Photos by Craig ONeal
The first photo (taken at Bird Island) captures an adult Anhinga flipping a small fish up in the air after surfacing since they can’t eat while under water.
The bottom photo was taken near the east entrance of Sawgrass Country Club where the headwaters of Guana Lake starts. In summer this area is teaming with alligators hiding in the lily pads waiting for prey.
While watching a few Anhingas sunning themselves with their black wings spread out towards the sun, I began to wonder what commonality they had with our American Alligators since both spend an enormous time catching some rays.
After a bit of research, I found that both the Anhinga and alligator both have unusually low metabolic rates and unusually high rate of heat loss from their bodies requiring them sunbathe. Further research indicates that the Anhinga “Wing-spreading is mainly a thermoregulation behavior, not a drying one” according to Audubon.org. which is similar to the alligator.
