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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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