Photographed in a spot that has been reclaimed by a swamp.
The last two years this has been dry and empty of anything except a passing hawk.
The water has flowed back this year and the first to move in have been White Ibis.
A few trips back there did provide additional images still to be finished. I have been trying to catch up in chronological order while waiting out the pandemic.
I thought this would be a single photograph, the Anhinga sitting and drying her wings. She did me one better and gave me a small series of images.
At first it was a basic, probably nothing shot. The big feet were the most interesting thing.
But she turned around and stared right at me with that ‘goofy’ look they can give.
Suddenly something caught her eye…under the water.
She gave a hard look around. Nothing.
Then turned her back on me.
I moved on because she was obviously finished with me.
Sitting and watching a few males dance for her. They were flapping their wings like fools, she sat back looking all cool.
The soft brown colors on her long neck look just like a soft fur coat.
This is a female Anhinga, also known as the ‘snake bird’.
A few of the far islands in this swamp are going to be very crowded.
Caught this Ibis zooming around a rookery.
This is a good angle to catch just what an ‘eating machine’ a group like this can be.
It’s an organized line, all slowly moving forward…big pouches open.
I am pretty amazed at these shoots. The Pelican were at the perfect distance, moving at a perfect speed.
How often does that happen!
This guy was ‘struttin his stuff’. And that’s hard for an Anhinga. Those huge, flat, webbed feet don’t hang on branches very well. In fact I’ve seen them fall out of trees.
The Anhinga dance is different than others in the rookery. He hangs on, sits up, and spins his wings…backwards.
It’s a bouncing back stroke.
I have added photographs in a gallery here for easier viewing of the show. Click the first image below to view in order.
The blue hour is the period of twilight (in the morning or evening, around the nautical stage) when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon and residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade, which differs from the one visible during most of a clear day, which is caused by Rayleigh scattering. (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia is much better at describing things. LOL
At least he didn’t land on anyone.
A mass of feeding birds, ACE Basin, South Carolina.
