ML58578021

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The Anhinga was circling over the lake, at a height that I'd estimate at 200 ft (perhaps twice as high a ten-story building). My view of it was blocked by trees at times, but it spent enough time in clear view that I was able to see the shape quite well. The sky was overcast, so the bird appeared mostly as a silhouette, although I may have made out yellow feet at one point. The shape was distinctive: long thin neck, carried with a slight cormorant-like kink; small head, apparently no wider than the neck, and long thin pointed bill. The head and bill appeared thus both from below and, when the bird banked, in profile view. The tail was about the same length as the combined neck and head, and was always at least slightly fanned. At one point, the bird banked, giving me a poor oblique view of the upperwings; I could see that there was some white or light gray, and that it wasn't in the primaries; I thought it was in the upperwing coverts, but couldn't have sworn to that. The bird was soaring; I don't think I ever saw it flap its wings. Sprinted back to the car for the camera; by the time I got there, the bird was much higher up, and quite a way off to the east. I got some photos that show the shape, but nothing more; indeed, it's hard to make out the bill. I waited at Swan Creek for some time, hoping that the bird might return; after I left, I scanned the private lake about a mile to the east, hoping that it might be there, but found nothing. I'm quite familiar with Anhinga, both perched and in flight, having spent considerable time birding in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The neck and bill rule out raptors; the long tail and lack of long legs rule out herons and egrets; the long tail and the thin pointed bill rule out cormorants.

Technical information

Model

DMC-FZ20

ISO

80

Focal length

72 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

318 pixels x 279 pixels

Original file size

20.68 KB