nom nom nom OUCH! nom...
July 8th, 2009
In Ottawa, I usually only see Double-Crested Cormorants in migration. In Gaspé they were one of the most common of breeding water birds. I dubbed them "crows of the sea." They could be seen anywhere, anytime offshore, swimming, diving, loafing on small islets, or flying just over the surface of the water.
Cormorants are unique. There's really no good way to classify them except as simply "cormorants". When they stand they look like herons. When they show their webbed feet they look like ducks. When they spread their wings in the sun, they look like vultures. Taxonomically, they're most closely related to pelicans. They're one of the few classes of water birds who have non-waterproofed plumage. That helps them stay submerged when they dive, but it also means that, until they dry their wings afterward, they're waterlogged and can barely fly. (In the group photo above, you can see one individual in the classic cormorant wing-drying pose.)
Double-Crested Cormorants sport two fluffy white tufts on their heads during spring courtship, which gives them their name. I've only seen it once myself.
They eat primarily fish, with a side order of crustaceans. Which brings me to this picture and the reason for the title:
July 8th, 2009
In Ottawa, I usually only see Double-Crested Cormorants in migration. In Gaspé they were one of the most common of breeding water birds. I dubbed them "crows of the sea." They could be seen anywhere, anytime offshore, swimming, diving, loafing on small islets, or flying just over the surface of the water.
Cormorants are unique. There's really no good way to classify them except as simply "cormorants". When they stand they look like herons. When they show their webbed feet they look like ducks. When they spread their wings in the sun, they look like vultures. Taxonomically, they're most closely related to pelicans. They're one of the few classes of water birds who have non-waterproofed plumage. That helps them stay submerged when they dive, but it also means that, until they dry their wings afterward, they're waterlogged and can barely fly. (In the group photo above, you can see one individual in the classic cormorant wing-drying pose.)
Double-Crested Cormorants sport two fluffy white tufts on their heads during spring courtship, which gives them their name. I've only seen it once myself.
They eat primarily fish, with a side order of crustaceans. Which brings me to this picture and the reason for the title:
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