Tours & Instruction
We offer birds-in-flight and wildlife photography tours and private instruction. You will see bald eagles, ospreys, herons, kingfishers, egrets, ibis, monkeys, bears, and other wildlife on our tours.
Your tour guide, Dick Vautrinot, is an avid wildlife photographer with a passion for "birds in flight". He is a self-taught photographer who created his own style of tracking birds, exposure and use of light. By way of owning a nuisance wildlife business, he gained extensive expertise and knowledge of wildlife and their breeding habits. With over 45 yrs of boat and guiding experience, you will be in the right light to capture great images of birds in flight.
Join us for a photography tour or personalized instruction today!
Bald Eagle & Osprey Tour - Gainesville, Florida
Available Dates: June 5 - July 6, 2021
July 24, 2021 - April 10, 2022
Join us to photograph bald eagles on a beautiful "Old Florida" lake with picturesque backdrops in their natural habitat, sitting in pairs, hunting for their dinner and aerial battles of eagles attempting to steal the fish. Eagles mate and nest in the winter and newborn eaglets learn to fly and hunt in the spring. Ospreys arrive back on the lake in early spring and the aerial battles begin with the bald eagles. Tours are aboard our 2019 24 ft. 200 hp pontoon boat. For an additional charge, Dick can help with manual camera settings and birds-in-flight instruction.
Pricing:
Half day - 4 hrs
$200 - One person
$300 - Two people from the same group
Summer Special - Bring a group of 4 for $450
Full day - 4 hrs am & 4 hours pm
$400 - One person
$600 - Two people from the same group
Summer Special - Bring a group of 4 for $900
Swallow-tailed Kite Tour - Deland, Florida
Available Dates: July 8 - 22, 2021
Join us to photograph over 5000 Swallow-tailed kites in a couple hundred-yard area on a lake in Deland, Florida. Tours are aboard our 2019 24 ft. 200 hp pontoon boat. It's Audubon's most beautiful bird of prey, with its deeply forked tail and bold black-and-white plumage, it is unmistakable in the summer skies. (Of course, Dick would say after the Bald Eagle!) Hanging motionless in the air, swooping and gliding, rolling upside down and then zooming high in the air with scarcely a motion of its wings, the Swallow-tailed Kite is a joy to watch.
Pricing:
Morning Tour - 3+ hrs
$150 per person
Private Instruction - Florida
Available Dates: Year-round
Private instruction is designed to help you create a customized plan to improve your photography skills in the use of light, tracking birds, manual camera settings, preparation and framing the shot. Instruction is aboard our 2019 24 ft. 200 hp pontoon boat on a lake with picturesque backdrops. Join Dick for a day of learning and fun!
Pricing:
Half day - 4 hours Full day - 8 hours
$350 per person $600 per person