The North Jetty on Bolivar Peninsula, TX

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The North Jetty, on the southern end of the Bolivar Peninsula, is one of the two jetties which guard the entrance to Galveston Bay and the ship channel. The jetty was built of huge granite blocks in the 1890's by the Army Corp of Engineers and extends over five miles into the Gulf of Mexico.

This photo of American Avocets was taken while I was standing on the jetty and illustrates that is an excellent place for birding when the tide is low.

Many people use it for fishing.

It is also a good place to view the variety of ships and boats that use the protected channel to the Port of Galveston, Port of Texas City and The Port of Houston.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.