January 21, 2018

Anhinga Family

Anhinga Nest 

The SDP team visited Audubon's Corkscrew Sanctuary yesterday and had a great adventure!  Most of the sanctuary is open once again after it was closed for three months due to extensive damage from Hurricane Irma. (More on that in upcoming posts.) We spent almost four hours wandering along the 2-mile boardwalk looking for birds and other wildlife. A highlight of the walk was spotting an anhinga nest -- conveniently located a few yards off the boardwalk for excellent viewing opportunities.  Here the female was spotted with one fuzzy little baby peeking out the nest. But, was that it?

AnhingaBaby2 

No, it wasn't! While I was adjusting my camera settings the mom & dad switched places -- revealing two chicks!  But, wait...

AnhingaBaby3 

Yep -- there was a third chick in the nest! Incredible. That's the female sitting in the nest and the male nearby. The anhinga is also known as the 'Snake Bird' because of its long neck.  When the babies stretched, they were all neck -- amazing.  This was my first time seeing an anhinga nest -- great experience watching them.

7 comments:

William Kendall said...

What lovely birds!

Lowell said...

We saw an anhinga today, but no nest. I've never seen an anhinga nest! You are very privileged and thanks for these beautiful and delightful photos!

Lorraine said...

Wow, what pretty birds and beautiful shots of them! That last one is fabulous!

Lorraine said...

I was just wondering if you've ever thought of publishing a book of your photography and marketing it in your area. There is a bookstore in Fairhope, AL that is famous for featuring all kinds of books by local writers, artists and photographers. They have signings all the time.

Karl said...

Great nature shots !

Kay said...

These are fabulous shots. I'm very impressed...and envious.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Fantastic captures SRQ, beautiful markings on the adult anhinga bird. How sweet the babies look 😊