Recently we were kayaking in Arrowhead Lake, and saw a double-crested cormorant sunning itself high above us. We have had a couple on our lake, but I haven’t been able to get a photo of them yet.
The double-crested cormorant is a large waterbird. It has a small head on a long neck, and a long, thin, hooked bill. When it is in the water, the cormorant sits quite low in the water due to its heavy body. It dives in a similar manner to a loon, and has quite a voracious appetite for small fish.
I was fascinated with the cormorant’s feet. It is webbed between its claws, which means that it can perch on a branch and when it is swimming, it has the advantage of the webbed feet to help it to swim underwater.
Often you see the cormorants sitting on branches, and spreading their wings out. This is to allow the wings to dry. Their wings are not as water resistant as other birds, so they can become wet and need to be dried out.
They are definitely not my favourite bird, nor are they a favourite for many people. They like to build their stick nests in trees in colonies, and their excrement / droppings can kill the vegetation around the trees in which they nest. In some places, the trees die from the chemical and physical damage done to them by the birds.
At this time, they are a protected bird. In 2016, a private member’s bill (Bill 250) was presented to remove the protection for the bird. Bill 25 was not passed, and so they are still protected.
