Stephen Ingraham (who?)

the unofficial site for birders and digiscopers using Zeiss equipment.

The Hummerbird Celebration is the second longest running birding festival in the US, topped only by the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico. It celebrates the amazing concentration of hummingbirds along the Texas Gulf coast during fall migration. On a good day they might band 200 or more at a single banding station in town, and the density around feeders is hard to imagine. They also have a well developed vendor area which draws 1000s of people in to shop each day, mostly locals who have made the Hummerbird Celebration and its tables of crafts and art a habit over the years. I suspect a lot of Christmas presents are purchased here every year.

If that isn't enough of a draw, the area abounds in good birding spots and they have one of best birding web sites I have ever seen: www.birdrockport.com. The site provides all the information any birder might need. I spent a day at Aransas NWR, about 30 miles north (by road) of the center of Rockport. We had high winds everyday, and my day afield was no different. Still I managed some digiscoping around town and at the refuge. Insects were less bothered by the wind at Aransas and I spent some time digiscoping butterflies and bees. No opportunity wasted!

As usual, the bird images below have larger views. Click on the image.

Matt Van Bergen, the local ZEISS rep, at his first birding event.

The view north of the hotel.

Little Bay, note the heron sheltering from the wind.

and Digiscoped with the Camera Eyepiece DC4

Great Egret: along the waterfront outside Little Bay

Sanderling: on the Gulf side of the breakwater

Visitor's Center at Aransas

the feeders were in for cleaning, but the hummingbirds (Im Rufous above) were there in force.

Adult Rufous guarding the feeder pole.

From the tower.

Pond

a digiscoped senic

Dragon Fly

Black Swallowtail

Blackbellied Whistling Ducks: a family

White Peacocks: two interlocked, they flew this way too.