Sunday, January 5, 2014

Anhinga Magic Trick



Anhingas are amazing birds. They can swim underwater, stab a fish, then toss it,

and catch it, then it goes down the hatch. Here you can see the fish in it's bill, with the
fish tail still sticking out! One of the things I love about digital photography is that you can blow up your photo and see fantastic details about a bird.




Anhingas often climb out of the water, then they can spread their wings and dry them. They do this because their feathers are adapted to be more wettable than other birds, allowing the Anhinga to submege underwater. Don and I never tire of watching and enjoying all the birds, even the more common ones. Anhingas are easy to see here at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL, where we are. FYI, the road in Ding Darling was recently redone and is great and the bird photo ops are as good as ever. Given the record cold up north, more birders may be thinking of heading south this winter. If you are, then come on down!
Lillian Stokes
http://www.stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com

4 comments:

  1. Amazing pictures of an amazing bird.

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  2. That first capture is impressive. Our Darter (Australia) is a member of the same family, and behaves in a similar way. Do your Anhingas have a very distinctive call, as ours do?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Anhingas make some very distinctive calls including a drawn out grating sound.

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  3. It's always fun to observe the Anhingas seek prey. Their feathers are gorgeous! Terrific photographs, Lillian!

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