I thought I’d take a quick outing during this busy time in my life and spend a brief morning with them. I’ve had this small in frame idea in my head for a while now and everything just seemed to line up. Date Taken: August 19th, 2025

Ending the week off with another of these cool reflection images I’ve lately been focused on getting… when I have the opportunity. Even if it’s just for an hour, I’ve made a few attempts at going out in the morning for some exercise, peace, and to work on these type of shots. On this morning, the sunrise was absolutely stunning, and it’s usually a mad dash to go out to this shallow pond to see what shorebirds are hanging around. During this time, it’s changing by the day with new migrating species. I love trying this look with different species! It’s also been a fun challenge for me to try and push my comfort zone with the typical shorebird look I’m used to getting. August 19th, 2025

Fall may officially be here, but the memories of summer are still hanging around. This young male is just beginning to show some red, and I’m also just beginning to see some of the leaves around here turn those beautiful colors we all know and love. Date Taken: September 1st, 2025

Summer Tanger… not takin in the fall, but just a few days before! A couple of em’ were still hanging around an area I frequent. This juvenile male was very cooperative and comfortable with me moving around trying to get the right angle and get some nice background color from the lush foliage. The warm plumage and vibrant feather color from these birds is absolutely breathtaking. Date Taken: September 1st, 2025

The central flyway had a great last couple of days with fall migration, and I’ll be sharing a couple of images I captured on an outing during one of the cloudy/rainy mornings. It was a nice breath of fresh air to get out for a little bit and see a couple different neotropical migrants as they fueled up and continued their journey south. This juvenile (female maybe?) Nashville Warbler was one of the birds I had the pleasure to spend a quick, but memorable, few seconds with. I watched it make its way up the tree canopy, careful to not make any sudden movements and chase it away. Nashville Warblers are one of my nemesis fall birds so even though this is just a pretty simple shot, I’ll take it! I hope everyone reading has a great start to the week and hope you’ll have some time to go out and enjoy the outdoors. September 6th, 2025

The official day of fall is just a week and some change away, but we’ve already got some nice colors in a few areas. I photographed this Black-Crested Titmouse before some much needed rainstorms rolled in. Date Taken: September 6th, 2025

Canyon Wren on a rocky hillside lit with some evening glow. Date Taken: September 8th, 2025

Super small-in-frame today with a Barn Swallow just milliseconds before taking a sip of water. There was almost no wind on this morning, and the Swallows had already began their days of zigging and zagging through the sky and skimming the water, I was shooting at an elevated position waiting for any shorebird to come through in this gorgeous light. While none unfortunately showed up, I’m happy to have at least captured these little speedsters. I liked the textures of the trees reflecting in the water as well, so I decided to leave those in. Date Taken: September 14th. 2025

A Cooper’s hawk surveying a small wetland pond, in search of a duck or shorebird meal. Hidden in these these tall plants are a few Blue-Winged Teal, Black-Necked Stilts, some Snowy Egrets, and much more! Date Taken: September 14th, 2025

Black-Necked Stilts are some of my favorite shorebirds to photograph. They’re very expressive little birds, and so funny looking with those long legs strutting around. Date Taken: September 21st, 2025

Absolutely loved my trip to the Texas gulf coast to catch up with some of my shorebird friends, and to give a presentation to an annual bird festival. Not too far from our campsite, I found a couple small pools of water that seemed to be the hotspot for all the shorebirds around. Birds like this Roseate Spoonbill would come come in to feed so close. At 280mm, I was able to capture a bit of the cloud action going on in the sky, as well as some of the habitat. Roseate Spoonbills are not that easy of a subject to photograph down here so I quite enjoyed this close up opportunity. Date Taken: September 21st, 2025

Yellow Warbler over the weekend with some pretty cool textures in the background caused by leaves from a Retama. Date Taken: September 27th, 2025

Went out in the aftenroon yesterday after work just for some quick exercise and see what birds were around and found this Lesser Goldfinche as well as a few other birds. Of course, at this point in the year, lots of plants are leafed out, but it’s all in good fun and nice to get anything on such a quick outing. Date Taken: September 30th, 2025

Going to share a couple of crops of the Carolina Chickadee’s from back home. Still enjoying our family trip out to scenic Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountains. I’ve got tons of Mountain Chickadees images to share coming up so thought I’d get these little guys out of the uploads folder for now. I had an opportunity to work with these guys in our bald cypress trees and wanted to showcase some of the spruce/pine needles-like foliage. We, like many others across the U.S. get these regularly in our backyards, but it’s still nice to showcase these little birds while throwing in some nice habitat. Date Taken: October 26th, 2025

And rounding out the backyard birds week is the Carolina Wren, photographed backlit in a beautiful Bald Cypress tree. Carolina Wrens are so overlooked as they can be found almost everywhere. But there’s nothing wrong with photographing common birds in uncommon situations and that’s something I hope everyone understands. Date Taken: October 26th, 2025

Early September always feels a little bittersweet. Those final quiet moments before our migrants slip south for the season. These Red-Eyed Vireos seem to stick around a bit longer compared to most of our other breeding songbirds. I didn’t get to catch these guys during spring, so I will take this any day! Date Taken: September 1st, 2025

Been working on some waterfowl images during my free time, and one of the images I’m excited to share is this Least Grebe, photographed back in September, with some foreground grass. I was photographing these birds in the shade. The morning sun had not yet crested over the hill in front of me, but on the opposite side of the polder, the sunlight had already lit up the tall aquatic plants beautifully. Least Grebes are one of my favorite birds and a regular sight not too far from where I live, so it’s always a pleasure to photograph them—and I usually come away with a few images I’m happy with. Date Taken: September 28th, 2025

Ringing in the weekend is a 2’fer of an orange crowned warbler I was able to photograph a couple of weeks ago back in October. I’m so backlogged with images from spring and 2024, who knows when they’ll see the light of day! Still, it’s nice to just enjoy the now. Like I’m sure this Orange-Crowned Warbler was as it foraged through these young Cedar Elm trees. Date Taken: October 25th, 2025

ot a small series of yard birds of to showcase this week. First up is the Black-Crested Titmouse, and a little caterpillar, hoping to not be discovered I went out this weekend, with the simple goal of just to capture any of our local birds and it ended up being a great time! This area has quite a few Bald Cypress trees, which are such an essential source of food and shelter for many bird species. Date Taken: October 26th, 2025

Every winter, we get a handful of “marshy” visitors that like to skulk along our South Texas lakes. This Marsh Wren is one of them — and unlike its incredibly loud and showy counterpart, the Carolina Wren, these little guys are notoriously hard to get a clean look at, let alone photograph. So I was pretty happy to finally capture a shot I’m proud of. This one was taken as it hopped through a small tree along the lake, mixed in with a few other species (including Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Swamp Sparrow). The filtered-sun look is a style I’ve grown really fond of over the years. It’s an especially enjoyable way to photograph songbirds down here where “true” golden hour lasts about five minutes. November 8th, 2025

Officially putting a close on our week long trip to Colorado. We visited many of the towns and enjoyed the getaway to the great outdoors. Our campsite actually ended up being one of the highlights for me on this trip as it was incredibly birdy. I’ve never seen so many Blue Jays in one place, and there were dozens of Dark-Eyed Juncos and Pygmy Nuthatches along the campsites and along a hiking trail within the RV park. Here was just one of the many Pygmy Nuthatches that called the RV park its home. All I needed to do was walk a few steps out of the RV, and wait for a group of these birds to pass by and sneak away with the little pine nuts. This is the 4th year I’ve visited Colorado and I’ve thankfully become very knowledgeable about many of the songbirds that call that beautiful state home. Date Taken: November 16th, 2025

Here’s another Colorado bird that I had plenty of opportunities to work with, the sleek, elegant, and wonderful Townsend’s Solitaire. As the warm sun began to crest over the beautiful mountain range, the early morning glow had just began to light up our chilly campsite. This Townsend’s Solitaire was one of the many birds I was able to photograph at our campsite and I’ll forever treasure this time I spent with these birds. Date Taken: November 18th, 2025

CUTE! These little Bushtits were a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Towards the end of my weeklong trip to Colorado, in November, I was fortunate enough to come across a small group of these birds, at our campsite, along a hill I had hiked. The sun, thankfully, had just started to crest over the hills in front of me, and I finally had some light to work with. I’ve seen Bushtits before only in New Mexico and had only 1 image from that trip so I was very thankful to come back make some fine additions to my collection. Bushtits are a species we get, but they’re most commonly found in the western parts of Texas. Swipe to see a little more of their world. I think that’s enough Star Wars references for today Date Taken: November 21st, 2025

This weekend was for the ducks. Literally. Both mornings, I was fortunate enough to spend some time at this peaceful lake, close to home, and photograph some wintering duck species. These two outings started off somewhat similar. Cloudy skies, calm winds, and not much activity until later in the morning. This male Lesser Scaup, and a couple of hens, were some of those late morning arrivers. For me, it was well worth the wait to get these nice colors in the background grasses and sky. Date Taken: December 6th, 2025

Date Taken: December 12th, 2025

The mighty Osprey… I almost never go out specifically looking for these guys, but this late fall and winter have been great for catching some Osprey action. I was out photographing ducks of all things at a nearby lake when, suddenly, I heard a huge SPLASH just a few feet away. I looked over to see an Osprey rising up from the water and taking off with a big fish. As I scanned the sky above me, I noticed two more Ospreys waiting in the wings, still on the hunt. Completely ignoring (and absolutely spooking!) the ducks I had spent so much time getting comfortable with me and my bird ol’ bird blind, I jumped out of it and repositioned myself, waiting for the next dive. And this is what I got… This time, the Osprey had missed its catch. Thankfully, I didn’t miss mine. I hope you enjoyed this short story and image. I love the morning light just beginning to break through, along with those hanging water droplets frozen in time. Lesson here is never doubt your instincts! If you’ve got a spectacular moment happening before your eyes, try your best to capitalize on it. Date Taken: December 21st, 2025

Date Taken: December 21st, 2025