Sixth Day Wildlife Images by Paul W. Bozzo

Recent Shoots

Homer Martin Ranch

Imagine...

3000 acres in the hill country
along 3 miles of the beautiful Llano river
with breathtaking bluffs
and wildlife galore
it's the start of spring, bluebonnets popping up everywhere
with blue skies dotted with cotton clouds
all to yourself for 8 days

A PHOTO PARADISE! And it is called the HOMER MARTIN RANCH.

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The Martin Ranch has been in the family for generations. Homer's great grandmother founded the first bank in nearby Mason, Texas. The ranch has always been a hunting ranch, and just a few years ago Homer decided to allow only bow hunting during the fall deer season. During the off-season, the ranch is available for use by non-hunting groups. All it takes is a reservation with Mr. Homer or his lovely wife, Ms. Tracy, and a little denero. There are 9 cabins and a central lodge or cookhouse that was built in the early 1900's. The land is beautiful, and beautifully kept. In fact, a few years ago, then Governor George Bush presented the Martins with the prestigious Texas Land Steward Award.

The wildlife is abundant and approachable. There is a nice white-tailed deer herd. Going out at night with a spotlight is a great way to get a sense for the number of deer. Central Texas is noted for the highest density of white-tailed deer anywhere. Equally impressive is the Rio Grande turkey population. Good weather allowed for a nice hatch last year, and we saw more turkey on this trip than probably all of our previous 7 years of visiting the ranch combined. The turkeys have to share the pastures, though, with the roadrunners, finches, sparrows, robins, killdeer, mockingbirds, jackrabbits, and much more.

The part of the ranch along the Llano River offers a treasure of activity. The fishing can be excellent. Canoers and kayakers say the Llano is Texas' best kept secret. Hiking below and then onto the beautiful bluffs provides an inner peace I just don't get many other places. Vermillion flycatchers, painted buntings, golden-fronted woodpeckers, and green kingfishers are just a few of the spectacular avian species often seen along the river. We even encountered a nice bonus one morning when we approached the river and inadvertently spooked a pair of Canada Geese taking a break on their way back north. Also, we heard, then saw, several large groups of sandhill cranes overhead flying north to their summer nesting grounds in Canada. The river isn't the only place to get wet. There are many creeks that run throughout much of the ranch, often widening to provide good shallows for the kids to play in, and a couple special "holes" perfect for a ca-ca-ca-cold deep water spring fed dip!

Even mid-day, which is usually a lull for wildlife watching, proved to be productive. This year I packed bird feed including peanuts and mealworms. I hauled an old and gnarly stump from one of the pastures and set in up complete with bait on top of one of the stone kennels just outside the cookhouse. There was continuous shooting action: Great Crested Flycatchers, house finches, American and Lesser goldfinches, dark-eyed juncos, cardinals, and black-crested tufted titmouses. Also during mid-day, turkey and quail could often be seen along the dirt road that we corn twice daily.

To find out more about this spectacular ranch, surf to www.homermartinranch.com.

Click on the thumbnail image for a larger view.

Great Crested Flycatcher standing guard.	Black-tailed Jackrabbit	Great Crested Flycatcher returning to nest hole.
Striped Skunk	White-throated Sparrow	Mourning Dove
Rock Squirrel	Killdeers caught in the act	Black-crested Tufted Titmouse
American Robin	Carolina Wren looking for dinner	Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Male Northern Cardinal	Black-crested Tufted Titmouse	Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored variation)
Fox Squirrel	Black-crested Tufted Titmouse	Male House Finch
American Kestrel	Female House Finch	Skunk "The End"