Wildlife Photography across the Water: Florida diaries 2

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Florida diaries 2

We have now left the birds at St Augustine behind and am now at the Crystal river for the manatees, Now they did see some yesterday, a female with young and showed me the video, Nice and close but in very green mirky water so i am in no illusions that photography at this time will be crap to non existent but i am look forward to the experience, 20 years ago i went to the Epcot centre in Orlando where there are manatees in a glass tank, I walked past the tank and a manatee followed me as i walked, I stopped and walked back and it followed and somebody mentioned it as the crowd watched, I went to the glass and it came up and we just watched each other, it was an amazing experience and i have always wanted another manatee experience, Its taken 20 years for it to happen and today could be the day,either way i have discussed a return in the winter for a week or so's diving to get 'the' images that i dream about,He did mention that a croc joined them the other day which was a little un-nerving, We have the boat to ourselves tomorrow so we can do and go where we like, Going back to St Augustine i have to say was a great way to start the trip and in another 2-3 weeks it will be on fire as there will be lots of young around, there was just the 1 when i was there but i got some great shots-coming soon on a blog near you,Everybody was amazed at the amount of rosette spoonbills there,normally just 1 or 2 but about 30 or so at the moment and it looks like they may nest there for the first time ever,my first encounter with these beautiful birds, If you are looking to go i recommend the sleep inn as its not expensive and close to gatorland and if you get a photographers pass at gatorland before you get to the inn they will discount your rooms-win win.I or should i say Marian treated me to s decent goggles and snorkel so i have been practising in the pool all afternoon-its a dreadful life-honest
I have only gotten around to downloading and backing up as i have just not have the time to process so for now you will get the odd image and i will do some galleries when i return,Here is one from Gatorland that i really liked, I would like to add that Gatorland is a zoo type place but the rookery is purely wild birds, It seems that birds like to nest where the gators are so that the nest isnt raided by raccoons,snakes etc

Dave

1 comment:

Michaela13 April 2010 at 17:34
Magnificent!
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.