Before their inaugural Kitty Hawk flight, the Wright Brothers carefully observed birds in order to figure out how best to feed in-flight meals to young airplane passengers. Observe avian ingenuity with today’s Groupon: for $36, you get admission for one person to the Hawk Watch birding tour plus lunch at Fennessey Ranch on September 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (a $72 value).

Fennessey Ranch’s ornithological guides, Nan, Lyndon, and “Famous Shoes” Crofutt, introduce bird watchers to scores of migrating avian species along a 4,000-acre Coastal Bend property. During treks through expansive wetlands, woods, and lakes, up to 40 birders gaze skyward as continuous kettles of hawks and swallow-tailed kites rocket from the Mission River as part of Mother Nature’s routine jet-pack tests. In addition to winged critters, sightseers often encounter deer, alligators, coyotes, and bobcats as they traverse the brush lands and nearby McGuill Lake. Lunch is provided, and guests are encouraged to bring comfortable attire, binoculars, bug repellant, and a sack of beefy worms to snack on.