LAGUNA SECA RANCH
BIRDS OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY

Date: April 22 – 26, 2022

Location: Edinburg, TX

Leader(s): Adam Jones & Ruth Hoyt

Pricing: $2495

Deposit: $800

Participants: Maximum 10

This exclusive workshop takes place in two great locations. We begin the workshop on South Padre Island for two days concentrating on migrating warblers, wading birds and much more. Last season we saw over 90 species of birds on the island. Next, we drive to the Laguna Seca ranch just north of Edinburg, TX for two incredible days filming from permanent blinds. From the blinds we are very close to a wide variety of species coming to perches that we design and set up for optimum image quality and beauty.

This workshop is designed to instruct you in ways to reliably create stunning images of the many bird species unique to the Rio Grande Valley. We share our knowledge on how to set up and arrange perches for natural looking beautiful images.

With a limit of 5 photographers per instructor you are assured plenty of personal attention from Adam and Ruth.

The ranch is located just north of Edinburg, Texas. The ranch owner feeds the birds daily, year round at the blind locations situated around small ponds. This creates a lot of bird activity around the blinds, which we customize by setting up our own perches in perfect locations for photographers.

This ranch truly is the best location in South Texas to see and photograph birds of the Rio Grande Valley including:

Green Jay                         Swallow-tailed Flycatcher
Long-billed Thrasher    Harris’s Hawk
Audubon’s Oriole           Cardinal
Caracara                           Summer Tanager
Bobwhite                          Olive Sparrow
Mockingbird                    Painted Bunting
Blue Bunting                   Pyrrhuloxia
Indigo Bunting
And more…

What You Will Learn

Instructional Topics

  • How to find an arrange a perfect perch
  • Arranging the perch relative to the blind, sun, and background
  • Creating a realistic and attractive place for the birds to land and photograph
  • How to get birds to land where you want them
  • How to capture stunning images of birds in flight
  • Tips and techniques throughout the workshop: proper settings: ISO-Shutter Speed- Aperture- Teleconverters-Extension Tubes – Zooms & Prime lenses- Focus stratagies Noise reduction solutions: Everything that goes into creating beautifully crafted, natural looking bird images. Be sure to check out our image gallery!

THE DETAILS

ITINERARY

April 22: Meet at our hotel on South Padre Island at 6PM for briefing and details of the following days.  Go over camera settings and more for the first morning shoot.

April 23-24: Two full days of intense filming and instruction as we explore the    grounds of the birding center, beaches, and boardwalk through the coastal mangroves.  Last season we had great opportunity to photograph Scarlet tanager, Skimmers, Whistling Ducks, Roseate spoonbills, terns, Least bittern, Black-necked stilts, Orchard oriole, Reddish egret, Yellow warbler, nighthawk, and more.  South Padre offers great opportunities for a variety of birds in flight.

Afternoon drive to Laguna Seca Ranch, check into local hotel.

April 25-26: Two full days of filming at world famous Laguna Seca Ranch with morning and afternoon sessions both days.  Ruth and I will be in the blinds with you, guiding you, and making suggestions during each session.

April 27: Depart for home.

TRAVEL & ACCOMMODATIONS

Accomodations

For accommodation details please contact me for more information.

Included:
Personalized instruction and equal time with Adam Jones and Ruth Hoyt.
Daily access fees to Laguna Seca Ranch
Unlimited drinking water
Use of blinds, bait, and feed

Not Included:
Airfare
Lodging & meals
Car Rental

This is an extremely easy workshop in terms of physical activity required on the ranch.  We can drive right up to the blinds, so very little walking required at Laguna Seca.  On South Padre, we encounter easy walking on flat ground, just know we will be on our feet for a few hours at a time.

COVID-19 POLICIES AND CONSIDERATIONS:

Given our current national health conditions you may secure a spot on our Texas workshop with a $800.00 deposit. The balance of $1695.00 is due 45 days prior to workshop date. This way you can determine if it is safe for you to consider air travel at that time vs guessing today? If national travel conditions become too restrictive due to the Covid Virus and we cancel or postpone the TX workshop to 2023, we will roll over your deposit to the following year or refund your monies up to within 30 days of the workshop date. If you made a deposit via PayPal your refund will be reduced by 3% the amount Paypal deducts if you use their service. If your deposit was made by personal check, your deposit will be refunded in full, per the above terms.

RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

For more information, or to register by mail, please email me: adam@adamjonesphoto.com