Details best viewed in Original Size.
I photographed this male (black neck) drying his feathers at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida. The Anhinga sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word anhinga comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means "devil bird" or "snake bird". The origin of the name is apparent when swimming during which only the neck appears above water, so the bird looks like a snake ready to strike. They do not have external nostrils and breathe solely through a leaf-shaped flap in the throat that prevents food and water from entering the trachea and the lungs but which stays open during breathing. The anhinga is placed in the darter family, Anhingidae, and is closely related to the Indian, African, and Australian darters. Like other darters, the anhinga hunts by spearing fish and other small prey using its sharp, slender beak while pursuing them underwater. Like Cormorants, Anhingas have no oil on their wings which would increase their buoyancy and thus hamper their pursuit. This lack of oil leads to them periodically having to dry their feathers in the sun and wind. This in turn leads to the common sight (seen here) of anhingas standing on an exposed tree branch or rock with their wings extended to the sun or wind.
The created Wakodahatchee Wetlands feature a three-quarter mile elevated, wood boardwalk with gazebos and benches along the way and which crosses between open water pond areas and islands with shrubs and snags to foster nesting and roosting. This site offers many opportunities to observe birds in their natural habitats, but during this time it is predominantly a home to a couple of hundred wood storks roosting/nesting on snags, with some within easy reach to even the smallest telephoto lenses. In addition to the wood storks, over 178 bird species have been identified there, along with turtles, alligators, rabbits, fish, frogs and raccoons. Of some note are the invasive and photogenic iguanas cohabitating with the storks. Each day, the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department’s Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility pumps approximately two million gallons of 90% treated water into the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. This water, which is free of organic contaminants but still contains excess minerals, is naturally purified by the plants and algae in the wetlands, and then released into the surface water supply.
Additional information on the Anhinga may be found on Wikipedia.
Additional information on the Wakodahatchee Wetlands may be found on Wikipedia.
