Thursday, May 17, 2012

Angry Anhinga

A few weeks ago,  I observed some interesting Anhinga behavior. A male Anhinga arrived at a nest that was occupied by 2 chicks and a female Anhinga and fiercely began attacking the female until she was out of the nest.


The photos don't quite capture how aggressive the male was actually being as he pecked at her. The juvenile Great Blue Herons in next tree over took notice.


The hungry chicks eagerly awaited a meal. In another area of the wetlands, I saw this second Anhinga family.


There were 5 chicks in this area. Anhinga chicks feed by shoving their heads into their parents' beaks to retrieve food.


20 comments:

  1. Hi again Tammy !
    You have captured one of all the fights going on in the nature very good. As a human we often don't understand, or like this way to act to eachother, but life is life and life is hard .....
    Have a nice photoweekend i in the state of sun !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anhingas are crazy birds, no doubt about it.

    That's a great shot of the chicks with their gaping maws.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hmmm. wonder who was the interloper - male or female anhinga?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hola Tammy ¡Bienvenidas las nuevas generaciones!
    Saludos!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hola Tammy!!!.. Vaya que si tienen hambre estos pequeños...jiji!!.. Se ve que estás en un bonito lugar.. Bonitas fotos.. Felicidades!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Really enjoying your blog from over here in the UK. I've been to Florida and birded a fair bit (with family in tow). Your lovely pics are bringing back some good memories. Favourite places I've been are Corkscrew Swamp and Ding Darling -Sanibel. Great stuff. Martin.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, that's a battle going over there, beautiful photos Tammy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fascinating family activity! Wow. Excellent images.

    ReplyDelete
  9. that was a pretty mean thing to do. I think that bird was having a bad day !!!

    Shaun Valleys ShutterBug

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, awesome stuff!! Love the open mouths of the young Anhingas...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hola Tammy bonito documento de esta pelea entre ardeidas.Un fuerte abrazo

    ReplyDelete
  12. We don't have Anhingas so it's cool to see photos of them. I like the shot of the GBH next to them.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The male Anhingas aggression toward the female does seem odd. I wonder whats up with that spat. The chicks are so fuzzy and cute. Awesome shots, Tammy.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello Tammy,
    Wondrful these shots!!
    Great to see the hungry young birds on the nest.
    This is enjoyment!!

    Many greetings,
    Marco

    ReplyDelete
  15. "Anhinga chicks feed by shoving their heads into their parents' beaks to retrieve food."
    Much like Pelicans, then!
    A great set of photos Tammy!
    interesting the breed so close to the Herons.... Both families must know each other from season to season!
    XXXXXX
    Enjoy your WE!

    ReplyDelete
  16. How bizarre that must have been! How do you know who to root for in a situation like that? Breeding season certainly brings out all sorts of fascinating behavior

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The male seemed so irate, I thought he might attack the chicks next, but thankfully he didn't!

      Delete
  17. Interesting behaviour and great photos. The Anhinga chicks look like mini emus!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are all nice shots but the second one is really great.

    ReplyDelete

I greatly appreciate your comments!