Do ahingas dive in salt water?

[Scuba_Jenny]

A bunch of us were doing a dive last weekend. We ended up under the pier, which has been closed for a year. The water was pretty calm, but there was some surge and the vis was only about 10ft. Just as we got to the other side of the pier I looked up and saw something swimming away very rapidly. I was in about 12fsw water, and this thing was about 8ft down. It took off very fast away from me and toward the surface, and all I saw was its butt and what looked like flippers. My first thought was an ahinga or an otter.

This is a very populated area, so I doubt it is an otter, however, I have never seen an ahinga or comerant in salt water. Any ideas?

Oh yeah, the dive was a beach dive at Lauderdale By The Sea, Broward County, Florida.

 

[sapphire]

I don't know what an ahinga is, Jenny... but I have seen cormorants under water many times!

Jennifer

 

[Allison Finch]

Anhingas much prefer fresh water. Cormorants, however, are all over salt water areas. They will dive fairly deep. They look very much alike, so they are easy to mix up.

 

[NOVIZWHIZ]

Exactly - both birds are very similar...the fresshwater tastes like chicken, the saltwater tastes like salty chicken....

 

[SubMariner]

This is a very populated area, so I doubt it is an otter, however, I have never seen an ahinga or comerant in salt water. Any ideas?

Oh yeah, the dive was a beach dive at Lauderdale By The Sea, Broward County, Florida.

Anhingas prefer fresh water:

http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/s...searchText=anhinga&curPageNum=1&recnum=BD0005

So I'd hazard that it was a commorant.

 

[Walter]

They look very similar. Commorants are often seen in the ocean. I've seen them cruising the reefs at 25 feet. I don't believe we have any otters that frequent the ocean on our coast.

 

[cdiver2]

A bunch of us were doing a dive last weekend. We ended up under the pier, which has been closed for a year. The water was pretty calm, but there was some surge and the vis was only about 10ft. Just as we got to the other side of the pier I looked up and saw something swimming away very rapidly. I was in about 12fsw water, and this thing was about 8ft down. It took off very fast away from me and toward the surface, and all I saw was its butt and what looked like flippers. My first thought was an ahinga or an otter.

This is a very populated area, so I doubt it is an otter, however, I have never seen an ahinga or comerant in salt water. Any ideas?

Oh yeah, the dive was a beach dive at Lauderdale By The Sea, Broward County, Florida.

I have seen them in the intercoastal many a time

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

So, I guess that was the butt of a comorant I saw. Thanks all for your help.

 

[pipedope]

You saw the wrong end to be able to tell which it was.

The anhinga has the pointed beak and spears fish and the comorant has a hooked beak and grabs the fish.