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• THE SANTA CLARA RANCH, STARR COUNTY, TX
• THE BIRDS AS ART BLOG
• POSSE NEWS/ROBERT AMORUSO
• IPT DATE UPDATES

THE SANTA CLARA RANCH, STARR COUNTY, TX

While scouting around in McAllen, TX on my recent Rio Grande Valley trip, I ran into accomplished nature and wildlife photographer David Welling. Dave suggested that I give Beto Gutierrez a call and arrange a visit to Beto’s Santa Clara Ranch. So I did.

I visited the ranch on a single morning and a single afternoon. Our afternoon visit was spectacular as many birds and several snakes came to the water. Beto has built more than a few water level blinds and is quite serious about attracting serious nature photographers to his ranch. Famed Hungarian nature photographer Bence Máté visited recently and was quite impressed. He will be back. And Gordon and Cathy Ilg were bringing a group the day after my last visit.

More than any rancher that I have met and worked with, Beto is deadly serious about providing a great photographic experience for all who visit. My #1 suggestion to Beto was that the soil around the ponds–he brings in beautiful red dirt from other ranches–first be sifted clean of all debris and then smoothed daily. I explained that the surface of the soil should be perfectly manicured and graded so that the feet of the birds and other visiting animals are not hidden behind various nooks, crannies, and ridges. When Beto joined us–private clients Andy Hayes and Owen Deustch were with me–on our afternoon, we spent hours talking about light angle, perches, backgrounds, and the care of soil :).

Beto is currently constructing a large air conditioned residence for visiting photographers and groups. It is just minutes from the blinds. It will provide lodging and kitchen facilities and you will even be able to hire a cook for your stay. The ranch is about an hour from McAllen and only 35 minutes from Rio Grande City. According to Beto summer is the very best time to visit the Santa Clara (if you can stand the heat). A large variety of birds and mammals flock to the small ponds from dawn till dusk.

You can visit the web site to see some images by Beto and my friend Larry Ditto: http://santaclararanch.com/.

The text below has been adapted from Beto’s website:

The Santa Clara Ranch, located in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, lies nine miles west of McCook in Starr County. Owned and operated by Dr. Beto Gutierrez, this 300 acre wildlife sanctuary is comprised entirely of virgin brush land. The Santa Clara Ranch is part of a growing group of land holdings owned by forward thinking landowners in the lower Rio Grande Valley who–over the past three decades–have realized the importance of creating and preserving natural habitat for wildlife . Their tireless efforts have resulted in the return of many native species to their lands; some of these birds and animals are found nowhere else on earth. This has developed an increased interest in the area and its wildlife as well as the opportunity to view an amazing number and variety of small songbirds during their annual spring migration. Many professional photographers now come to the Rio Grande Valley to harvest incredible images of wildlife. This was something that was unheard of in years gone by. Through the labors of these concerned individuals the Rio Grande valley is now one of the premier areas in North America to view and photograph wildlife.

Though small by Texan standards, the Santa Clara is a real gem because of the diversity of its wildlife. Its virgin brush land that has never seen a plow blade; natural history observers have the chance to see southern Texas the way it was before human intrusion. This small island of pristine Texas landscape is a sanctuary that offers an abundance of seeds, nuts, and berries that attract a profusion of native wildlife as well as migratory birds. The native plant life found on the Santa Clara makes it one of the most biodiverse landholdings in the region.

Through the tireless efforts of Dr. Gutierrez the Santa Clara is fast becoming one of the foremost destinations for bird watchers and nature photographers who are in search of native wildlife in a unique natural habitat. While many of the surrounding landholdings use hunting as a management tool, Beto has chosen not to allow hunting on the Santa Clara. Visiting photographers are able to capture images of wildlife interacting in nature in ways seldom seen on ranches where hunting pressure alters animal behavior. This is an important consideration for the serious photographer because many species of wildlife will often revert to nocturnal habits when confronted with the threat of human predation.

By consulting wildlife biologists and professional photographers Dr. Gutierrez has strategically constructed pit blinds, shallow ponds, and waterholes on the Santa Clara in a way that guarantees that ranch guests will see numerous species of birds and mammals in great light with uncluttered backgrounds. In one day at the Santa Clara, it is not uncommon to see twenty or more species of birds as well as mammals such as white-tailed deer, collared peccary , bobcat, and coyote.

You can contact Dr. Beto Gutierrez by telephone at 1-956-787-6808 or by e-mail: drbeto66@yahoo.com.

I hope to get back to the Santa Clara in the near future.

THE BIRDS AS ART BLOG

Amazingly, to me at least, the newly re-designed BAA Blog is garnering more page views than www.BIRDSASART.com. (Thanks again to Peter Kes for his great work on the blog; he is currently re-doing the web site.

if you would like to see some great Osprey images or if you live in or are currently visiting central Florida and would like to spend a day or two with Jim Neiger on his pontoon boat in Osprey Heaven, you need to check out yesterday’s blog post immediately: http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2010/05/19/osprey-heaven-now/.

Thanks to all who played “Pick Six.” I will reveal my favorite and the answer in a new post tonight 🙂 While you are there, be sure to check out the new text on the About page http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/about/ 🙂 (Can’t help it; I am a happy man).

POSSE NEWS/ROBERT AMORUSO

The Original Gatorland Photographic Instructional Workshops/New Dates Added for June 2010.

Field Workshops: June 5-6, 2010 & June 12-13, 2010 (if June 5-6 fills up). Extensive in-the-field instruction at East Central Florida’s best rookery location, Gatorland in Kissimmee, FL. Includes two hour classroom presentation Successful Strategies for Rookery Photography and image critique sessions each day of images you created during the workshop. Field instruction includes isolating your subject, understanding light, proper exposure (exposing to the right), using depth of field to your advantage, fill-flash and lots more. CD with lesson plans included – no note taking required. Learn more here: http://www.wildscapeimages.biz/blog/?page_id=132.

Field and Classroom: May 14-16, 2010 (places available on Friday and Sunday for one day participants). Three full days covering everything that the field workshop does plus extensive classroom instruction in image editing and optimization and presentations on photographic technique concentrating on rookery photography. Learn more here: http://www.wildscapeimages.biz/blog/?page_id=15.

Lake Clark National Park, AK Coastal Brown Bear Photographic Instructional Workshop, REDUCED PRICING, $400 Discount on this Workshop.

Join Robert Amoruso July 21 to 27, 2010 on a journey photographing Coastal Brown Bears in Lake Clark National Park on Cook Inlet in Alaska. We will photograph male and female bears; some with cubs sedging on the open plains, clamming and fishing. On each trip we have seen females nursing their young. The workshop also includes a days trip to a Puffin and Murres rookery island. Expert bear-savvy guides will transport us to our photography locations. Our headquarters will be the famous Silver Salmon Creek Lodge after a day of photography warm yourself in the cozy lodge, enjoy fabulous meals and great company before retiring to a warm bed. In 2007 I created two images that went on to become NANPA Showcase top-ten and top-100 winners. Learn more here: http://www.wildscapeimages.biz/blog/?page_id=143.

IPT DATE UPDATES

BOSQUE del APACHE 2010 IPT: The Complete Bosque Experience.NOV 20-26, 2010

Slide program on the evening of Friday, NOV 19. 7-FULL DAYS: $3199. (Non-refundable deposit: $500; see details below.) Limit: 10/Openings: 5. Co-leaders: Robert OToole, Jim Heupel, and multiple BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year honoree Chris Van Rooyen of South Africa (www.wildlifephotography.co.za/). Live, eat, and breathe photography with one of (if not the) world’s premier photographic educators at one of his very favorite locations on the planet. Plus great co-leaders and top-notch Photoshop instruction. Please see terms and deposit info below.

SAN DIEGO IPT JAN 19-23, 2011.

Slide program on the evening of JAN 18. 5 Full Days: $2399 (Limit 8/Opening 7)
Brown Pelicans in spectacular breeding plumage with their bright red bill pouches, Wood and Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Western, California, and Heerman’s Gulls, Marbled Godwit, and lots, lots more. Please see terms and deposit info below.

SW FLA PRESIDENT’S WEEK IPT: FEB 18-23, 2011.

Slide program on the evening of FEB 17. 6 Full Days: 2899. (Limit 10/Openings 8)
Escape winter’s icy grip to enjoy a wide array of Florida’s tame birds: herons, egrets, Wood Stork, shorebirds, gulls, terns, skimmers, raptors, and more. Please see terms and deposit info immediately below:

Terms and deposit info

A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold a spot fn the above IPTs. Deposits may be paid by check, PayPal, or credit card. Payment in full (by check or money order only) is due four months before the start of each trip and is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out. You will be required to sign a statement of understanding to this effect. Travel insurance is of course highly recommended. Travel Insurance Services offers a variety of plans and options. Included with the Elite Option or available as an upgrade to the Basic & Plus Options is Cancel for Any Reason Coverage that expands the list of reasons for your canceling to an infinite list from a sudden work or family obligation to a simple change of mind. My family and I use and depend on the great policies offered by TIS whenever we travel. You can learn more here: http://www.travelinsure.com/what/selecthigh.asp?32940. Do note that many plans require that you purchase your travel insurance within 14 days of our cashing your deposit check or running your credit card. Travel insurance protects you against unexpected developments, injuries, or illnesses. We regret that we must implement this new policy but we have been plagued by last minute cancellations that make it impossible for others to participate and deprive us of essential income.

Important note: please print, fill out, and sign the registration and release forms and include them with your deposit check (made out to “Arthur Morris.” ) If you use a credit card to register, please fill out, sign, and mail the forms asap. Your registration will not be complete until we receive your paper work. You can find the forms here: Registration and Release Form.

2010 & 2011 Galapagos Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPTs/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience

July 2010 & July 2011: two weeks on the boat (Limits: 12/Sold out).

If you are a happy camper and would like to have your name(s) placed on a waiting list or either the 2010 or 2011 trip or on the the seriously interested list for the 2012 trip, please e-mail us at birdsasart@att.net.

ROBERT O’TOOLE PHOTOGRAPHY HOMER BALD EAGLE INSTRUCTIONAL PHOTO-TOUR WITH ARTHUR MORRIS/BIRDS AS ART.

March 18-22, 2011 & March 24-28. 5-FULL DAYS: $3249. Limit: 12 (including the leaders/sold out).
Both of these trips sold out with long waiting lists within hours after being announced to the BAA Friends List. The Friends List consists of IPT veterans who fit in the happy camper category. If you have been on an IPT and would like your name added to the BAA Friends List, please e-mail me at birdsasart@att.net and include a short note.