On two recent afternoons several Anhingas gathered in this Cypress Tree on one of the rookery islands.
There were at least five Anhinga nests on the island this spring, and probably more that I couldn’t see based on the activity. The two lower birds in the next image may be young from one of those nests.
A Little Blue Heron and two juvenile Great Blue Herons can also be seen in the wider view. Those two GBH had not fledged yet but sure were curious about the flights of other birds.
These three chicks really look like Anhingas now, with the classic black and white “piano key” feathers on their wings.
Like the wading bird chicks in nearby nests these older chicks are spending more time interacting with each other as they wait for the parents to bring food. These three were so busy they didn’t even notice when one of the parents was on its approach.
Just as well, because she kept right on going.
And going.
I don’t know what made her abort her landing, but she circled around the tree for a second try and successful touch down.
After the adult Anhinga finished feeding the one chick, the unfed chick started to pester his sibling.
He used the same chewing on the beak method all the young use on the parent when they return to the nest.
I couldn’t tell if the second chick got any food from the first one or if this was all show. The adult didn’t stick around to find out.
These two chicks are older than the four from last night’s post, where I described how the adult regurgitates the food. It’s a little weird the second time you see it, too. These chicks were a bigger target for me and I had a much better vantage point to see the feeding action.
Some feathers are starting to grow on the chicks’ necks, making them look more appealing and bird-like.
Anhinga can swallow very large fish, much bigger than their heads. You can see here the flexibility of their jaw.
The adult only fed the one chick then moved out of their reach.
5/10/2018
Anhingas feed their chicks a little differently than the herons and egrets and it’s a little weird the first time you see it: the young stick their beaks down the adult’s throat to get the regurgitated food.
Like the herons, the young Anhinga will pull on the adults beak to start the feeding process. This adult had four young in the nest and the pushiest gets the most food.
Below you can see the featherless necks of the chicks and how the pouch at the corner of their jaw. It appears the one on the left is bleeding from a scratch–small wonder with all those sharp beaks.
I had changed positions trying to get a better view but they all kept dipping down below the branches.
04/20/2018
Anhingas often climb into trees with branches that hang over the pond for drying off. I’ve more frequently seen them down close to the water but this one was over my head giving an interesting view of his very long body.
From this view you can the sharpness of the beak, clearly adapted to spearing fish.
They are often vocal, making a low croaking sound, likened to a frog with a soar throat by Cornell’s All About Birds.
Usually Anhinga eat the fish they catch while they are swimming, often executing some intricate fish flipping maneuvers to get the fish in position to swallow head first. Occasionally, I have seen them get out of the water and beat the fish for awhile, although I’m not sure why. The fish looks dead with that sharp beak speared through it. Sometimes it appears the fish is stuck and at this time of year they may be on their way to the nest with it. No matter the reason, it is an activity that comes with risk.
This Anhinga swam thirty or forty feet to reach an alligator platform, then flapped and pulled himself out of the water.
Wack, wack, wack the fish.
Toss it into position.
Over the side it went, never to be seen by this bird again.
Anhingas fish by swimming underwater and spearing their prey. They then need to air dry and are often seen with their wings fully spread. This one must have young to feed as he bypassed the usual process.
After he pulled himself out of the water, he took very little time to dry. He held the fish in his beak and worked his way up the stick.
Once airborne he had to really work it to get to the island about 50 feet (16 meters) away. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it; twice his wings dipped into the water.
He did make it, and disappeared into the island underbrush with his catch.
Busy working on their nest at the end of the day this Anhinga pair was a challenge to photograph due to the low light. I used Dfine 2 to reduce the noise, hoping to keep the wing detail.
The male brought Spanish Moss and branches for nesting materials
Practically condo living, all this activity is just below an active Great Blue Heron nest. The GBH neighbors are mostly tolerant, but occasionally sqwak over the side of their higher perch.
Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp Rookery, 2/13 & 2/14 2017,
More “how’d he do that?”
A few days ago I posted photographs of an Anhinga flexing his neck in an unnatural looking way. This week I saw another Anhinga flipping a fish like a Benihana chef–he didn’t have the height but he had some other moves.
I don’t know how he stabbed the fish, especially in that murky water covered with duck weed. But once he had the fish speared it was a mere minute before he swallowed the fish … whole!
His end game is to get the fish facing head first down his throat so that any spines on the fish won’t get lodged on the way down. Flip, turn, turn, turn.
He was an expert and at no time lost his hold on the fish. At the same time the Anhinga has to swim to keep afloat.
There would be no getting away for this fish, stabbed completely through.
I didn’t get any clear shots of the fish going down and it was over in an amazingly short amount of time. The Anhinga then swam to nearby platform, lifted out of the water and fanned his wings to dry.
Click on any photo for larger view.
Magnolia Plantation Rice Field Pond, Charleston, SC.
