Anhinga Encounter

As we move into December I continue to watch the ducks on Lake Davis. The Long-tailed Duck only stuck around for a couple of days but the Ring-necked Duck numbers are on the rise. Close to 300 of them gather daily. I was hoping for a discovery of something more interesting but it was not to be.

Until...

Anhingas are very common here. In fact, the other day I counted nearly two dozen of them positioned around our small lake. Anhingas, in my opinion, are rather cool. They come ashore or land in the trees to dry off between feedings. They are often rather jumpy when people get too close to them. So, it was a great surprise to have one actually come over to me as I did my duck count.

This female seemed to have no fear as she swam over and climbed up on the rocks a mere 6-8 feet from where I was standing. With my lens acting up as of late, it was easy pickin's to get some shots of this excellent Florida bird.



She was so close that that was my zoom lens pulled all the way back. I took as much time as possible doing a more close-up set while I could. Anhingas are often called Snake Birds due to the fact that when they swim all you can see is a long serpentine neck gliding just above the water's surface.



Females have the tan/brown neck and breast seen in this bird. Males are darker, nearly solid black, and have many white spots on their wings during breeding season. Once she let me take a ton of close-up shots, she relaxed enough to start sunning.



Anhingas need to dry their wings between foraging and they almost always do it on the shore line here throughout the year. I feel so honored that this little girl felt so comfortable around me to hang out for a while. I left her to her drying right after that shot to go look for more birds during the day.