Holy Cow!

… Sea cow, that is. In my recent absence from publishing nature blog posts, I have been taking a restful “vacation”, traveling around Florida and photographing some of my favorite wading birds, marine mammals and reptiles/amphibians.

Now that I’m back home (and in the process of downloading thousands of new images), my first post features the sea cow, also known as the Manatee. One of the things that I placed on my “bucket list” several years ago, was to snorkel with the wintering manatees in the warm Florida waters. Crystal River, Florida was the first stop on my 3-week adventure … and I managed to get that one off my list!

Snorkeling in the Crystal River, near a protected, manatee refuge area, I was able to snorkel with, and photograph the resting manatees. Here are a few of my favorite images from this wonderful experience:

Manatee resting in the Crystal River

Manatee resting in the Crystal River

Manatee with young, in the Crystal River

Manatee resting in the Crystal River

Manatee resting in the Crystal River

You may have noticed the white, plastic pipe on the river floor. This was placed in the sanctuary, designating “no swim” zones for snorkelers. This gives the manatees a place to enter, when they wish not to be around swimmers.

Coming up … my favorite gator hole, and lots of nesting wading birds.

Photographic Equipment Used:

  • Pentax Optio W60
  • ISO 250
  • Aperture f/3.5 to f/4.4
  • Shutter 1/50 sec 50 1/80 sec.

 

 

Posted in Mammals, Nature Photography, Travel Photography
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