Birds in the Everglades.

Anhinga. Sometimes called the Snake Bird. The Florida Everglades has many different species of birds about 350 of them. I spend a lot of time in the fragile ecosystem I call the beautiful swamp. An amazing place where these birds have been nesting and feeding for thousands of years. One of the most common of these swamp birds is the Anhinga. The anhinga is a diving bird not a wading bird like the herons or Egrets.

Anhinga. The anhinga is a medium sized water bird and it's distinction is the fact that it is the only water bird without oil glands to waterproof its feathers. When the Anhinga goes into the water to hunt it's feathers obviously get wet, which helps them dive and find fish. But when the Anhinga gets out of the water, it climbs onto a rock or low branch and spreads its wings out to dry.

When in the water hunting fish the Anhinga spears its prey with it's very sharp beak, their strike is often so powerful that they have to swim to shore and pry the fish off their beaks by rubbing it against a rock. Adult Anhinga's are black with white on their backs and wings. They are also known as snake bird because the Anhinga has a long flexible neck that they can rwist in all directions, they can often be seen swimming with just their head and neck above water.

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Photographing The Birds.

Photography Tips. Photographing the birds like the Anhinga is a great experience, best done at dawn or sunset, during the golden hours. Lots of swamp birds will rest up during the day and only feed in the morning and evening. Anhinga's are very easily spooked so a long zoom is needed at least a 300mm or longer. I like to use shutter priority of about 500th sec or higher but you will need a tripod, birds don't stay still for too long and catching them as they fly off is a treat. Remember to boost your ISO up to 800/1600 if you can't get enough shutter speed due to low light levels.