Shartrina

I suppose I should have known by the look she gave me that I was a little too close, to Ms. Anhinga.

Since I didn’t get the clue, from reading the sign or reading her facial expression, she resorted to an all out squawking scream. Perhaps I deserved that. 

Among birds, the anhinga is the best fresh-water diver. It goes down quietly and hardly makes a ripple. It finds its food in the water. It spears fish under water with its strong bill. It eats insects, frog eggs, fish and even small alligators. If an object is too large to be swallowed at once the bird spears it on his beak. Then she comes to the surface and flips it off, catches it and lines it up for swallowing.

It spreads its wings out, because it needs to dry its feathers. Most water birds have oil glands on their backs, near their tails, and can spread the oil over their feathers to make them waterproof. But the anhinga cannot oil its feathers.

Great Horned Owls

Last night I took this picture on our evening walk around Cape Haze.  There is something so hauntingly beautiful about the sounds of these owls.  Their calls touch your very soul.  It fills up the night air with a feeling of something more, something yet to come.  It feels like a sound of Fall.  Just like leaves crunching underfoot, or drifting slowly down and landing lightly on the earth….ahh… the sounds of Fall.  Perhaps that is why I love hearing their calls.  Fall is my absolutely favorite time of the year, and it’s almost here!