Anhinga

I’m sorry about this less-than-stellar picture, but I’m only using pictures that I take, of birds I spotted along the BRT. I’ve only seen an Anhinga twice along the trail, and this is the only picture I’ve managed to get of an Anhinga along the BRT. I almost, however, got a spectacular picture of one.

I saw an Anhinga while walking on the trail’s south loop. It was sitting on a tree branch along the Bosque River about five feet above the water. About five feet above the Anhinga on another branch was a Red Shouldered Hawk. The hawk was staring down at the Anhinga.

I tried to get a picture of the two birds. But just as I raised my camera, the hawk dropped like a stone off its branch. It dropped straight at the Anhinga claws first. It looked like the Anhinga’s goose was cooked. But the Anhinga must have had its eye on the hawk. It dodged right and then flew like bullet up into the trees along the river. The hawk missed by a mile.

It was pretty neat to see, but I didn’t get my picture. Regardless, this is what I like about the BRT. You never know what you are going to witness.