Birder and bird photographer.

In the 7th grade our science teacher told our class to start keeping a bird calendar. We were to keep a daily record of the birds we saw each day for one month. I was hooked! In my early 20’s I started photographing birds with a 400 mm lens mounted on a Minolta film camera, but this didn’t last long because kids and life kept occupying my spare time. So I put down the camera and became a “backyard birder” until 2001 when I started birding in earnest again. I purchased my first point and shoot digital camera in 2003 and marveled at how easy photography had become. I purchased my first DSLR camera in 2010 (Canon Rebel T1i) with a Canon 100-400mm zoom lens. Currently, I use a Canon R6 & R7 with the Canon 100-500 mm lens.

It took me 50 years to get to a life list of 600 ABA area birds, but in 2013 I did a Photo Big Year and photographed 604 ABA area birds: (www.flickr.com/photos/isaaccsanchez/albums/72157632513641635 ).

I believe birds have a special place in God’s kingdom. Birds are the first creature mentioned by name in the Bible in the first chapter of Genesis (1:20), “let birds fly above the earth,” and are mentioned a third time in verse 22, “let the birds increase on the earth.” And a bird is a metaphor for God: "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." Ps 91:4

Birds have played an important and impactful role in my spiritual life. God used a specific bird, the Mississippi Kite, to show me that I am not just an unknown speck in the universe. I will be happy to provide a detailed story of how this story unfolded for me in 1996 for anyone that is interested.

preferred email address: sanchez@che.utexas.edu