“Gotcha!!”

Here’s an anhinga fishing shot from the files…

The anhinga is a water bird that fishes by swimming underwater and spearing a fish on the end of it’s sharp bill. Here, the excited bird bursts up out of the marsh pond with a freshly speared meal. Anhingas are one of my favorite birds to watch and photographing them is a challenge which I greatly enjoy.

32 thoughts on ““Gotcha!!”

  1. Another great shot Phil!! When did you take this? A friend of mine from PA and I were at Huntington yesterday around 1100 and stayed for a couple of hours. I was really hoping I would run in to you and Alyce there. We spent time on the beach and the Nature Center. I was really surprised to see that Atalya is now charging to get in!!

    Chat soon!!

    Connie

  2. Great shot (as usual). We don’t see many anhingas here. Far more cormorants, or could it be I’m not looking closely enough? So far all the close-up shots I’ve managed are all definitely cormorants.

    • Thanks I’m glad you liked the anhinga. Cormorants and anhingas are both water birds but have slightly different fishing techniques. The cormorant with it’s hooked bill will grasp a fish while the anhinga with it’s pointed bill will spear the fish. Both are interesting to watch and photograph. 🙂

  3. Magnificent. What a feat of nature, and a truly perfect capture – full of thrust and drag, the feathers and body working together to propel the body into the air. I so enjoyed the detail – the pattern on the feathers of the leading edge of the wing, looking almost like fish scales, finished off in long luxurious feathers – the muscles in its legs and rump, but it’s the flying feathers – reaching skyward … they could belong to an angel. 🙂

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