I have sometimes wondered what it takes for some of our more ho-hum birds to make the kind of impression that would qualify it as Bird of the Day status. I did feature the European Starling one day last fall, it really stood out in its classy newly moulted plumage. But take the Double-crested Cormorant for example; maybe if they weren’t dressed so somberly they’d be more appreciated, maybe if their guano didn’t destroy their nesting trees they’d find a place in our hearts, and just because they’re generally reviled by fishermen, boaters and lakeside property owners it doesn’t mean their mothers don’t love them. But they are what they are, and no-one seems to care for them very much.
Today on a distinctly urban errand I stopped to see if there was anything interesting out on the lake. Most of the ‘interesting’ waterfowl, things like Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and Long-tailed Ducks have flown north to nest somewhere more secluded and traditional, somewhere that’s been a part of their genetic makeup for eons. I wasn’t expecting much , but about half a kilometer offshore a mass of Double-crested Cormorants, about 500 by my best estimate, had gathered in a feeding frenzy, diving excitedly on a large school of small fish. The whole gorging flock (which also included a few Ring-billed Gulls) moved quickly across the surface in a rolling wave. I managed to get a couple of decent photographs, in the one below you can also make out a flight of new birds coming in to share the wealth.
On a different note and in appreciation of Victorian nonsense poets I’m including this oddball piece of cormorant verse.
The common cormorant or shag
Lays eggs in a paper bag.
The reason you will see, no doubt,
Is to keep the lightning out,
But what these observant birds
Have never noticed is herds
Of wandering bears may come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.