2017 Wildlife Photo Contest

Species: Piping Plover, Charadrius melodus | Location: Navarre Beach Marine Park, United States of America

This image was taken on March 27th at 5:40 am at the Navarre Beach Marine Park. The park was covered in a veil of fog that kept it a mystery except for the few feet in front of you. The marsh plants had been decorated by the spiders during the night by stringing little dew drops on their webs. As I walked over to the second pond a Red-winged black bird flew just above the plants but I was looking for a little fellow who would be migrating soon. As I arrived to the pond I scanned the area looking for the bird with a very small bill and who blended into the sand due to it's bluff coloring. There he was the Piping Plover (PIPL) doing his morning ritual dance that called out the marine worms from their tube homes located in the sandy mud. I watched as the PIPL did his tap dance. Tap.Tap.Tap. nothing, move a little bit Tap.Tap.Tap. nothing, Tap.Tap.Tap. The marine worm memorized by the dance appears and dum dum dum is eaten for breakfast. And off goes the PIPL to entertain another marine worm out of it's home.

About The Photographer

Hello I'm Denise Burridge. We moved to beautiful Navarre, FL in August of 2016. We are a military family and my husband is currently based out of Hurlburt Field. I am new to conservation photography but not conservation. I started my conservation journey 12 yrs ago as a Range Patrol Officer covering 729 sq miles right here on Eglin AFB, FL. After Eglin, we moved to Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan where my photography journey started. In 2012 we moved to Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada. While living in Las Vegas, I did some projects with Nevada Fish and Wildlife and the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Now, I've come full circle and I'm starting this new chapter here in Florida combining my two loves as a conservation photographer. Thru the medium of photography my goal is to build a interactive relationship with the viewer to encourage them to EXPLORE the adventures of today and the memories of tomorrow. CONNECT by disconnecting, so that we may experience the best connections.To discover the OUTDOORS, to see with new eyes the special places and wildlife set aside by us so that all may experience.