Anhinga

Anhinga anhinga

eBird describes the Anhinga this way:  Long-necked “snake bird” found in wooded swamps, marshes, and ponds. Males are black with white on wing; females similar but with brownish neck and head. Dives underwater and spears fish with dagger-like bill. Often swims with only head and neck out of water. Like cormorants, perches out in the open to spread wings and dry feathers. Similar shape to cormorants but even longer-tailed with a more sharply pointed bill. Occasionally soars.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Anhinga:  A dark body stealthily swims through a lake with only a snakelike head poking above the surface. What may sound like the Loch Ness monster is actually an Anhinga, swimming underwater and stabbing fish with its daggerlike bill. After every dip, it strikes a regal pose on the edges of shallow lakes and ponds, with its silvery wings outstretched and head held high to dry its waterlogged feathers. Once dry, it takes to the sky, soaring high on thermals stretched out like a cross.

I saw my first Anhinga on the afternoon of January 6, 2021 at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas.  I saw and photographed three Anhingas that afternoon — two males and one female.  The first male I saw was near the southwest end of Alligator Lake.  I watched as this bird speared a fish, ate it, then dry his wings while standing next to a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.  Down at the northeast end of Alligator Lake I saw another male and a female perched on limbs over the water.  For details of the trip that included seeing these birds, look here.  Below are some of the photos I took that afternoon.