About 200 manatees on a shallow sandbar in Tampa Bay. Some of them were mating, others were going to and from a nearby grass bed, the rest were just hanging out for the warmth. I'll be doing an interview on NPR tomorrow. Details in the comments. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #florida

Really big rays swimming in the shallow water at the beach near Clearwater, Florida. These are Spotted Eagle Rays. Although they can sting people like most rays they would rather avoid humans. #nature #amazing #beach #animals #wildlife #ocean #florida

They're faster than you think! Manatees chasing each other at the beach almost plow into one of the beachgoers that was crowding them. They aren't dangerous but they're endangered. These manatees were just trying to mate as people harassed them. #nature #animals #beach #florida #wildlife #ocean

A pod of dolphins chasing mullet in shallow water in Tampa Bay, Florida yesterday. I took the video on the St Pete side of Tampa Bay. #nature #animals #dolphin #florida #fish #wildlife #naturephotography #mullet

Nope! Turtle sees 2 big manatees swimming past him and kicks its cute little legs to back up and turn around. Turtle was taking no chances. It's a freshwater turtle (a cooter), but I took the video in saltwater in St Petersburg, Florida. #nature #funny #cute #animals #turtle #wildilfe

Curious Manatees swimming up to a clear boat to look it over. One of them checked to see if there was any algae on the boat. Manatees often clean the algae of docked or anchored boats. They will eat almost any kind of vegetation, not just seagrass. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #florida #cool

Dolphins often leave scars on each other called rake marks. They do this by dragging their teeth across each other. The scars usually only last a few months. They do this when play fighting, establishing dominance, mating and other activities. #nature #animals #wildlife #dolphins #ocean #florida

Hundreds of manatees and rays gathered on a shallow sandbar in Tampa Bay. In winter, manatees gather by the hundreds in at least 7 different locations in #Florida. There are always some #manatees in #TampaBay all year long, but there are many more in the winter. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife

Young trash pandas nursing in my backyard yesterday. When I saw this mother walking towards my backyard after raiding my neighbors trash I grabbed my camera and telephoto lens in the hopes of capturing something cute. Mission accomplished. #cute #animals #nature #wildlife #trashpandas

Guy walking in the gulf as a manatee approaches from deeper water. Fortunately this was just a friendly manatee, but it illustrates how easily something really big can sneak up on you in the water, especially if you aren't paying any attention. #nature #animals #beach #ocean #florida #wildlife

Winters in Tampa Bay are #awesome! There's so much #wildlife that moves into #tampa bay, #Florida during the winter. Large gatherings of hundreds of #manatees, thousands of #rays, big schools of spinner and black tip sharks, and numerous species of fish and migratory birds. #nature #animals

Something very fishy about this sea turtle. I often see 1 or 2 fish (usually cobia) following sea turtles, but this is the first time I've seen a school of fish (amberjacks) following a loggerhead sea turtle. St Pete, Florida. #nature #animals #awesome #ocean #turtles #fish #wildlife

Spinner Shark Spinning. Spinner Sharks get up to 9 feet and rush their prey from beneath while spinning and breaching the water or when they reenter the water. This shark was trying to catch a fish on the edge of a large group of Cownose Rays. #nature #amazing #animals #ocean #shark #wildlife

A VERY jumpy dolphin. This dolphin did about 10 jumps after a large boat passed by in the intracoastal waterway in St Petersburg, Florida. #nauture #awesome #animals #dolphins #wildlife #florida

2 sea turtles checking each other out at the surface of the water and a small school of cobia passing by. Cobia grow to about 6 feet and are often seen hanging out with manta rays, large sharks, sea turtles & manatees. #nature #seaturtles #animals #ocean #fish #florida

The largest group of rays ever filmed. Here's a link to the entire video in 4k high resolution wide screen format on my youtube channel for anyone that's interested. www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4vW... #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #ocean #florida #naturephotography

When the tide is slack & the water is dead calm and most of the sharks rise to the surface. The sharks were hanging around a shoal of fish in the gulf about 1/3 mile from the beach near Clearwater, Florida. The fish were mostly bluefish. #nature #fish #sharks #animals #ocean #florida

Hammerhead Shark stalking a circling school (aka fever) of Cownose Rays. The rays are circling in an effort to confuse predators and keep from being singled out. #nature #amazing #animals #sharks #wildlife #ocean #naturephotography #sea

Slippery Mullet! The first fish got lucky, the second one got launched. Fish aren't easy to grab, even for a dolphin. That's why some dolphins develop hunting techniques like stunning fish with their tails so they can grab them easily when they land. #nature #amazing #animals #fish #wildlife #yeet

White Pelicans herding fish at the mouth of Tampa Bay in Florida. White Pelicans have a wing span up to 9 feet. Unlike brown pelicans, white pelicans don't dive, they herd fish. #nature #amazing #animals #birds #wildlife #florida #tampa

Manatees eating mangrove leaves at the water's edge. Manatees eat any kind of vegetation they can find or reach, not just sea grass. During high tides they are often able to reach lawn grass and other vegetation. #nature #animals #awesome #wildlife #naturephotography #florida

Lots of sea turtles along the coast in the St Pete / Clearwater area this month in addition to all the rays. There are sea turtles along the coast here all year, but I've been seeing a lot more than usual lately. Most are 100-400 feet from shore. #nature #animals #awesome #ocean #turtle #wildlife

A school of bluefish swimming through a school (fever) of rays near Clearwater, Florida. I thought it was cool the way the morning sun was reflecting off the bluefish. #nature #fish #amazing #animals #wildlife #ocean #sea #naturephotography

I just finished doing a grid count on this group of rays (aka fever) I filmed recently in the St Pete/Clearwater, Florida area. This still isn't the largest group I filmed though, I'll share that one soon. #nature #amazing #animals #awesome #wildlife #ocean #fiddythousandflappersflapping

Hammerhead Shark charges through a school of rays in the gulf in Florida. The school of Cownose Rays (aka fever) kept reforming into rotating sphere which managed to keep the Hammerhead from being able to single out a target. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #ocean #shark #awesome #nope

A rare albino Cownose Ray chasing another ray. After filming millions (literally) of rays over the years I finally saw an albino. #nature #amazing #awesome #animals #ocean #rare #wildlife #albino

Rays swimming around people at the beach in Florida to avoid them. Cownose Rays aren't harmless, but they would rather avoid people than sting them. #nature #amazing #animals #beach #ocean #wildlife #florida

A Huge school of rays circling around the boat near Clearwater, Florida. These huge schools of rays (aka fevers) are an amazing spectacle to witness. Being right in the middle of this was awesome. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #awesome #ocean #sealife

Rays swimming through the surf as they avoid someone fishing at the beach near Clearwater, Florida. Although Cownose Rays are very mellow, they have stingers and can sting you. They would rather avoid people though. #nature #animals #beach #fishing #ocean #wildlife #awesome

Dolphins doing high jumps this morning in the intracoastal waterway near Clearwater, Florida. I've probably captured close to 1,000 jumps on camera over the years but I think these might be the highest I've filmed. #nature #amazing #animals #awesome #dolphins #wildilfe #thanksforallthefish

The largest schools of rays I've seen in over 10 years in the Tampa Bay area. These are a few more of the shots I've taken of the Cownose Rays schools (aka fevers) during the 2 month period they were in the area. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #naturephotography #ocean #florida #awesome

Manatees approaching a traffic circle. These curious manatees were checking out a circling school of fish (Jacks). Manatees are curious about anything new in their environment, including people. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #awesome #ocean #florida

Incredible footage of a rarely filmed large 3 dimensional school of circling Cownose Rays. I was really psyched to have captured this. The 3 dimensional school was circling on a horizontal plane and also on a vertical plane. #nature #amazing #animals #awesome #ocean #wildlife #mesmerizing

Is that a drone? It never ceases to surprise me how people will stare at a drone in this situation instead of looking around. People seem to think they're interesting & worth watching to the point where it doesn't dawn on them to look around. #nature #funny #animals #beach #ocean #florida #wildlife

Blue Crab swimming through a huge school of Cownose Rays near Clearwater, Florida. He knows he's tasty! I was surprised the rays ignored the crab but there was a Hammerhead nearby so they had other concerns. #nature #amazing #animals #ocean #wildlife #florida

Nature gets the right of way. Yielding to manatees while kayaking in a narrow, shallow tidal creek. This creek is only a few inches deep on a low tide but the Manatees are masters at understanding the tides. #nature #amazing #animals #awesome #wildlife #kayaking #florida #beautiful

When you've never seen a Manatee before and you don't know it won't eat you. This is a classic tourist reaction to seeing manatees in the ocean or gulf in Florida. Many people think they're only in freshwater. Taking no chances. #nature #funny #beach #ocean #animals #wildlife #florida

Ducklings running. Something wholesome to make you smile. I put out bird seed for the ducks every year. They'll quack by the back door so I'll come out with a cup of seed. Each year about 5 pairs of mallards nest in the backyard. #nature #cute #animals #birds #wildlife #viral

Waiting my turn as a line of traffic passes in front of my kayak. I took this video in a small creek near Weeki Wachee, Florida. #nature #amazing #animals #wildlife #awesome #kayaking #florida #manatees

I got a fever, and the only prescription, is More Cownose. A black Cownose Ray in a large group aka "fever" of about 15,000 near St Petersburg, Florida a few days ago. #amazing #nature #animals #awesome #ocean #wildlife #florida #migration

Skate passing under my kayak. This was on the St Pete side of Tampa Bay. #nature #awesome #wildlife #animals #ocean #sealife #tampabay

Kayaking at night in Tampa Bay in a clear kayak. Everything has a different vibe to it at night. Nice to have some dolphins for company. #nature #animals #awesome #dolphins #kayaking #florida #tampabay

Dolphins kicking fish in St Petersburg, Florida. This feeding technique is called fish kicking. The kick stuns or kills the fish so it's easy to grab, no chasing. They also do mud ring feeding in this area. #amazing #nature #animals #awesome #wildlife #fish #florida #yeet

About 57,680 Cownose Rays migrating off the coast of Clearwater, Florida last week. The rays have been migrating through the area for 3 weeks. Out of all the groups aka fevers that passed through, this was the largest one I was able to film. #amazing #nature #animals #ocean #awesome #florida

The most magical species interaction I've ever caught on video. The manatee and dolphins stayed in the area for over an hour and the manatee left with the dolphin pod. #nature #animals #amazing #beautiful #magical #wildlife #naturephotography

People at the beach running for shore as a dolphin chases fish in the shallow water. These beachgoers got a nice treat getting to watch dolphins chasing fish against the shoreline near Madeira Beach, Florida. #nature #beach #animals #wildlife #florida #ocean

A sea turtle surfacing by a MASSIVE school of rays near Clearwater, Florida a couple days ago. Another post into the BluSky void. Maybe 2 or 3 people will see this one and my time won't have been wasted. I'll keep trying a little longer. #nature #animals #amazing #wildlife #awesome #ocean

Rare video capture of a Spotted Eagle Ray getting airborne then using its wings to brake. I took this video near St Petersburg, Florida. #nature #amazing #animals #awesome #wildilfe #ocean

Stalking fish in shallow water along the beach. This dolphin startled a few people as it was hunting fish using a technique called fish kicking. Fish kicking is when a dolphin hits a fish with its tail to stun it. #beach #nature #ocean #florida #animals #wildlife

Don't Panic! It's not a fat shark, it's just a manatee swimming by people at the beach in Florida. The video was taken a couple days ago near Redington Beach. #nature #ocean #animals #florida #wildlife #awesome