Eddie & George Wake Up in St. Augustine

Eddie and George are in a new campground!  This one has lots of live oaks, but they all look like they were planted bonsai-style.  Each is very unique, all twisted and gnarly.



Here, Eddie and George admire one of the live oaks near our site, as they sit on a pelican-style carved wooden bench:

That's not all.  The boys strolled over to the pond.  They've already seen ibis, anhingas, wood ducks and great egrets, and they haven't even been here one day.



Here, Eddie and George are watching an anhinga perced on a treed branch just over George's head.  He seems to be resting rather than looking for food.

Eddie wasn't sure whether it was an anhinga or a cormorant, so George looked up the differences.  Here's what George found.  Since these guys are hanging out in fresh water, have long pointed bills and fan tails, the boys are sure they are anhingas and not cormorants.

Cormorant	Anhinga
Inhabit mostly coastal waters and rarely freshwaters	Mostly inhabit freshwaters
Shorter neck compared to anhinga	Longer neck compared to cormorant
Bill is long and curved with a sharp hook	Bill is slender, long, and pointed
Stronger swimmer and hunts faster than anhinga	Good swimmer and diver, but not as fast as cormorants
Short and stiff tail	Long and fan-like tail
Can maintain a higher body temperature	Body temperature is average, but not high