The Anhinga is an unusual looking bird with a snake like-neck and silvery feathers. They are often refereed to as the “snake bird” or the “water turkey.” The adult male is all black with silvery white feathers on his back and wings. The female and the juveniles are brown and beige. They dry their wings out of the water like our more common Double-crested Cormorants. In fact, they spend a lot of time out of the water, seeming only to go in to find a meal. Birds of the swamps, they are right at home at Stumpy Lake, with its tannin colored water and many Bald Cypress and Tupelo trees. Stumpy Lake also has a healthy population of fish, a favorite of the Anhinga. They are considered a semi-aquatic bird, and can stay submerged for long periods. While swimming under water, Anhingas use their sharp beak and strong webbed feet to spear small fish. Anhingas thrusts are so powerful that sometimes they must come ashore and pry fish off of their beak using a rock or their feet. Like many aquatic birds, anhingas eat their food whole; tossing them in the air and swallowing fish head first so that the spines lay flat as they swallow.
Anhingas are a delight for both beginner and expert birders alike. They are easily spotted because of their unique coloration, telltale stance, and habit of staying still for long periods. Since they decided to stay visible at Stumpy Lake, they have had many visitors, so many in-fact, that they are no longer considered a “rarity” in Virginia Beach. The National Audubon Society predicts that this species will be severely impacted by climate change, and we will probably be seeing them expand their breeding range northward in the United States.
Like many migratory birds, they will head South for the winter, some all the way to South America perhaps, where many other Anhingas live and breed all year. I pray they will return to Stumpy Lake again in 2020 to breed and raise their families. Godspeed.
