El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch

06/16/2026

More images from Jim Miller's visit to El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch https://elpotreroranch.wpcomstaging.com on 6/1 & 2/2026. Today's theme is "Black Birds" (not Blackbirds). The first two images are of a Groove-billed Ani, a Cuckoo and one of my favorite local birds. Although relatively common in our area, they can be a challenge to photograph. Mostly denizens of thick brush, they can be relatively shy and difficult to feed in. Besides the crazy beak, another cool feature is the Cuckoo's odd foot, with two toes forward and two back. This can be seen pretty well in one of the photos. That beak looks prehistoric to me, reinforcing the conclusion that birds are the last living dinosaurs. Next is the Bronzed Cowbird with its amazing ruby red eye. Bronzed Cowbirds are nest parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species and leaving the host birds to raise their young which will hatch first and shove the remaining eggs out of the nest. Orioles and Cardinals seem to be particularly vulnerable. These birds have a very interesting courting display where the males puff up, stand on their toes, vibrate their wings, and eventually launch straight up a foot or two and hover in front of a prospective mate. The gals frequently just keep eating. Last photo is a couple of Black Vultures, a critical part of natures cleanup crew. This may or may not be a pair. Vultures often form long lasting pair bonds, potentially lasting until one member dies. The Black Vultures are fascinating to watch and can be quite comical. Another of my local favorites.

We still have plenty of dates open for the summer. Some of our most popular birds are only here in the summer and become easier to photograph in the hotter months. Shoot us an email at [email protected] or give me a call or text at 361-522-6427. If you messenger me and I don't reply it's because I didn't get it. for some reason Messenger doesn't always work on my Mac.
Hugh

South Texas's Best Nature Photography Ranch

06/11/2026

Jim Miller, a repeat client, and I spent June 1st and 2nd in the field at El Potrero Nature Ranch. Due to the recent rains, everything has greened up with some grass over my head and stock tanks (ponds) full to overflowing. We had lots of photographic opportunities. The Raptor Buffet always produces great chances to observe and photograph natural behavior in several species of opportunistic feeders both avian and mammalian. The interactions within and between the several bird species that frequent the buffet can provide great photographic opportunities and be quite entertaining. To day I am concentrating on three of the avian species that come to the buffet. None of the animals in these photos were seriously injured. Fighting to the death is counter to evolutionary goals. This behavior is completely natural this time of year.

Fighting Caracaras captured with a Canon EF 600mm F:4 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D MkII. The other four using a Canon EF 300mm F:2.8 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D MkII.

If you want to capture some great images of some wonderful subjects, give me a call or shoot me a text. Plenty of dates still available. The summer does get hot, but that makes the little waterholes much more attractive to all our local species.

05/20/2026

Yesterday 5/18/2026 My friend Scott Conard and a friend of his spent the whole day at the Ranch. We arrived at the wetland blind 45 minutes before sunrise and settled in to see what would show up as the world woke up. It was pretty windy but that really had no effect on us. The primary visitors to the wetland are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, of which we frequently have twenty or more this time of year. This being breeding/nesting season, the ducks tend to be pretty fractious, providing lots of entertainment jealously seems to be the order of the day. We stayed at the wetland for around two and half hours and then moved to the Raptor/Scavenger Buffet for the rest of the morning. The seasonal flow of hormones has about the same effect on the Caracaras and Vultures as it does on the ducks, so plenty of kerfuffles at that site also. We broke for lunch at the headquarters a little after one and didn't get back into the field until around 3:00. Our choice for the afternoon was the afternoon small waterhole/drip, which turned out to be a great choice. Quite a bit of action an a hot afternoon. Lots of thirsty birds and a few other critters. I am posting one image of every species I photographed (except where I am posting both male and female). These images are in the order in which I captured them. All captured using a Canon EF 600mm F:4 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D MkII body.

As you can see, this is a great time to visit the ranch. We still have plenty of spaces available. You can make reservations by contacting me at 361-522-6427 or [email protected]. I don't answer my phone if I am driving, but if you will a leave a message I'll get back to you pretty soon.

Hugh Lieck

05/14/2026

Scott Conard and I spent several hours in the afternoon wetland blind at the Ranch. Our initial approach approach scared off a dozen or so Fulvous Whistling Ducks which, we were really hoping would return. They didn't. We were, however visited by a really nice Snowy Egret that hung around hunting for quite a long time, a pair of Mottled Ducks, a female Blue-winged Teal, well over a dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, and one Green Heron. Not a bad afternoon. The Snowy Egret is a beautiful but very difficult subject, especially under sunny conditions. I find that snow white plumage so hard to expose correctly. Even when the exposure is pretty close, I find it a challenge to improve on it in post. Mottled ducks, on the other hand, will nearly always give you an almost perfect exposure with a nice even tone curve. Below I have a shot of the extremely rare and exotic two headed mottled duck. A real prize!!🙃

These images captured using my Canon EF 600mm F:4 IS L series lens, with and without the 1.4X tele extender mounted on my Canon 7D MkII.

Now is a great time to book some time in the blinds. Plenty of available dates. Lots of action and better diversity than we had just a few weeks ago. We have gotten enough rain to green everything up. We would love to host you and a few friends.

You can book by calling or texting me at 361-522-6427.

05/10/2026

At El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch we use bird feeders that are on timers to attract subjects at the times of day that have the best light (early morning and late afternoon). These timers need to be adjusted several times to accommodate changing seasons. Today I was carrying out that chore. While I was sitting quietly at the wetland feeder adjusting the clock, a beautiful Roseate Spoonbill suddenly landed on one of the snags, close enough for decent photos. Unfortunately, the camera was just out of reach. I carefully got down on my hands and knees in order to not look like a human and was able to get to the camera without spooking the bird. The spoonbill and I spent around 30 minutes in a standoff. I really wanted it to hop down and begin feeding. It wasn't sure that it could trust me (it absolutely could have). It finally looked like it was jumping down but instead faked me out and flew off. This is at least the fourth time I've seen it at the wetland in the last week or so, but I just haven't had time to sit in the blind to try to get it. When I first arrived at the wetland today I spooked a flock of eight Fulvous Whistling ducks and a very nice Little Blue Heron. Two more species that have been hanging around, but haven't given me a good opportunity to get photos. I'm hoping to have a bit more time next week to just sit in the blinds. The four main ingredients in capturing images that one can be proud of are preparation, time in the field, time in the field, and time in the field.

As you can see, this Is a great time to book a day (or more) in the blinds. Plenty of dates available. Contact me @ 361-522-6427 or [email protected].

Hugh Lieck

05/05/2026

Yesterday (5/4/2026) I spent another great day guiding clients at El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch https://elpotreroranch.wpcomstaging.com. If the clients don't object, I often shoot with them although my primary responsibility is to get the sites ready and help spot subjects and be ready to alert clients of behaviors to watch for. Because of those parts of the job, I don't always get photos of everything that my clients photograph. Such was the case Monday. The clients captured images of several species I missed, but I still managed to sneak in some fun images. The species I am posting don't represent all that were photographed. I know some the folks got Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, all got at least two species of Hummingbirds, and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, none of which I had the chance to capture. Here is a list of what I can remember presenting for photos: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Green Jay, Crested Caracara, Black and Turkey Vultures, Buff-bellied, Ruby-throated, and possibly Black-chinned Hummingbirds, male and female Summer Tanager, male and female Painted Bunting, Black-crested Titmouse, Great Kiskadee Flycatcher, Mourning Dove, Bronzed Cowbird, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and maybe the Bullock's Oriole. There may have been others I just don't remember. I'm sure that my clients will let me know.

Lots of activity at the ranch and we have plenty of open dates between now and the middle of July. give me call or shoot me a text!! 361-522-6427

05/04/2026

I spent all day yesterday (05/02/2026) in the field with four clients at El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch. We spent a couple of hours in the blind at the Raptor/Buffet where we all captured some great images of interactions between the various species which typically visit the site. Lots of actions including a couple of adult Crested Caracaras having a bit of a Kerfuffle with another adult who must have made some kind of crack about the male's choice of female. The Black Vultures were also feeling pretty bellicose and I caught these images of two of them engaging in their version of Sumo wrestling. I also captured images of a behavior I have only witnessed two or three times, a Black Vulture appearing to preen a Crested Caracara. I thought I was probably the first to witness this odd behavior and had publishable image in scientific journals the first time I saw it, but it is apparently a "known" behavior. We also were visited by at least three Coyotes. This is the pretties male that came.

These images were all created using a Canon EF 300mm F:2.5 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D MkII.

We have plenty of dates available between now and the end of July. It's a great time to be in a blind. If you want to book a day in the blinds, you can contact me at 361-522-6427 or [email protected]. Come get close and avoid the crowds at the public areas.

04/26/2026

Yesterday (4/24/26) Scott Conard and I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon small waterhole blind at El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch. It was a very nice late afternoon with broken clouds, providing great soft light. We had several cool visitors come in. Two South Texas specialties, the Green Jay and the White-tipped Dove are a couple of the stars at the ranch. All these images were captured through a Canon EF 600mm F:4 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D MkII.

We still have plenty of dates this spring and early summer and this is a great time to book some time in the blinds.
361-522-6427

04/21/2026

We have finally had enough rain for the ranch to begin greening up. I had three clients Friday and Saturday. We spent time at the wetland, at the Raptor/Scavenger Buffet, and at the (2) little waterholes. Everyone captured some great images. Here are a few that I shot on Friday. Two of these species are not exactly what they appear. The Black-bellied Whistling is more closely related to Swans and Geese than to other ducks. The genus of the whistling ducks is Dendrocygna (Dendro, from the Greek for tree or wood, and Cygna, Greek for swan) so Tree Swan. The Caracara, most often observed feeding on carrion, is actually a falcon and perfectly capable of hunting, but very opportunistic.

These images were all captured with a Canon EF 300mm F:2.8 IS L series lens mounted on a Canon 7D Mk II.