Being watched from the water…
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
September 2, 2021
Bird Line Up On The Dike
Tag Archives: Anhinga
Anhinga Swimming Freestyle
I thought I might see this Anhinga dive and catch a fish. Instead she swam passed me, rhythmically arching her neck back and forth as she propelled forward.
And she dropped lower in the water.
I wondered
how low
would she go? And why didn’t she dive?
She was making steady progress and after a few more beats rose back up a bit and swam out of my sight scoring points for style but not getting any breakfast.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
Rice field canal
August 29, 2021
Anhingas
Anhingas are beautiful birds in an understated way. During mating season the color around their eye intensifies to a rich minty green.
The male, on the left below, is all black and the female has a tan neck and shoulders.
These images are from a few years ago, a post I started but left unfinished. This year we are not seeing nearly as many Anhinga pairs at the rookery as other years.
Anhinga Catch and Eat
Catch and release would be an accident. And yes, it does happen as the fish has to be in the right alignment to be swallowed whole. I missed the shot showing the fish stabbed on that sharp beak.
The toss
The catch
And gone!
Great Blue Heron Flying In, Treetop
It had been a totally blue-sky afternoon until about an hour before sundown. Clouds slipped in muting the sky as a Great Blue Heron flew towards his nest.
Anhinga vs Cormorant
Lots of folks confuse these two water birds, it was interesting to see them side-by-side, watching one of each compete for the same space.
The immediate way to tell them apart is the Anhinga has a straight bill and the Cormorant’s is hooked.
The Anhinga won the first round of “King of the Hill.”
A few minutes later one of the Cormorants returned, showing off his feet as he looked to get closer to the stump.
An Ibis was on the scene, but had no interest in the competition.
Another view showing off the beak comparison.
Yellow-crowned Night-heron and Friends
Maybe not friends, but tree-mates. This dead tree stands on the banks of the Ashley River and is popular perch for a variety of birds.
I have been watching some Yellow-crowned Night-herons that are nesting at the edge of a nearby pond. This one stayed here, perhaps getting a respite from nest duty, for over an hour.
The Anhinga and Grackle came and went. The sky stayed grey.
Precision Dive
Acutally it was more of a slide than a dive.
But it was precise.
A final selection of the spot.
Toes out, wings tucked.
Hardly a ripple for score of 10.
Anhinga With a Catch
Anhinga fish under water and often bring their catch to the surface and eat while they are swimming, flipping the fish around and swallowing it head first. This fellow may have tried that before climbing onto the alligator ramp.
He was having trouble dislodging the fish from his beak.
The ramp seemed like a convenient tool to work the fish free.
Or so he thought.
I missed the resolution this time. More than once I’ve seen the fish drop over the side after all that hard work.
Nesting Tree
The Great Egret showing off is surrounded by other nests in this “tree condo.” It’s a favorite spot because the tree is surrounded by water, reducing potential attacks from snakes and raccoons.
Two juvenile Great Blue Herons that hadn’t yet learned to fly were in their nest in front of the displaying Egret. In the layer behind there are at least two Great Egret nests and two Anhinga nests.
Taken last April, the trees had leafed out enough to make a lush surrounding, unlike when the Great Blue Herons start nesting and dull grey limbs are everywhere.
April 13, 2019