Some of the turtles at the Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island were billed at several hundred pounds. This guy seemed every bit as big.

I believe I was seeing some variety of shark on the right side of the photo above. There was a bunch of them near the pillars of the pier.

This guy hung around for a few minutes, as if he was posing for the tourists, before disappearing under the water.

I'll chalk this up to being in the right place at the right time.

Not sure if this is the same guy. But I heard people yelling, "Turtle !" and pointed the camera in that direction.

I really wish I had my long lens with me !

Security still keeping an eye on everything.

More noisy security.

The photos above and below are of the sharks I mentioned previously.

They seem to hang around the base of the pier pillars.

And there are a lot of them !

They never really surfaced, so getting a clear picture was somewhat challenging.

"Look, a dolphin !" was the next alert I heard.

Once you figure out where everyone is pointing, the idea is to keep the camera pointed and focused in that direction. When a fin appears, hold the shutter button down to let the camera fire off a burst of shots.

This time, that strategy worked !

I managed to get a few good shots.

As seen from the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, Navarre Beach, Florida.

As seen from the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, Navarre Beach, Florida.

Now I'm sure the security has the fishermen trained: "If I stand perfectly still and stare at them, they will give me a fish."

Judging by what I saw during my brief visit, this strategy not only works, but is quite effective.

After getting his fish, he flew away.

"Look, a turtle !" I figured out where everyone was pointing and aimed the camera. When I saw the turtle surface, I held the shutter button down and fired off a few shots. It wasn't until after I looked at the pics later that evening that I discovered that I also captured a dolphin at the same time.

The turtle actually looks like he's looking toward the tourists and posing.

For the second time today, I was in the right place at the right time.

More passersby.

I have to wonder if these are all of the birds who got their fish from people on the pier.

Maybe this is the relief crew for the birds that are currently on the pier who may be heading home for the day.

The sea turtle hung around for a few minutes.

Of all the trips to leave my long lens at home, it had to be this one ! But I can't complain. This camera has enough pixels to allow me to crop the shot and still get a presentable picture.

This was a great experience ! Mother Nature held off with the rain, and the turtles and dolphins put on a great show for the tourists.

I actually hung around the pier for around an hour taking in all of the sights and sounds.

But now it was time to head back to Okaloosa Island and dinner with the girls.