Desert Photo Retreat Update

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson 1 Comment

A bobcat at the waterhole from earlier this week.

A bobcat at the waterhole from earlier this week.

I have been really busy with projects and haven’t had a chance to use my real camera much, but that isn’t because of a lack of activity – actually it has been busy here!

The fox pair makes multiple visits each night – I was a bit worried a couple of nights ago after a nearby visit by a pack of coyotes, but you can see in the image below from this morning that they are alive and well!  The javelina are becoming more regular, and have two babies.  Plus, we even had our first bobcat of the season earlier this week!

Our humming bird feeders are busier than ever with at least one male guarding each of the 7 feeders and other challengers constantly flying in for a drink.  We mostly have costa’s, but also a few anna’s.

Not only do we have lots of birds we are getting a great variety!  I think we have added 7 new species in the past month, some exciting like the colorful spotted towhee.  By one of our feeders I see two cactus wren nests being constructed, in fact I was able to watch one pair hauling sticks into the heart of the cactus this morning – very cool!  We also have all the regulars such as the cardinals, black-throated sparrows, three species of wren, pyrrhuloxia, phainopepla, many gnatcatchers, towhees, thrashers and quail just to name a few.

Plus, maybe the biggest surprise – lots of wildflowers!  It is crazy early for them.  But, we have had two rain storms in just the last week, with another on the way, so it should stay good!

So if you want to check out the action, we recommend coming for the night – two is even better!  We are starting to fill up a bit, but there are plenty of open dates – take a look at the calendar for availability.  For much more information, check out:  Desert Photo Retreat

Two gray-fox from early this morning.

Two gray-fox from early this morning.

 

Look close and you will see two little ones. They have been by at last light the last two nights.

Look close and you will see two little ones. They have been by at last light the last two nights.

Christmas Gift Ideas For Photographers

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Curved-Billed Thrasher, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.

Curved-Billed Thrasher, Desert Photo Retreat, Arizona.

I haven’t done a post like this in awhile, but thought I would share some gift ideas for the photographer in the family.

Desert Photo Retreat  For starters, how about giving them the amazing experience of staying and photographing at the Desert Photo Retreat!   Thanks to our new lower pricing, you can buy the photographer in the family a night at the Desert Photo Retreat, which gives them overnight lodging and exclusive use to our two blinds and everything else going on at the property.  They should come away with an amazing experience and photos!  Buy now, and let them book later in the winter.  Other options include a night sky photo workshop, or a camera trapping workshop.  Or go all out for a full on Arizona photo tour!

Browning Game Camera.  It is amazing at all that happens in our back yards at night, or when we aren’t around – and it is really fun to see what we are missing!  I have tried 4 different types of cameras over the last couple of years, and only the Browning I link to is still working.  In fact, it worked all summer in the Arizona heat!  Great battery life, and will also capture video if you prefer.

A ballhead Super Clamp – $12!  Seems like I can always use new ballheads and clamps to hold things like flashes, triggers, small cameras including game cams, and this little guy works great – plus you can’t beat the price.  It is made of metal and is very solid for its little size.

Inflatable Solar Powered Light  These things are just fun – they are solar powered, but have a decent battery that lasts many hours.  They put out a nice light in all directions and they even float!  Great gift not just for photographers, but anyone really.

Books – I can’t have enough books!

 

Moose   As a wildlife photographer, you can’t know too much about your subject, and I think it is safe to say I have more books on moose then any other subject.  This new one by Mark Raycroft is the best of the bunch!  It is great combination of information and beautiful photography.  Having spent some time photographing with Mark, I can tell you he has a true passion for wildlife, and it shows in his beautiful photography.  Any wildlife photographer would find this inspirational and informational.

 

Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona s Wildlife, A Guide to When, Where, & How  Bruce is not only an outstanding photographer, but also has a PhD in biology!  I can’t imagine a more qualified author for such a book. It is loaded with location information and photography tips.  It is a must have for any wildlife photographer visiting Arizona.  No one has helped me more with the Desert Photo Retreat then Bruce.

Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers, A Guide to When, Where, and How  It looks like it could be an amazing year for wildflowers in Arizona this year, and if so, there will be lots of photographers visiting from all parts of the world to capture this amazing transformation of the desert.  It would be a mistake to visit without this valuable resource!  Lots of great advice on locations, cool maps and even photography advice.  I believe this would be a good book for non-photographers as well.  This is another book written by friends of mine and great photographers, Colleen Miniuk-Sperry and Paul Gill.

Some of the links are Amazon Affiliate.

 

Recent Events

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson 3 Comments

Cactus glowing at sunset from about a week ago, near Tucson, Arizona.

Cactus glowing at sunset from about a week ago, near Tucson, Arizona.

I haven’t posted in a week – I made an unplanned trip back to Alaska due to the passing of my Dad unfortunately.   I’m now back in Arizona.

24 Hours at the Desert Photo Retreat!

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Photos, Travel, Tucson Leave a Comment

Javelina, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson.

Javelina, Desert Photo Retreat, near Tucson.

It has been some 24 hours at the water hole! I haven’t used my real camera yet as I want the animals to get used to our presence again, so I have been using the game cam. But, we had 8 deer cross the hillside above the water hole. Another 8 or so javelina. Gray fox showed up in the game cam 6 different times during the night, usually about an hour apart, sometimes two fox at the same time. Not sure if I’m seeing multiple animals, or just the two making repeat visits. We had two separate visits by a great horned owl who enjoyed a bath. We even had a hooded skunk!

That doesn’t include all the birds we are seeing during the day! We had our 6th new species in a week this morning, a Hutton’s vireo.

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