Texas Now Magazine Presenting the "Texas Coast Experience" | Page 21

DOVIE HO
WARD

The story begins with professional wildlife photographer,
Diane Loyd, and her trip to Canada near Wood Buffalo
National Park. Diane and her mother, Dovie Howard,
had a rare opportunity in September to visit Wood Buffalo
National Park, but at the time never expected to actually
see Whooping Cranes let alone photograph them. They
were in for a surprise!

weather was beautiful and sunny. Dovie, a naturalist
was in her element and the two hiked for some time
before running into the middle of a herd of Big
Horned Sheep! It was thrilling. The sheep weren’t
spooked by their presence and Diane quickly began
to photograph them.

In speaking with local people in Canada they were told of a
pilot who had grown up near Wood Buffalo who kept tabs
on the crane migration. Migration begins in September, so,
Diane hired his helicopter and he flew them to a spot near
Wood Buffalo. Diane and her mother were dropped off in a
remote area and photographed for six hours.

Taking a brief respite, they sat down and took
out the binoculars to scan the horizon. Suddenly,
Diane spotted whooping cranes a short distance
away! As they began hiking towards them, they
realized by the birds’ behavior they had just
become a pair and were already starting their
journey to Texas.

Diane and her mother Dovie, who had just turned 86 at
the time, were hiking alone in the wilderness. They had
backpacks, water, and food. It was unseasonably warm
so they weren’t concerned with experiencing any bad
weather. Both their cell phones were equipped with GPS
and Diane’s husband, Dit, was able to track them. The

As a serious wildlife photographer, Diane Loyd’s
specialty is capturing that on 6R֖