Dancing Dinosaur

Wild Cassowary on the Beach

After two weeks of chasing these giant birds through the dense tropical 
rainforest, I moved today to a new location – a place where, I was told, 
wild Cassowaries walk the beach.  It seemed like a long shot, but I 
gave it a try, and set up a vigil on the beach in the late afternoon – 
not feeling very optimistic.  But little over an hour after I arrived a 
Cassowary emerged from the forest lining the beach and walked right 
past me. 
I was so stunned, I dropped all my camera gear into the sand out of 
my unzipped backpack. A few choice words were spoken – as you 
can imagine – and then I took off down the beach.

It was like a scene out of Jurassic Park: a giant primitive bird 
walking along a narrow beach backed by dense rainforest. I couldn’t 
believe my luck. I tried a variety of angles, backgrounds, lenses, 
close-ups and more environmental shots – anything I could think of, 
knowing my time with him could be brief.

This is only one of my favorites from an exhilarating hour spent with a 
feathered dinosaur. I’ll be back there at sunrise tomorrow!

Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens