The state of Texas is hard-pressed to find locations offering access to the public, so the state has made some contacts across the area to see who would open the front gate to let the public in. Of course, hosting nature tourists is not for everyone. It takes a certain individual who is comfortable having strangers on his place. The amiable Brown shrugs off any suggestion that he's more personally suited than anyone else to host bird watching guests. You have to be able to like what you're doing, particularly in wildlife, but you have to enjoy people.
Nature tourism works on several levels.
It's done partly to promote economic development, according to Linda Campbell of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but she says it also encourages conservation. That doesn't go unnoticed by the people enjoying the view at Brown's aptly named Hummer House. It also continues to encourage them to take good care of the land. But as the name implies, it's a particularly tempting stop for hummingbirds. They're attracted by small flying insects and also by sugar water provided by Brown.