Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center is one of my favorite birding and bird photography destinations in the Rio Grande Valley. I have watched it develop over the past 5 years into a truly world class birding center. This Green Winged Teal, caught while preening and showing off it nominal feature in the green wing patch, is just of the main observation deck at the visitor’s center. It does not get much better than this, if you enjoy ducks and waders, and the back sections of the park are great for almost any of the South Texas boarder specialties, and the occasional truly rare tropical species that has drifted north.

Canon SX40HS at 840mm optical zoom plus 1.5x digital tel-converter for something equivalent to 1260mm field of view. f5.8 @ 1/200th @ ISO 320. Program with iContrast.

Processed in Lightroom for Intensity and Sharpness.