South Texas Birds and Wildlife Spring Workshop April 2025
April 3rd, PM-6th, AM 2025
$1,995.00
The total workshop price of $1995.00 covers lodging, Food, and unlimited blind access once you arrive on the ranch
See y’all soon!!!
A little bit about your instructor
Angie is an award-winning photographer who discovered her love for the outdoors as a teenager shortly after her family moved to Lake Tahoe. Her passion is landscape photography, which she broadened after photographing birds for many years, and she’s realized she is a bird watcher too.
Intrigued by so many different kinds of birds, in January 2021, her year-end bird count was 202 species of birds.
Angie is a graduate of New York Institute of Photography and is nearly done with her Masters degree at PPA (Professional Photographers of America)
Her first publication was in Diesel Magazine. Since then, she has been featured in Focus on Texas Magazine, and their website numerous times. Angie started offering photography workshops and private lessons in the summer of 2019.
She also has a Facebook group called WT F-STOP and does meetups with local photographers in the South Texas area to share her knowledge with those who are struggling to get started in photography or just need a little help with camera settings.
WT F-STOP was born while she was out with friends, and they would ask “Hey Angie, what is the F-Stop?”.
About this workshop
Springtime in the Rio Grande Valley is one of the premier hotspots for nature photographers in the country. It has been known as a world-class destination for birders and bird photographers for many years. With over 500 bird species documented in the area,. There are also a variety of reptiles and mammals here. You just never know what will show up in the waterhole. We have 2 below ground-level blinds with waterholes, one for the morning and one for the evening. We also have an available raptor blind.
Join Angie Birmingham for 3 mornings and 3 evenings for photography and instruction. During the workshop, we will target all the South Texas resident birds and raptors. Green Jays, Pyrrhuloxia, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Thrashers, and Quail, just to name a few there will be many others since we will be there during the spring migration period. We will also target raptors at the ranch’s raptor blind. Crested Caracara, Harris Hawk, and Turkey and Black Vultures frequent the raptor blinds at the ranch.
Lodging will be at the Jones Alta Vista Ranch, which is a house with bedrooms and shared bathrooms. The house is a modern, fully equipped home.
Cost of Photo Tour: $1995.00 per photographer $ 500 deposit is due at booking balance of $1695 on or before March 14th
( please email me for the NON-photographer option.)
NON photographer NO BLIND access $750 can be counted towards double occupancy
Includes:
- Lodging at the Jones Vista Ranch Guesthouse for 3 days and 3 nights.
all meals cooked by a ranch chef and non-alcoholic beverages during your stay.
mid-day Photographic Instruction and editing tutorial, so bring your laptop.
all applicable taxes.
Does not include:
Transportation to and from the ranch. (unless prearranged)
Alcoholic Beverages (Bring your own; there is a fridge to put all drinks in)
Gratuities are appreciated but not required
Our itinerary will be very similar each day, but workshop information will be different with some other opportunities.
Early rise with a light breakfast and coffee in the dining room; get to the blind before sunrise.
Return after the morning shoot at approximately 10 am for breakfast.
Evening blind, we will get to the blind at around 3 p.m.; we can go earlier if it’s not too hot.
Free time to review images and then meet back for lunch and editing or photo tips. Last night, together, we reviewed images of everyone who wanted to participate. We will then take one of my images and have everyone edit it in their own way or follow me as I edit it. After everyone is done, we will share to see what we all come up with since everyone has their own style!
Night sky
If we have a clear sky, we will do a nighttime photo workshop to learn how to take Milky Way photos with stars and light painting.
We are limiting the number of photographers to 6 so you can get our full attention and have unlimited exclusive access to the blinds during your stay.
History of the Jones Alta Vista Ranch
The Photography ranch
is about 200 acres of non hunted land set aside for photography only.
SETTLED BETWEEN THE RIO GRANDE AND NUECES RIVERS IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE “WILD HORSE DESERT," THE JONES FAMILY RANCHES ONCE STRETCHED OVER 300,000 ACRES. THE ALTA VISTA RANCH IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ORIGINAL RANCHES, SPANNING 34,000 ACRES. FIRST SETTLED IN THE EARLY 1890S BY WILLIAM WHITBY, W.W., JONES, AND LOU ELLA MARSDEN JONES, THE ALTA VISTA RANCH CONTAINS MANY HISTORIC AND SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURES THAT HAVE BEEN ALTERED LITTLE SINCE THE SPANISH/MEXICAN COLONIAL ERA. FROM THE YEARS 1904-1925, THE ALTA VISTA RANCH WAS A TOWNSHIP COMPLETE WITH A POST OFFICE AND GENERAL STORE. THE DISTINCT BLEND OF SPANISH LEGACY, ANGLO-AMERICAN INFLUENCE, AND THE PRESERVATION OF LANGUAGE, CUSTOMS, PRACTICES, AND LABOR MAKE FOR A VERY DISTINCTIVE RANCH SYMBOLIC OF TEXAS’ PAST.
THE SOUTH TEXAS BRUSH PLAINS, WHERE THE ALTA VISTA RANCH LIES, IS SAID TO BE THE “LAST GREAT HABITAT," ACCORDING TO THE CAESAR KLEBERG WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (2002). HOME TO WHITE-TAILED DEER, BOBWHITE QUAIL, WILD TURKEY, MIGRATORY BIRDS, BORE, JAVELINA, AND OTHER ANIMALS, THE REGION IS VITAL FOR THE PRESERVATION AND BIODIVERSITY OF WILDLIFE. As PATRICK COX WRITES, “THE PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT BY THE JONES FAMILY OF THESE LANDS AND RESOURCES FOR AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE PROVIDE A UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL HISTORY.”.
TODAY, DESCENDANTS OF W.W. MANAGE AND RESIDE ON THE JONES FAMILY RANCHES. IN KEEPING WITH W.W.'S MOTTO, THE FAMILY LIVES AND WORKS BY THE RULE THAT "LABOR ALWAYS WINS".
RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS FEATURING ALTA VISTA RANCH: CONTEMPORARY RANCHES OF TEXAS BY LAWRENCE CLAYTON, TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
Cancellation policy
You can register any way you like, just so I get your information, you can use the online registration or email, either to register or just ask a question. Registration is done on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early to secure your space. A deposit of $500 is required to reserve your space, and full payment is due on March 14th, 2024. Enrollment is limited in our workshops, so once you have been accepted, your participation is important to us. We are counting on you to attend. If you must withdraw from a course, we must receive written notice of your cancellation, and then apply the following refund policy: We do not make refunds on workshop fees. We do not make partial refunds for unused portions or services of a workshop for any reason whatsoever. If we are able to fill your space in the workshop, we will give full credit to another workshop. If we are not able to fill your space, we will issue 50% credit towards a future workshop.
We can accept no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delays or changes in the services to be provided. We reserve the right to change our arrangements should conditions necessitate, or to cancel any aspect of the workshop due to exceptional circumstances.
In the unlikely event that we need to cancel a workshop, we will refund all monies paid, in full. Notification of our cancellation will be made via either a telephone call or an e-mail to you at least 14 days prior to the beginning of a workshop, unless there is an emergency. We cannot be responsible for phone messages and e-mails not being received in a timely manner due to your service providers. We cannot be responsible for non-refundable airline tickets that are unused or for other travel arrangements because of a workshop cancellation. All workshops have a minimum participation level that must be met, or the workshop may be canceled.
We are not responsible for any fees associated with non-refundable air travel, and we highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance. We use https://www.insuremytrip.com/
Liability Waiver
All participants will be required to sign a liability waiver before beginning a workshop. As there is always an element of risk in any adventure associated with the outdoors, participants must read the liability release form carefully. Participant’s signed/dated release will certify that said participant is physically fit and capable of participating in outdoor photography exercises in field locations and is fully and completely aware of any associated risks created by field locations and weather.
Weather
The more the better, at least as far as the photography goes. Workshops will not be canceled and no refunds will be made due to weather, we will not be responsible for any additional costs that may be incurred by weather delays or cancellations due to weather, flight delays, or other. Participants should come to the workshop prepared for all weather conditions.
Smoking
We prefer that you do not smoke, however, if you must please abide by the following guidelines. Smoking is not allowed in or near vehicles, during instructional sessions, during group meals, or at other times when in close quarters with other workshop participants.