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2017 Wildlife Photo Contest

Great Egret, A rookery in St Augustine, Florida, United States of America
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Species: Great Egret | Location: A rookery in St Augustine, Florida, United States of America

By Richard Deyoe

The creator watched this mated pair repairing the nest. The male would fly off and retrieve the repair materials and bring them to the nest. He would land on the open side of the nest, drop the material while the female would rush over and they would rub their necks together. She would then pick up the material and begin to weave it into the nest while he would stand on the up-sun side of her and preen her back. I watched them for 30 minutes to and hour and thought to myself how much human beings could learn from them.

About The Photographer

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I became interested in photography enough to learn how to process black and white photos and slides as a young man. After high school, a short stint in college and a few years in the electronic industry, I ended up with a career in the navy where my interest was rekindled. I acquired equipment while serving in the submarine force overseas. Later in my career, I served on the Nathan Hale (SSBN623), where I became the ships photographer providing images for the patrol reports which reside in the Library of Congress. After retirement from the Navy, I had a short period where photography had to take a back seat to starting a career with NASA during the shuttle program. I picked photography up again, with a vengeance when digital started coming in and was traveling overseas for NASA. I married the young lady I took to the Senior Prom in 1957 in August of 2008 and we have since had a huge numbers of hours together photographing air shows and wildlife; we look forward to many more years and thousands of images.
Check out Richard’s photography website: www.richarddeyoe.smugmug.com
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