Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are strange-looking waterbirds that sit really low in the water. I’ve seen them from time to time, but until yesterday, when I saw this one at a small suburban retention pond, I never knew that they have striking blue eyes.
One of the other unusual things about this bird is that they spend a good amount of time outside of the water drying out their wings. Despite being a diving bird, the cormorant’s feathers do not shed water as well as a duck’s, for example, and they can get soaked pretty quickly.
I took some photos of the cormorant drying its wings that I will post later, but I wanted to post the image of the cormorant resting on one leg, because it shows off the blue eyes (and I like the reflection).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I like the pattern in the feathers shown in the first picture.
Cormorants are a bird I am familiar with having grown up on a Scottish peninsula yet I did not know about their lack of waterproofing. Beautiful portraits. I love the detail in the eyes and feathers.
Nice Pictures, Mike. M 🙂
Thank. I’ve now switched completely to my winter mode of photographing birds most of the time (no insects to be had), and I certainly was happy to see this cooperative cormorant.
I used to have an office window looking over the river and remember watching cormorants drying their wings sitting on bits of wreck.
I never knew they had blue eyes and when they were drying their feathers I thought they were posing for me.
I have never been close enough to see those wonderful blue eyes. Well done.
Thanks, Lyle. I was pretty fortunate to get that close to one in lighting conditions that allowed me to see details I had never seen before.