Most of the time when I see Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), they are actively fishing, repeatedly diving deep into the water and surfacing after and extended period time under the water. On Tuesday I spotted this cormorant at a small suburban pond and it seemed content to float about amidst a large flock of Ring-billed Gulls. As you can see in the first photo, it made for a strange pairing to have such different-looking birds together.
When I circled around the pond a second time the cormorant (or possibly a second cormorant) was hanging out on a man-made structure sticking out of the water in the pond that is probably part of the water filtration system. Often when I see cormorants out of the water, they have their wings spread wide to dry them out, but this cormorant had its wings closed and just seemed to be chilling out. Generally I avoid including man-made objects in my wildlife photos, but I like the juxtaposition of the curves and warm color of the cormorant with the straight lines and cooler cooler colors of the structure.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 