Last Thursday I observed an apparent territorial dispute between two Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) over a prime perch in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A third cormorant seemed to be conflict-averse and had turned its back on the loud disagreement.
In many of my photos, the subjects are stationary and the resulting portraits may be pretty, but they are not very exciting. I love it when I am able to capture action, especially when it involves the interaction of multiple subjects. Images like this one tell a story or perhaps they tell multiple stories, depending on your interpretation of the elements in the image.
This image is kind of cool too, because of the pops of orange in the area surrounding the bills of the cormorants. The rest of the image is mostly monochromatic and the viewers’ eyes are inevitably drawn to those brighter colors.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a great dynamic shot. I like the way the pop of orange makes those open beak shapes and, therefore, the yelling match more emphatic. I wonder what they were arguing over.
Thanks, Laura. My guess was that they both wanted to occupy that same spot, but, of course, there was no way for me to know. We interpret the action as “yelling,” when, in fact, it could be something else entirely. There is enough uncertainty that we can all creatively interpret the scene in our own ways. 🙂
I was definitely anthropomorphizing that pose and projecting human emotion on to it. I would be a failure as a naturalist. Ha ha!
I’m definitely guilty of that too. 🙂
wonderful shot!
Fantastic capture, Mike!
Thanks, Ellen.