People walking at our wetlands often confuse the anhinga and cormorant. The cormorant is actually only seen here occasionally. For those not familiar with the distinction, the cormorant has blue eyes and a hooked beak. The anhinga has dark eyes and a straight bill, and the coloring is slightly different. They are similar in size, and both have less oil in their feathers than other swimming birds like ducks and geese, and have backwards-oriented feet - these features enable them to swim underwater to chase fish. When seen swimming, their bodies are generally submerged. The long neck of the anhinga, sticking up out of the water, results in it being called the "snake bird". Neither cannot walk on land very well, and must dry their feathers before they can fly, and so will often be seen sitting on the shore or on a branch, holding their wings open to the air.

It was a cool sunny day when these photos were taken, and so everyone - including the gators - was out enjoying the warmth of the sun.


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