I captured this image of a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) as it lumbered across the water before taking to the air yesterday at Lake Cook in Alexandria, Virginia. Cormorants are so big and heavy that they have to build up a good deal of momentum to get airborne. As a consequence, cormorants tend to bounce across the water for a little while before they actually are able to take off.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
great capture
Thanks.
What an absolutely wonderful action shot!
Thanks, Laura. I was fortunate that I was ready and had appropriate settings dialed into my camera when the cormorant took off. This image worked out even better than I expected with the churned-up water and the slight motion blur in the wings.