Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Double-crested Cormorants

 Double-crested Cormorant  (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Expert fishers, Double-crested Cormorants are a fairly common sight  on the north side of Lake Ontario this time of year.

 Soaking up some sunshine

Supposedly they do not winter on the Great Lakes but I saw a few in Hamilton, Ontario last year where they stayed out our nastiest winter in many years.

 Coming up after a dive


Drying off

Added later: The double-crest is visible on adults only during breeding season.

I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

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49 comments:

  1. eileeninmdJuly 29, 2014 at 5:34 AM

    Awesome shots of the DC Cormorants.. The second one soaking up the sunshine is one of my favorites..Have a great day!

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  2. AndyJuly 29, 2014 at 5:44 AM

    I agree awesome!

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  3. AnonymousJuly 29, 2014 at 6:04 AM

    I am fascinated by these birds ever since I saw a PBS special on them. Lovely clicks CameraGirl. I especially like "Drying Off"!

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  4. RevrunnerJuly 29, 2014 at 6:27 AM

    I think they are tough birds. But I think your winter would have been still tougher.

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  5. Carole M.July 29, 2014 at 6:28 AM

    lovely photos and I'm left wondering where is the 'double-crest'?

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  6. The CrankyJuly 29, 2014 at 6:47 AM

    You always capture such great detail; I love the way the feathers are outlined.=)

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  7. AnvilcloudJuly 29, 2014 at 8:13 AM

    They are nicer up close than I thought. They look drab and ugly form far off.

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  8. William KendallJuly 29, 2014 at 8:15 AM

    They look quite distinctive.

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  9. MersadJuly 29, 2014 at 8:16 AM

    Really beautiful birds, and I love your captures. Especially the third one.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  10. LowellJuly 29, 2014 at 8:52 AM

    I think we have more anhingas down here than cormorants, but they look a lot the same. Nice captures, EG!

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  11. Small City ScenesJuly 29, 2014 at 9:12 AM

    Interesting birds. Lots of them out this way too. MB

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  12. aspiritofsimplicityJuly 29, 2014 at 9:29 AM

    we see them quite often down here as well (Massachusetts, north shore of Boston) but I don't get to see them this close-up very often. They are not exactly the prettiest birds I've ever seen but they do have their own sort of beauty.

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  13. Phil SladeJuly 29, 2014 at 9:32 AM

    Brilliant shots. Cormorants are so prehistoric looking with those reptilian-like, scaly feathers.

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  14. TexWisGirlJuly 29, 2014 at 10:04 AM

    such cool birds. love their eyes an their feather detail!

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  15. Kerri FarleyJuly 29, 2014 at 10:12 AM

    They really have such striking eyes! Super shots!

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  16. BirgittaJuly 29, 2014 at 11:03 AM

    Awesome shots!

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  17. DarlaJuly 29, 2014 at 11:12 AM

    I was just about to ask where the double crests were. I do like to watch cormorants dive.

    Darla

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  18. GeorgeJuly 29, 2014 at 11:59 AM

    These are wonderful pictures of the cormorants. I especially like your first photo. Thanks for explaining why I didn't see the double crest.

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  19. Gail DixonJuly 29, 2014 at 12:34 PM

    Your images really captured the feather details superbly. I can never catch them in the right light. Great job!

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  20. AnonymousJuly 29, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    Beautiful, well done!

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  21. Ginny HartzlerJuly 29, 2014 at 1:42 PM

    These are excellent pictures! I have seen one cormorant in my life, he was out on a rock in the middle of a huge pond. Needless to say my pictures were so bad that I deleted them. So it is great to finally see one up close!

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  22. Adam JonesJuly 29, 2014 at 2:21 PM

    Fantastic close ups. They actually are quite pretty in a strange way when you look closely at them.

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  23. Margaret Birding For PleasureJuly 29, 2014 at 2:47 PM

    HI EG Fantastic shots of these birds.

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  24. sunshineJuly 29, 2014 at 2:48 PM

    A wonderful and interesting bird.

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  25. theconstantwalkerJuly 29, 2014 at 2:49 PM

    Wonderful birds... fantastic images.

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  26. Linda W.July 29, 2014 at 2:50 PM

    Interesting birds. You got some good pics!

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  27. Forest Dream WeaverJuly 29, 2014 at 3:33 PM

    A pleasure to see these birds close up.......lovely photos!

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  28. Jane Hards PhotographyJuly 29, 2014 at 4:06 PM

    Gorgeous. These birds escape me down by my local harbour. Great captures.

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  29. DebbieJuly 29, 2014 at 4:21 PM

    great captures, they have beautiful eyes!!!!

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  30. RedPatJuly 29, 2014 at 4:26 PM

    Too bad they seem to be a problem for trees when they all nest together in huge numbers!

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  31. Elizabeth EdwardsJuly 29, 2014 at 4:27 PM

    those eyes are wild. neat-o!! ( :

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  32. cieldequimperJuly 29, 2014 at 5:04 PM

    Fabulous shots. I have to look up cormorants again, I thought they were black, perhaps they are here and yours are different...

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  33. AnonymousJuly 29, 2014 at 6:25 PM

    Glad you edited to let us know about those crests. These are great shots!

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  34. Lisa GordonJuly 29, 2014 at 7:47 PM

    What beautiful birds they are!

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  35. RandyJuly 29, 2014 at 9:19 PM

    They almost don't look real.

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  36. MichelleJuly 29, 2014 at 10:12 PM

    I love the one soaking up some sunshine!

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  37. Ruth HiebertJuly 29, 2014 at 10:53 PM

    You get such good pictures of this bird.I usually see them only in flight and from far away.

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  38. A Colorful WorldJuly 29, 2014 at 11:57 PM

    Beautiful water birds, these cormorants! Great photos of them.

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  39. NatureFootstepJuly 30, 2014 at 2:36 AM

    wow, those guys really posed for you. Great shots all of them. :)

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  40. orchid0324July 30, 2014 at 3:07 AM

    Oh, your DC Cormorants look different from our dark grey ones and love its sweet emerald eyes♡♡♡

    Sending you Lots of Love and Hugs to from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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  41. HalcyonJuly 30, 2014 at 4:33 AM

    I guess climate change is altering their habits? Nice-looking fellows!

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  42. KathyJuly 30, 2014 at 8:17 AM

    They have such an interesting beak.

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  43. UnknownJuly 30, 2014 at 9:06 AM

    Gorgeous birds! If I see cormorants here, they're always far away.

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  44. PerthDailyPhotoJuly 30, 2014 at 11:02 AM

    I love these guys when they open and flap their wings to dry, such show offs :)

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  45. AnonymousJuly 30, 2014 at 11:12 AM

    Fantastic captures. I love the photo of the sunbather!

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  46. AnonymousJuly 30, 2014 at 10:28 PM

    Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos.

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  47. Mary Howell CromerJuly 31, 2014 at 6:14 AM

    Beauty of a set~

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  48. RohrerbotJuly 31, 2014 at 4:14 PM

    Wonderful pics! It's weird to think that they are related to the Pelicans but now I understand why they'd hang around one.

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  49. JackJuly 31, 2014 at 8:47 PM

    And by winter they will be visiting me.

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