Darter (Anhinga)

At the river this afternoon I spotted this lovely Darter sunning itself and watched as it stood for quite a few minutes in this pose before bending a little leaning forward and taking off so gracefully. Unfortunately I was just turning away as it actually took off because I thought I had misread the signals!! :o)

It reminded me of Karl Martens a water colour painter of birds when he said you can usually tell by the birds pose what its going to do next, I should have kept my eye glued to it!

His paintings and words are amazing if you have time to watch.
https://youtu.be/rO-LOjGsUZ4

It’s been a restful day and not a lot was done, just what I needed! :o)