New to Dallas-area from Oregon

[dreameyce]

Hello I'm Emily, and my family and I have just moved to the Dallas-area from the mid-Willamette valley of Oregon. I'm used to being surrounded by parks, with lots of nature all around so this move has been a huge culture shock! Where we lived we were right between the cascades, and the coastal summit so lots of great natural places were right within easy driving distance at any time of day and on a wim. I'm no expert on shooting birds, but I love doing it, and seeing the amazing animals in their natural surroundings.

What places do photographers recommend for nature viewing and photography opportunities, along with hiking within 2 hours of Dallas? We're north of Dallas, in the Denton-area if that helps any. I really love watching water birds, and had a nice time the other day with my daughter at Bachman park near the airport enjoying the birds- but it just wasn't the same as 'real' nature. I'm not afraid of mud at all and am willing to walk off-trails, and gettin dirty but the kidlet does appreciate easy-walking trails so I'm not against them.

Are there any local photography groups, or clubs who welcome youngsters? My current gear is a canon 10D, canon 40D, and a small assortment of lenses, mostly from the 1st canon auto-focus series introduced in '87 so considered by many to be 'antique', but they work beautifully and are so much fun.

Also what camera shops do people recommend in the Dallas-area, esp small locally-owned shops. Corvallis, Oregon has a wonderful store right outside downtown, and I'm very big on supporting locally-owned places whenever I can. I also shop keh.com for the great prices, and keep an eye at resale and pawn shops, as well as flea markets for deals.

Thanks so much for any suggestions. I hope to get out and about more in Texas as we settle in. We just got here so are still getting used to the scenery, and culture shock since it's so differnt from anyplace we've ever been. So far Texas is wonderful, but we're not looking forward to the hot summers ;)

I am on flickr, the link is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beautifulwolf/ Nice to 'meet' everyone!

[kaustubh_d]

Hi Emily, welcome to DFW. I've been to Oregon and I can understand why you find this place a bit different :-)

I am not familiar with Denton area but someone should be able to help you out w.r.t that.

I like White Rock lake to shoot in the winter. Nice sunsets and an good assortment of species. There are lots of Pelicans there right now. If you google on 'sunset bay white rock lake' you will get the directions.

Another good place in the winter is Hagerman wildlife refuge near TX-OK border. Snow geese should have arrived there now.

Village creek drying beds in Arlington( a little far for you) is the best spot for birding in the region. A little hard to shoot as ducks tend to stay far form the banks.....but a fabulous place to watch a variety of species through bincos.

Old fish hatchery near WRL is a good spot to watch small birds in the spring. But you know how hard it is to photograph them :-) Many public parks and nature trails are good for watching interesting small birds during migration. Good idea to follow the bird chat forum as many members post seasonal and unusual sightings there.

I dont shop from shops these days...but one big local shop is Arlington Camera...far for you though. There's a large Wolf Camera store at Harry Hines and Royal lane that carries good gear as well.

[betsy]

Hi, Emily, and welcome to Texas!

Many natives to the area seem to like the summers, but I'm not one of them! Hailing from the northeast as I do, even after 40 years I can't stand them!

This part of the world used to be a shallow sea, so you won't find anything like what Oregon must be like (I've never been there myself). All the mountains in Texas are on its western edges and one of them is a fossil coral reef. Both our National parks are out there. Eventually you must go to Big Bend National Park!
http://www.us-national-parks.net/state/tx.htm

For now, though, for hiking in the vicinity of Denton, Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (aka LLELA), a bit south of you down I-35, is undoubtedly a good place to explore -- I notice that it's gotten an award for being one of the best for families so that should be good for the kidlet :). Here's a pointer to information about it and a website that should point you to other hiking trails and relevant websites in the Denton area as well:

http://sites.google.com/site/trailsofdentoncounty/Home/trails-at-llela-1

LLELA has birding walks at least once a month -- here's the calendar of activities:
http://www.ias.unt.edu/llela/main.htm

If you search for LLELA or Lewisville on the forum, using the Search tool in the blue bar near the top, you should find some older reports from people who have been there.

Another good place for the kidlet would be the Heard Natural Science Museum (with outdoor natural areas that include water to hike -- don't think it's just a building! see map: http://www.heardmuseum.org/maps/trail-map.asp) in McKinney, which also has lots of activities:
http://www.heardmuseum.org/

Farther south but in or nearly within the two hour driving limit (on weekends, at least) are two Audubon sites that are both good for hiking and birding, though not so good for water birds as lakes are:

Cedar ridge Preserve: http://www.audubondallas.org/cedarridge.html

Trinity River Audubon Center (TRAC): http://www.trinityriveraudubon.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Home

Some other websites you'll find helpful for Texas as you explore:

Texas Parks & Wildlife: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
This is a very comprehensive site and well worth exploring for information. It has a section on hiking. Check the publications, too.

Lakes in Texas are all artificially made by damming creeks and rivers for reservoirs, with the exception of Caddo Lake on the Texas/Louisiana border, which was formed by a natural log jam on the Red River. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for making and maintaining these lakes, so their websites about them can also be helpful. Here's a link to the one about Grapevine Lake, which is also south of you and nearer than White Rock Lake (in Dallas proper) and other areas Kaustubh mentioned:
http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/grapevine/



[B]Wildlife Management Areas can be interesting in non-hunting seasons but require a permit: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/wma/

The USF&WS website has info on all the National Wildlife Refuges in Texas -- list and links to the individual ones, including Hagerman NWR and Caddo Lake NWR, here:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/ByState.cfm?state=TX

Forum member Tom Judd lives in Denton -- here's a link to a search on threads he started which will tell you some places where he birds:
http://www.audubondallas.org/forum/search.php?searchid=13605
He's gotten some wonderful shots at Northlakes Park: http://www.audubondallas.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1500&highlight=Denton

Keep your eye on the Bird Chat subforum, or explore past posts there, to see other places where people bird and photograph.

Also, you'll want to check out Fort Worth Audubon's Birding DFW page for information on some of these and many other sites:
http://www.fwas.org/index.php?pageid=birdingdfw

And if you just get curious about Texas, there's the Handbook of Texas Online: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook

And finally, there's a tiny but very annoying hazard you should quickly learn about so you can avoid them, and that's fire ants. My introduction to them was by stepping on a fire ant mound in a field in Denton -- ouch! It looked like an ordinary patch of bare dirt.
http://www.fireant.net/

This should help you get started exploring Texas. We stand ready to answer further questions as they occur to you.

[PS: "Shooting birds" is a pretty ambiguous phrase in Texas -- I assumed you meant with a camera after reading your photography questions, but when you see the pickup trucks with gun racks in the rear windows you'll soon realize that to many in Texas "shooting" means with a gun. Be wary of hunting seasons in places where hunting is allowed.]

[PPS: I'm not at all familiar with local photography clubs, but here's the website for a local one you might want to look into:
http://www.meetup.com/northtexasphotoclub/ ]

[danator]

Regarding camera store, there's Competitive Camera in Dallas area, i been there few times, it's not a huge store but plenty of goodies.

http://www.competitivecameras.com/

I've met a few local bird photographers, a handful with main interest in feather but none really into photography club. I guess you can't really shoot much with many photographers in a group, bird photography is not portrait with a flip of switch. Too many might scare them off.

There's one special place you may like in next few months, a rare city rookery right at SouthWest Medical center memorial park (35 and inwood) and the Dallas Audubon here organizes a few get-together during the season.

[Vern]

Other than the vast difference in scenery in your new location....welcome to Texas.

Don't overlook Lake Ray Roberts north of Denton also. I don't go there but would if closer.

As mentioned, Hagerman NWR ( a pretty easy drive from Denton) is very productive and would be my go to place consistently if closer to me. Along with thousands of geese and ducks in winter you can see deer, coyotes, Rio Grande wild turkeys, Bald Eagles on occasion and many others. There are also the hiking trails. Roads do get flooded sometimes during periods of heavy rain. There is a Friends of Hagerman group also that have activities and would be a great resource for someone new to the area.

[jeanbean]

Welcome to the prairie, Emily. Betsy gave an excellent overview. My husband and I are transplants from Pittsburgh & Cleveland, and birding the area has given us a deep appreciation for the special geography and native habitats here.

Great Texas Wildlife Trails - Highly recommended. This interactive website is maintained by Texas Parks & Wildlife and is an absolutely wonderful guide. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/wildlife_trails/

Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center - Close to Denton. http://www.cityofdenton.com/index.aspx?page=122 We've birded there a number of times for 4-6 hours at a stretch. Sometimes we encounter no one, sometimes only one other person or couple. Definitely worth checking out.

LLELA - Given that you are in Denton, you will probably want to explore LLELA (mentioned in Betsy's post). We love LLELA because we can bird for hours and never see a single person. There are several different habitats to be explored, and plenty of trails. Be aware it's only open to the public on the weekends. A good way to get to know the place is by going on one of the monthly bird walks led by Keith Lockhart and asking lots of questions. We've seen bobcats, coyotes, deer, snakes, birds galore of course, including wild turkeys.

Hike guide - There's a book out called "60 Hikes within 60 miles of Dallas/Fort Worth" that covers Tarrant, Collin & Denton counties. I think it'd be a useful reference for someone new to the area. It's organized really well.

Lake Ray Roberts - Lake Lewisville Greenbelt Corridor, close to Denton. If you get to missing trees, as many of us transplants do, here's one place you can be among them. There's a 10-mile hike & bike trail between the two resevoirs that follows the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The habitat is riparian woodland. A lovely place to get away from it all. The entrance off of highway 380 is currently closed. It looks like they are doing some trail maintenance. There are other entrances, so check ou this map: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/park_maps/pwd_mp_p4503_176a.pdf

Hagerman NWR - Already mentioned, but worth mentioning again. Lots of wintering waterfowl to be seen there, but also plenty of other habitat to explore. When we go, we spend from sun up to sun down. Except in July. :) Then we spend from sun up until we can't take it any more, usually around 1 ro 2 pm.

Parkhill Prairie - And if you want to see what a real prairie looks like, go to Parkhill Prairie. It will be a bit of a drive for you, but in my opinion, a must see. http://www.co.collin.tx.us/parks/parkhill_prairie.jsp

Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands - http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/texas/recreation/caddo_lbj/caddo-lbj_gen_info.shtml Definitely worth seeing. It's a bit of a drive, but you can make it a day trip. I put off going for years, but last Memorial Day drove on out there. Not at all what I expected. Beautiful.

[Blue Moon]

Emily welcome to Texas! As others in the tribe have pointed out, there are many interesting places to explore close to Denton and certainly a great deal within 2 hours of Denton. The lakes that surround Denton provide habitat for a large variety of wildlife and great photo opportunities.

Denton is close to Lake Lewisville and Lake Ray Roberts but if those venues don’t resonate with you Lake Texoma where Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge are located provides over 600 miles of shoreline and is very impressive on multiple fronts. I spent years exploring Texoma and the Red River area on foot, via boat, air boat, and the air, and never saw all of it.

The LBJ Grasslands are another interesting place to shoot located about 30 minutes west of Denton. The Arbuckle Mountains and Turner Falls are located about 1.5 hours north of Denton up I-35 and a great place to hike and shoot. The Hill Country is south down I-35 about three to four hours away and a great spring trip when the wildflowers are in bloom. Take your daughter to visit the Alamo and get a sense of the great Republic of Texas. Take along a copy of Texas music artist Brian Burn’s Eagle and Snake CD (http://www.brianburnsmusic.com/music.htm) and listen to it on the trip for a musical history tour of Texas.

The Pineywoods of east Texas are within reach and provide an entirely different look of scenery. For the past couple of years I’ve spent more time shooting on private refuges in the Pineywoods exploring the pine forests and the abundant clear spring-fed water. This area starts about 2 hours east of Denton.

As far as pro camera stores in the area, Competitive Camera is family owned and just celebrated their 30th anniversary in Dallas. They are located about 35 minutes south on I-35 from Denton near downtown Dallas. Take I-35 toward downtown Dallas, just before you get to downtown, turn right on Wycliff. Go half a mile and turn left on Irving Blvd. Competitive Camera will be on the right a third of mile down the road.

If possible build a relationship with Eugene. He’s the son that runs the family store with his father Ramsey. Both are usually there. Ramsey usually gives me a tad better deal than Eugene because I’ve been trading with him for 20 plus years but Eugene is the gear expert and a good resource to get to know for anyone shopping.

There is a lot to be said for having a pro store in the area. I’ve seen them rescue several pros that trade with them by loaning gear if CPS or Nikon are too slow with repairs. Just a few weeks ago I was in there before a shoot at Cowboy Stadium and a well-known wedding shooter was thanking them for loaning her gear after her kit was stolen a few days before a wedding and way before her insurance paid her claim.

It may not appear that they have a large storefront but they keep well over a million dollars of Canon and Nikon gear in stock every day. My Canon rep has told me in the past that they are the largest Canon and Nikon dealer in the SW USA.

They cater to the pro crowd and it’s not uncommon to see Pulitzer Prize winning shooters in there mingling with beginners looking for their first dSLR. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re looking for a Starbucks environment, you will not find it at Competitive but if you find yourself needing a Wimberley lens plate for your 500L, they are the only option in Dallas. Also if you want to touch and feel the latest greatest pro body or glass, or be the first to have it, they have it in stock. They also carry pro studio lighting and supplies.

If you’re set up as a pro and don’t pay tax you’ll find that they are comparable price wise with B&H and Adorama, however they tend to be higher on a few accessories such as memory cards but so are all the local resources. They also carry high end paper, printers and ink for Epson and Canon.

One word of caution, try to show up during the week when they’re not busy the first time you go in. Otherwise you may be disappointed because they go into speed mode and get highly efficient at getting people in and out the door. Again it’s not Starbucks but while you’re in the area, consider shooting a cityscape of Dallas, visit the 6th Floor Museum (http://www.jfk.org/) at infamous Dealey Plaza in Dallas’ historic West End district, the Dallas World Aquarium (http://www.dwazoo.com/d/), and the Dallas Museum of Art (http://dallasmuseumofart.org/index.htm) in the flourishing arts district (http://www.thedallasartsdistrict.org/).

Arlington Camera is a good store as well with a well-deserved loyal following but Arlington is a tad further for you to get to and traffic makes it seem even further. Great place to visit if you’re heading to a ball game, Six Flags, or visiting Fort Worth which is known as Cowtown due to the famous part it played in Longhorn cattle drives up the Chisholm Trail. The western Americana heritage continues today at the Stockyards along with a thriving art community so Cowtown certainly should be on your list of visits with your daughter.

Unfortunately nearly every other store in the area is in business to provide service to soccer moms. For several years I lived very close to a store in the west Plano area and they actually told me that they don’t cater to pros, but rich soccer moms. I’d rather buy it online from B&H than support a store that targets soccer moms with low end gear at high end prices.

Also, besides the ants that Betsy mentioned, and scorpions and brown recluse spiders she failed to mention, watch out for venomous snakes, especially if you get off trails. Snake boots are cheap insurance for wildlife shooters as we often find ourselves in their environment.

http://www.bluemoon-outfitters.com/MortensenCopperheads/_mg_0833audubon.jpg


Before I built my own photo blinds on my private refuge, my boots took several hits from Copperheads as they are the one snake that will not move to avoid you, nor warn you that you are threatening them before they strike. They rely on natural camo which is amazingly good and only strike when you’re within inches from them.

http://www.bluemoon-outfitters.com/MortensenCopperheads/_mg_0670_audubon.jpg

They are very difficult to detect when hiking on leaf covered habitat in low light conditions although once you spend some time with them you’ll notice a smell similar to fresh cut cucumber. Unfortunately it’s a somewhat pleasant smell and doesn’t usually get your attention until you learn the hard way to associate the odor with a pending strike. Fortunately they are rarely deadly but treatment is very expensive.



Rattlesnakes are nearly as bad because they appear to be evolving away from their namesake; no longer can you depend on a friendly buzz before they strike. This appears to be a learned behavior due to the feral hog explosion; hogs apparently believe the rattle is a dinner bell. It’s becoming increasingly more common to hear reports of hikers being struck by rattlesnakes without warning in areas that are dominated by hogs.

Our creeks and lake coves are full of cotton mouth water moccasins. In the spring they are especially aggressive and will chase you with reckless abandon. I’ve had multiple encounters as I often chase images of waterfowl in a small slow boat.

Personally I would rather wake up again with a snake in my sleeping bag than become a meal for a feral hog with six inch tusks. The feral hogs are so out of control in Texas that if you agree to put your land into the state sponsored wildlife management program, you’re required to at least attempt to eradicate the hogs; attempt being the key word because the state will tell you that they have reached a critical mass so at the moment it is an impossible task.

This is not just an issue for people in the rural parts of the state; the city of Denton actually pays a person daily to hunt hogs in an attempt to keep them out of the city. This year I was visiting a friend’s ranch near Denton and opened the front door just after dark with the intention to get something out of my truck only to surprise 62 wild hogs that were in the front yard rooting for food. I was lucky that I made it back inside before they were able to reach me. They stayed for over an hour before they moved on to greener pastures. Each sow has up to three litters a year and up to ten cute piglets at a time. With no real predators it’s easy to get a feel for the problem.

If you happen to cross paths with them, make sure that you stop and take a picture, but don’t continue to approach them, especially any females with their young as the sow will surely attack you. If you make a loud noise they are likely to run away but if one does charge, try to step out of the way at the last second as it will be head down attempting to slice your legs with their razor sharp cutters (tusks). If they manage to get you on the ground they will undoubtedly eat you so please don’t allow that to occur as it tends to make people afraid to go afield.

Fortunately they can’t climb trees but they tend to have a lot of patience once they have you cornered. Carry your cell phone and a portable GPS so that you can alert help where to find you if you find yourself in a tree.

Welcome to Texas!

Blue Moon

[riecket13]

Emily,

Welcome to Texas. BlueMoon did a great job warning you about our venomous snake and hog problem, but don't let it keep you from getting out and enjoying the outdoors, just be careful with the kiddie(s?). My only really fearful outdoor moment in NCTX did involve a feral hog, but that's cause a pack of feral dogs was finishing it and giving me rather aggressive signals when I came up over the levee to see what was going on. Just treat them with respect and don't get too close to them and you'll be fine. Fire ants and mosquitoes probably pose a greater threat to the average naturalist. All the advice given re: places to shoot looks amazing. Hope you have fun out there, and get up to Hagerman if you get a chance, it used to be my old stomping grounds. Wildilfe includes River Otter, Beaver, Mountain Lion, Bobcats, Coyotes, big non-typical White-tailed Deer and gorgeous, incredible, amazing birds (250 species in the county while I attended nearby Austin College for undergrad) such as Red Knot, Red-necked Phalarope, Bald Eagle, Osprey, tens of thousands of waterfowl, hundreds, sometimes even thousands of shorebirds, Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owl, Piping Plover, Peregrine Falcon, Ruddy Turnstone, even the former (?) world record Blue Catfish. Hope you enjoy your stay.

Thomas