Barely visible, an Anhinga is drying its spread wings in a tree past the far end of the boardwalk at Chapel Trail Nature Preserve in neighboring Pembroke Pines, Florida:
A pair of Anhingas appear to be in the early stages of courtship at the heron rookery in our local wetlands. The male Anhinga sports a white crown as it transforms into breeding plumage:
The view of his back shows the corrugations in the central tail feathers as well as scapulars. Since it "flies" underwater to catch fish, these may act like "spoilers" on an aircraft to break down laminar flow and thus reduce drag: The female of the pair has a buffy head, neck and chest: MACRO of Male with green "goggles" at height of breeding season: A female in breeding condition also has the green flesh around her eyes: A male Anhinga at Corkscrew Swamp shows the feather corrugations as well as the oil gland at the base of its tail, which it uses to preen its feathers: A young Anhinga preens on our back lawn. The immature plumage is dull brown: This young Anhinga is drying its wings on a the post at the end of the boardwalk at Chapel Trail: Anhinga on decoy in our back yard lake: Anhinga casting a fine REFLECTION: Anhinga feeding young: This Anhinga seems to be admiring her reflection in the canal: A closer look: Slide show-- Anhinga eating a big fish:
Excellent video by and property of Richard Kern, shared under terms of the Standard You Tube License. Especially watch for the male's magnificent breeding display. Its transformation reminds me of a Bird of Paradise: If video does not display, click here-- https://youtu.be/EfoqPIcSQCQ
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Pigeons and doves are among the the few species of birds which have the ability to suck up water without tipping back their heads. This is a real advantage as it allows them to spend much less time exposed to possible predators at the water's edge. Other birds must dip their bills to scoop up the water and repeatedly tip their heads back. But what about the goatsuckers and sapsuckers? In the eastern US, the Common Nighthawk is the most familiar member of the goatsucker family (Caprimulgidae), also known as Nightjars. Worldwide in distribution, this group of birds drew their name from an ancient belief that they sucked milk from goats with their widely gaped mouths, actually an adaptation for catching insects in flight: The sapsuckers are also misnamed, as they do not suck up sap or any other fluid. They do chisel holes in the bark of trees and drink the sap which flows from them, and also eat any insects which may be attracted to them. The four sapsucker species are woodpeckers in the genus Sphyrapicus, all native to the New World. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker breeds across Canada and the northeastern USA and winters in the southeastern States, although vagrants have occasionally wandered across the Atlantic Ocean to the UK. An immature female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker visited our back yard on Christmas Eve in 2013. At about 5 PM I looked out the back window and saw this juvenile sapsucker drilling holes in our West Indies Mahogany. Our tree now has neat rows of holes chiseled out of its bark in hopes that sap would flow and insects will also be attracted: Other birds, such as this Yellow-rumped Warbler, helped themselves to the flies which gathered at the holes: The sapsucker lingered in our yard into late March. On January 28, 2014 it was joined by a mature female of its species, but the young bird consistently drove away the intruder: It favored our back yard West Indies Mahogany tree, inflicting considerable damage to the bark: Over the three month period, we saw the sapsucker's plumage gradually change from immature to adult female: Too late, we noticed that an entire section of our tree appeared to be stressed and possibly dying: We did our best to discourage the woodpecker by chasing it with water guns and the garden hose, and it did abandon our yard. Very likely it was time for it to migrate back north anyway. The affected part of the tree lost all its leaves about two weeks before the entire tree shed its leaves on schedule. Within weeks the entire tree looked normal as the new leaves filled in completely. We did not see the sapsucker again in our yard until November 25, 2015 when I took this photo of it or another adult female through the back patio window: Once again I scared it away, but it returned in February, 2016 and continued to drill sap wells: So far our program of harassing the bird seems to have worked, or the time came for it to migrate home to the north. This was our last sighting of the sapsucker, on March 3: Over the years I have seen the other three sapsucker species. The Red-naped Sapsucker visited our home in New Mexico before I owned a DSLR, but I did digiscope a beautiful Williamson's Sapsucker in our front yard with my little 2.0 megapixel Canon A40: In Alaska, I got a lucky shot of a Red-breasted Sapsucker: All four sapsucker species have a characteristic horizontal white line on their wings-- the "sapsucker line.' Julia heliconian female visits a tiny composite, Bidens alba, whose two-toothed seeds (called beggar's ticks) cling to socks and pant legs: Loggerhead Shrikes on fence at nearby Chapel Trail Nature Preserve:
A Great Egret casts a fine reflection in the pre-dawn darkness:
Early morning overcast-- fog over wet prairie at sunrise: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
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As much as I enjoy a leisurely mug of coffee while I catch up on the morning news and correspondence, I also like to photograph birds in soft early light. The switch to Daylight Savings Time has made it easier for us to get out at dawn. As the first day of spring approached, sunrise happened earlier and earlier, from 7:30 AM back in October to as early as 6:33 AM on March 12, the day before Daylight Savings Time "delayed" the Sun's arrival until 7:32 AM. Relentlessly, the sunrise will continue to creep up earlier until the first week of June, when it will occur at 6:29 AM despite the time change. Earlier in March, we encountered fog as we walked along the gravel road into the wetlands. The sun was trying to break through: On the wetlands, the posture and habits of this Little Blue Heron made it identifiable from a distance as it fished on the opposite shore: I processed the above photo as an antique oil painting because I liked the way the fog gave depth to the colors and tones: The day after the time change and before sunrise, a Great Egret posed nicely against the same background-- a bit nearer, but under similar atmospheric conditions: Later that morning, in subdued light, a Great Egret flew in to roost on a Pond Cypress: A second egret wanted to share the roost... ...but the occupant did not seem pleased: The intruder moved on... ...and took a place next to an American Kestrel (Disclaimer-- I did not see the kestrel when I took this photo!): The kestrel, probably the same one, did pose nearby in full view: Now back-lighted in full sunlight, a Great Egret protested the presence of another white wader... ...an immature Little Blue Heron: The two took their disagreement to another spot on the lake. The smaller heron twice "buzzed" the agitator: The sun touched the wet prairie: Under fair skies, butterflies and bees went about their chores, sipping nectar... ...and harvesting pollen: Star Rush popped up in wet places: Two Turkey Vultures watched me from the guard rail... ...dwarfing an Eastern Phoebe, a little bird on a big fence!: A closer look at the little guy: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
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