Most of the bigger birds I’ve watched nesting gather sticks off the ground or take easily snapped dead limbs for their nesting materials.
Anhingas prefer live branches.
It may have something to do with their feet and ability to land in live trees.
This fellow wasn’t having much luck and dropped at least one branch in the water below.
He made an empty trip back to the nest but pretty quickly returned to try again.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 23, 2023
A female, or possibly immature male, Anhinga was perched atop a gnarly dead tree branch above my head.
She sat there for quite awhile, just looking around. We were back at St. Augustine this past week and many of these dead and dying trees have been cut down. They are being replaced, three huge palm trees were being installed while we were there.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, FL
January 20, 2023
While I was walking down the dike the Anhinga on an Old Wharf Piling went for a swim. Just as I came back he was drying off.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 12, 2022
These three pilings are used frequently by a variety of birds at Magnolia Plantation’s boat pond, including this Anhinga, drying off in the sun.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
September 12, 2022
This Oak Tree was nearly bare, giving me a good view of a Female Anhinga and a bit of color from the few remaining leaves.
Can you do this with your neck?
Easy stuff for the very flexible Anhinga.
Being watched from the water…
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
September 2, 2021
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 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.
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!
