I didn't see this bird, but today a fellow teacher described a bird at Burke
Lake that she saw this weekend as it was swimming near the drain near the dam.
SHe said she saw just the neck and head sticking out of the water as it swam,
with a very sharp dagger-like beak. SHe tried to get a photo with her cell
phone to show me but it kept diving whenever she got it in view. SHe is not
familiar with birds so did not know about Anhingas. She just knew it was a
strange bird. I showed her a photo of a double crested cormorant swimming like
that. She said it looked a lot like that but with a skinnier neck and a
sharper, straighter, more dangerous-looking beak. So I showed her an Anhinga
and she said that was it!
So, I don't think it is one for the records since she got no photo and is not a
birder, but if you bird the lakes in the Burke area you might want to look
around for this bird, although it has been a few days since she saw it. If
anyone was there this weekend and might have seen her bird I would like to
know. I spent about 90 minutes there today but could find neither an Anhinga
nor a cormorant. I scanned all the visible water and all the logs and dead
branches where it could have been resting along the shore with my scope this
evening starting about 4:15. Here is my ebird list if you are interested
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24769586
All the bestFred
Frederick D. Atwood Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675 http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood http://www.flinthill.org ;
http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html ;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/75425046@N06/sets/
