Tour Times
Monday Afternoon, March 3, 2025 - Saturday Morning, March 8, 2025
recommend travel days prior and after
tour times on full days will be from sunrise to sunset
Location
St Petersburg, Florida
Fort Myers/Cape Coral (meeting at an agreed location each day)
Species
We will likely have ample opportunities with the following species:
Snail Kite
Florida Scrub Jay
Reddish Egret
Burrowing Owl
Roseate Spoonbill
Purple Gallinule
Brown Pelican
Great and Snowy Egret
Tri-colored Heron
Wilson’s Plover
Snowy Plover
Piping Plover
Marbled Godwit
Little Blue Heron
White Ibis
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Forster’s Tern
Sanderling
and many others
Cost
$2,750 (which includes a sunset airboat ride for Snail Kites. (Airfare, hotel, meals, transportation, and park entrance fees are not included.)
$750 non-refundable deposit due on signup. Balance of $2,000 due by December 15, 2024
Free 2 Hour Image Review and Processing Bonus Session after the tour to help with processing questions
Tour Objective
To come home with high-quality and memorable images of many of Florida’s most iconic birds.
Travel
Fly into Tampa and we will be based out of St. Petersburg, and Fort Myers/Cape Coral, FL (hotel recommendations and exact locations to be given after deposit). You will be responsible for renting your own vehicle, arranging airline travel and making hotel reservations .
Hotel
TBD
Schedule
Morning Sessions: we will meet at our agreed upon locations at sunrise, so expect to be up early enough to be ready to shoot at sunrise. Depending on the weather, there will be 1 or 2 very early departures. If we have full sun then we will stop after the light gets harsh and go back to the hotel.
Lunch Time: we will have an image review session where we will review the images from the morning. We will work on things like processing and composition and I will make suggestions or answer any questions.
After Lunch: we will have some personal time before our evening sessions.
Evening sessions: we will arrive to our evening locations leaving time for some scouting and preparing for the best light of the day. On cloudy days we will limit our lunch and image review time to shoot as long as possible.
In order to make the most of our time and come home with as many high quality images as possible, expect to leave each day early and come back late.
Meals
For breakfast we will stop early and pick it up on the way to our site. Lunch and dinner is with the group, if you desire.
What to Bring
Photography Gear
There are a large variety of birds which we will photograph between 400mm-600mm (minimum focal length of at least 400mm lens is required). A prime lens or telephoto zoom would be ideal.
If you own a telephoto prime and a zoom you may want to bring both
1.4 teleconverter is optional
I recommend bringing a back up camera.
Bring lots of extra batteries and a rapid charger.
Bring as many memory cards with as much storage as you can as it is not uncommon to fill up 320gb or more in a single session.
I also highly recommend bringing a laptop or other external storage to transfer your images from your memory cards.
Other Gear
Elbow and knee pads if you prefer to lay down for ground level work while photographing.
Portable chair or pad to sit on if you prefer to photograph while seated.
Ground pod, monopod or tripod - whatever you prefer to shoot with.
Clothes
Multiple changes of clothes for the water. Be prepared to get wet.
Fast drying long pants and long sleeve shirts.
Hat or a baseball cap to protect from the sun.
Light jacket as we may have some cool mornings.
Tight fitting surf shoes.
Plenty of sunscreen.
Weather
We will be photographing rain or shine so bring protection for your gear in case of rain. It can be quite hot at this time of year in Florida but there are also unexpectedly cool mornings so be prepared for both.
Physical Activity
Much of what we are doing will be at water level with the birds so expect to be laying (or going as low as possible depending on your comfort level) down at the water’s edge or even going into the water. Expect to get up and down often as the tides change and the birds move. Expect to get wet and sandy at times. There were will some short walks (none more than a mile).
My Responsibilities
As a lifelong birder who has been to Florida over 25 times, I have an intimate knowledge of the areas, birds and habitat. I will get you in front of the birds and assist in creating the highest quality photos as possible with each opportunity we have. I will help with obtaining the most pleasing backgrounds and compositions. I will help with field craft techniques and with attracting the birds when needed. I will also put us in the most productive spots to be able to produce high quality photographs of the highest species diversity possible. I will make arrangements with the boat captain for our Snail Kite tour. I will be there to answer all questions and to help facilitate any other needs you may have.
My Ask
Enjoy yourself as much as possible and get cards full of beautiful photos. I love to talk birds, cameras and gear. I am here to help so anything that you need, please just ask.
Insurance
Travel insurance is strongly encouraged.