I first ventured into the Lone Star State in January for a conference, while we were there, I learned that it there are hundreds of species of birds that call that portion of the coast home…and many, many more that migrate through. It’s quite literally a bird-watchers paradise and is known as the “Nest of Texas”. During that trip, I saw more birds than I could hope to identify and even more at the Texas State Aquarium. I still think some of them *coughchickenscough* are terrifying little dinosaurs, but bird-watching is swiftly becoming a hobby of mine. THANKFULLY it’s a hobby that requires very little in the way of money and can be performed virtually anywhere.

So when I was back there this summer, I went equipped with my shiny new DSLR. I purchased it for my roadtrip out west…but figured I should get a feel for it before trying to capture some sweet scene and failing because of something silly like not using the correct setting. So on an evening when we were booted off the water by the wind, I headed over to the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center to see what I could see. It features a beautiful boardwalk that keeps you nice and dry as you venture over the wetlands and has a viewing tower to give you great views out over the area. It was a lovely evening of relaxation after a few days of working long days.

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. One has to sit still like a mystic and wait. One soon learns that fussing, instead of achieving things, merely prevents things from happening. To be passive is in some circumstances the most efficient form of activity. You cannot command events: you can only put yourself in the place where events will happen to you. No impatient man has ever seen Nature.

Robert Wilson Lynd

More random birds of Texas