Initial Blind Report: Kreutzberg Canyon Natural Area

I have neglected this blog.  I do apologize.  My Assorted Ramblings blog and work has been taking up the lion's share of my time and I have not spread the news about this new set of blinds.

There are three new blinds to report to you.  Well, new to me.  But also reasonably new to everyone, having been up I believe just a little more than a year.

Kreutzberg Canyon Natural Area is a smallish county park in Kendall County, about 20 minutes or so outside of Boerne, Texas.  It sits on the Guadalupe River, though admittedly I've not been down to the river yet in the two visits that I've made.

The entry price is right--Free.  Though at the same time I strongly urge you that if you use the blinds that you drop a couple of dollars in the donation container to help pay for feed and future upkeep.  If we're using it, we should be paying for it.  I have used the concept that I'd pay $5 to get into Pedernales Falls SP so I try to drop that in the bucket.

There are three blinds on the property.  I will do more detailed write-ups on them later because there is a significant difference in what you will see from blind to blind.  But for now I will paint with a roller and later I'll get out the small brush to work the trim.  Much of this preview is going to be comparing this blind to others on public lands.

The three blinds are labeled the Cuckoo, Chaparral, and Cardinal.  The Cardinal blind is closest to the River.  The Cuckoo is closest to the office, though you can see the Chaparral from the Cuckoo so there's not a lot of a distance between the two. All are more or less the size of medium to large sized storage sheds.  The biggest is probably as big as the Acorn blind at South Llano River SP.  The smallest on par with the blind at San Angelo SP. 

All three blinds have comfortable seating, but they are fixed in place.  Seats similar to the Acorn blind at South Llano River SP minus the padding/spring.  I found this very conducive to shooting.

The enclosure area for the blinds are much more intimate than any I've seen.  The back wall of the deepest enclosure area is closer than the back wall at SLRSP's Acorn blind.  The downside on a couple of them is that the metal fencing material that they used 

There are wooden doors that open to give photographers non-glass openings--very much like the one at Lost Maples SNA but bigger.  The downside is that there is no place to sit (bring your own folding stool or be ready to sit on your knees) and it is awkward for a tripod.

Like PFSP, you can certainly shoot through the glass and I was pretty successful in doing so.  Refraction effects become noticeable if you're more than about 30º off of shooting straight through so pick your perch carefully and hope for good luck.

There are tiny water features at 2 of the 3 blinds.  There was no water feature visible at the Cuckoo blind, though there was rainwater collection going on so I don't know if there is a water feature but it is broken or if one does not exist in that blind.

The other two blinds utilize rainwater collection from the roofs.  I am assuming this water is reused for the water features.  This is outstanding planning and very eco-friendly.

The park is located at 143 Mark Twain Drive.  My 4 year old GPS maps located this property on the first try, so it isn't tough to get to.  It is about 25 minutes from Interstate 10 or about 20 minutes from the heart of Boerne.

Again, as I catch up I will give a little more detail to the three blinds as each has their own character and their most likely suspects when it comes to bird species.

Images
Bewick's Wren, Kreutzberg Canyon Natural Area, © 2012 jmillerphoto.com
Northern Cardinal (Male), Kreutzberg Canyon Natural Area, © 2012 jmillerphoto.com

Called on Account of Rain

My shooting schedule of late has been severely curtailed by the weather.  And that is a good thing.  Sort of.

We desperately need rain in Texas and Mother Nature has provided a good number of days of rain over the last couple of weeks.  The last time I shot out of a blind was back at Pedernales Falls SP on November 20th.  The last shooting I've done anywhere was at Cook's Slough Nature Park in Uvalde a week later.  And even that was an afternoon shoot that wedged between a pair of storms.

In the big picture I am not complaining at all.  We need every drop we can get.  Good rains now will help everything to grow in the spring which will also benefit everybody and everything.

I am working on two blind-related things.  One is the blind out on the gulf coast that I still haven't been able to make positive contact on.  The other is a follow-up on a set of images I saw out of a relatively new property and I'm trying to get in touch with the photographer who did them.

Also, if all works out this weekend I may even have an update on the blind at San Angelo State Park.

Two New Photo Blind Workshops

Sharron at Block Creek Natural Area has given me a heads-up that Kathy Adams Clark will be offering a photography workshop February 3rd through February 5th. 

Kathy is a great photographer and I have heard nothing but glowing reviews from the presentations she does. It seems like she did a workshop there in the last year or so and I'm glad that she is once again keeping workshops in blinds on her schedule.

My understanding is that details are still to be worked out, but you can visit Kathy's website for more details as well as contact info to get more specific details

While finding more info about the February workshop, Kathy is also doing a workshop in blinds in the Rio Grande Valley June 3rd through June 5th.  Again, visit her website for more details/contact information.

Image:
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), Pedernales Falls SP, © Jim Miller, jmillerphoto.com

New Private Blind Property - Rocking R6 Ranch

I hope that you had an outstanding Thanksgiving holiday.  I stayed relatively close to home so I didn't shoot any images from a blind this weekend.  I'm hoping for next weekend, though all of my favorite blind areas here in Texas are showing a good chance of rain at this point for the coming weekend.

Good news to share today.  I have added a new property to the bird blind map that offers blind rentals.  It is the Rocking R6 and it is about a half hour or so north of Laredo.  This once again shifts the overall coverage area further to the southwest.

The proprietor, Butch Ramirez, is also an outstanding photographer in his own right as the images on his site reflect.  In my opinion this is an ideal situation: A photographer who knows his craft, knows the land, and knows the light setting up blinds for other photographers.  It doesn't get any better than that.

The ranch will also be home to an ICF Pro-Am competition the long weekend of April 27th to April 30th.  ICF only picks the best for their competitions, so undoubtedly this is an outstanding place to shoot.  This property has also been the site of other photographers doing workshops.  All signs that this is a great place to shoot.

The prices are in line if not a little bit lower than most of the ranches in Texas:

• $75 for a half day
• $125 for a full day
• $200 for a weekend safari

I like the fact that he offers half day rentals.  Shooting for an entire day is not a trivial matter.  As I mentioned way back at the beginning of this blog in 2008, if you are doing what a craftsman does with a camera, a day full of shooting is very mentally taxing.  Up there with spending a day of doing nothing but writing programming code for those who have engaged in the art.  A half day is a good set of training wheels before daddy lets go of the bike.

Butch is doing another weekend safari the weekend of December 10th & 11th.  He also offers other amenities that go a little beyond the scope of this blog, but I know that sending an e-mail off to him will garner a quick response and he can fill you in on the details.

I hope to get out to the Rocking R6 Ranch once spring breaks.  It looks like a great addition to the blind landscape.

Spring 2012 Workshops in the Blinds...

In the process of doing my updates for the maps I learned of some shooting opportunities that will be of interest to this community.  Up at Block Creek Natural Area, David Cardinal will be holding a workshop April 18-23.  He had a very successful workshop there this past spring and I'm happy to see that he is coming back.  Pricing and additional info about this Hill Country workshop can be found at his website.

As he did last year, he will then move his show down the road to south Texas with a workshop April 24-30 at Dos Venadas, Santa Clara, and Campos Viejos ranches.  This one sold out early and apparently a good time was had by all because this too is down to just two openings left.  Pricing and additional information can be found again at his website.  And yes, for the sharp-eyed among you (which should be all of you... we are photographers, right?), I do not have a link to Campos Viejos.  That will be a project for this week to search out.

On May 11-13, Larry Ditto returns to Block Creek Natural Area to do another workshop.  Larry is one of the best in the business and it is great to see him back at Block Creek.  His cost is extremely reasonable and it looks he will be bringing in some raptors during the visit.  More details can be found on his website (note, I'm taking you in through his General Tour Info page.  You can then move to this opportunity which is on the following page).

There are also a pair of Images for Conservation Fund (ICF) Pro-Am tour dates in May 2012 with Los Madrones Ranch and Block Creek Natural Area hosting events on May 3-7 and Tacubaya Ranch and Dos Venadas hosting events May 17-21.  More information about the Pro-Am can be found at ICF's site.

Undoubtedly there are other opportunities out there and I will keep an eye out.  Some of the usual suspects have not posted any spring dates for shooting in the Hill Country or in the Rio Grande Valley.  I will keep an ear out.

One last note, I've made a couple of additions on the Blind Map.  Red Creek Nature Ranch got back with me on Friday afternoon and I've posted that update.  I'm still waiting word from Cozad Ranch and Fennessey Ranch and I will re-ping them on Monday if I haven't heard from them.  They are two of the originals and I'd love to get some updated information from them.

By the time this publishes Sunday morning I will be on the road to make some images.  Honestly I don't know where that will be until I wake up in the morning.  It will depend solely on how my recently surgically repaired foot is feeling in the morning and how far I will want to walk from the car to park my carcass somewhere in a blind.  But regardless, I am getting my face behind a camera.  I hope you'll have that opportunity, too.

Image:
White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica), San Angelo SP, San Angelo, Texas, © jmillerphoto.com

Bird Blind Map Updated

I had forgotten what kind of a task it was to do a full update on the bird blind map (http://g.co/maps/sp5wf), but is about 95% done.  Many thanks to Doug Campbell for filling in some of the blanks.

I have made some minor changes to the way the properties are now displayed.  Those properties with the Google place mark with the spot in the middle of them are properties I am still awaiting word on.  As of right now that encompasses just four properties:  Cozad Ranch, Fennessey Ranch, LaCopita Ranch, and Red Creek Nature Ranch.

Those properties withe Google place mark minus the spot are properties that I have reviewed and/or received additional and confirming information on.  That encompasses most of the properties.

The color of the markers have meaning.
- Purple means a blind on public lands
- Light blue means a property that the fee for the day is under $125 per photographer
- Green means a property that the fee is $125-$175 for the day per photographer
- Magenta means a property that the fee is over $175 for the day per photographer
- Blue means that it is a non-traditional blind--more about that later
- Red triangle with the ! mark means that this property is no longer available

Fee per photographer includes the fee for a guide if the property requires you to hire one of their guides.

Two new properties were added to the list:  Laguna Seca ranch and Santa Clara Ranch.  One, Weaver Cattle Ranch, was moved to the no longer available list, joining the Petersen Ranch.  For what it is worth, both of Petersen and Weaver still have active websites.  That forced me to go back and check all of the remaining sites and make positive contact (directly or indirectly) with the property owners.

Non-traditional blinds are blinds that are not structures.  This is not a place where one would sit to take pictures.  Rather it would be some place where you would stand and have  

The update is not done yet, though.  I need to link previous blog entries to the sites.  I also have a spreadsheet that is still full of holes that I may make available as well at some point as a Google Doc.

So for now go at it.  Tell me if it is helpful.  Tell me if I got it wrong.  Tell me if you've visited one of these places.

Status Report

I am still working hard to catch up here.  My surgery last week was, by all indications, successful.  So this week, while dodging pain killers I am trying to take care of some research and maintenance tasks.

With any luck I will have a full refresh on the Google Map.  I am including with each of the entries a last verified date to give a better idea of how fresh the information is.  If I've done a blog entry, I will put that in the notes as well.  I'm hoping to have that done before the end of the holiday weekend.

If I can drag my carcass out of the house during the weekend I'm hoping to get to one of the local public blinds.  I'm not sure which one--that will really depend on how far I feel like I am capable of driving.  But one way or another I really need to get out.  I've been cooped up in this house for far too long.

Did I miss a blind that you are aware of?  Do you own a ranch (listed or not on my map) with a blind and want to share why you think it is a great place to make images?  Please e-mail me.