March 1, 2009 - Wakulla Springs State Park

At Wakulla Springs State Park (near Tallahassee, FL) we took a boat trip on the Wakulla River. These Anhingas were among the birds we saw on this trip. The female (on the left) has a brown head and neck while the male (on the right) has a black head and neck. Most water birds have oil glands and they spread this oil on their feathers to keep them from getting water logged. The Anhinga doesn’t have an oil gland so, after being in the water for a while, it must come out and let its feathers dry. That is what the male is doing in this photo.

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We were fortunate to be near this Anhinga when it caught a fish. You can see that it spears the fish on its sharp beak. It hopped out on a log and banged the fish around until the fish came off its beak. Then the bird proceeded to swallow the fish whole, first turning it so it went down head first.

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This very elegant looking Great Blue Heron was another bird that we saw on the trip.

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Wakulla Springs has lots of free-roaming Alligators and they were out sunning themselves. This one has a very sly look. It seems to be thinking, “How can I get up on that boat?” Or, perhaps it had just eaten a meal; you can see the toothpick hanging out the side of its mouth.

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This gator got up and started walking toward the water. I realized that I have seldom seen one actually walking around. I was glad I took this photo because you can see the underside of the gator. Notice the stripes on its belly.

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