Watch: Ray Fever; Videographer Captures Migration Near St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- It's that time of the year when watchful boaters are able to witness one of nature's amazing sights -- thousands of cownose rays migrating through the shallow waters off the Pinellas County coast.

Videographer Michael McCarthy with See Through Canoe said the rays congregate for a few days at the same spot each year before beginning their annual migration.

"The rays start showing up at a specific location and, once the group reaches a certain size, which only takes a few days, they leave the area as a huge fever and migrate," said McCarthy.

Cownose rays have a distinct shape with long, pointed pectoral fins or “wings” that are separated into two lobes at the front of their high-domed heads – creating the cow-nose shape. This species is a foraging predator that feeds on clams, snails, lobsters, oysters and crabs.

Generally found in shallow marine and brackish coastal waters, cownose rays are known to form large schools and migrate long distances. However, their migration patterns and reason for traveling such long distances are not fully understood, according to Oceana.

Adult cownose rays reach widths of approximately three feet and have few natural predators, though some large coastal sharks are known to attack and eat this species.

Because cownose rays like to swim on the surface, they don't pose the same threat as the common stingray, which hides on the floor below the water and stings unsuspecting swimmers with its venomous barb.

In fact, cownose rays are one of the most docile species of ray, which is why they are often used in touch tanks and aquariums.