I always joke that I don’t photograph “little birds” because they are boring. That isn’t entirely true. While I may not focus on them regularly, when the opportunity is there I certainly will snap pics of them. They just require more patience than I have most times. 😉 Some, like hummingbirds, are a real challenge while the American white pelican is kind of goofy looking but just beautiful.
In an attempt to steal a fish, pelican nearly swallows a cormorant
A very fun sequence of pics that I took a few months ago but never shared. The American white pelicans were just returning to Colorado for the season and a bunch were hanging out at a local pond with the double-crested cormorants. After their long flight, all were very hungry and looking hard for a meal.
Any bird that caught a fish was soon besieged by the entire group as they looked to horn in on the action. At one point, the pelicans and cormorants congregated in one corner of the pond to fish. A cormorant caught itself a little shad and that was enough to catch one pelican’s attention.
The bigger bird’s attempt to steal the fish resulted in it’s monstrous beak entirely enveloping the cormorants head! I don’t know that either ended up with the fish but it certainly had to be a traumatic event for the cormorant. 😉
Down the hatch! Cormorant swallows its fishy breakfast
I admit, after being in the military, I eat pretty fast but these guys beat me hands down. 😉
While the rest of my camping crew slept in yesterday, I was sitting on the edge of a pond, enjoying the warm morning, sipping coffee and taking pictures. There wasn’t too much action but enough to keep me entertained.
It was a lot of fun to watch these guys fish and invariably then get besieged by pelicans trying to steal their meal. Certainly, their ability to swallow their catch quickly and whole worked to their advantage in those cases.
Cormorant calamity
Holy cow! What an insane scene this was!
Yesterday my buddy noticed a huge, black mass along the shore of a local pond. As we approached, we realize it is 100+ cormorants, all huddled together. I have never seen so many in a single spot before.
They soon realized they were being watched and when one took flight, and in a flurry of flapping wings and splashing water, they all took flight. What you see here is maybe a quarter of the number of the birds that were in this spot.
Lots of wings in motion!
Well, this was a crazy scene I witnessed yesterday. After receiving my second dose of the COVID vaccine (Moderna), I decided to go for a walk around a local open space. There, I came across this very odd gathering of birds.
In the corner of the pond there were 30+ pelicans, 10+ great blue herons, a few cormorants and even a great egret – all gathered together in a very small area.
Seeing that many pelicans in one area isn’t unusual as they fish in groups. However, great blue herons don’t usually hang out together unless nesting and usually aren’t inclined to tolerate other creatures. I don’t know, but I am guessing a bunch of fish had gathered in the area and everyone was having a feast; that is the only thing that would seem to make sense.
It was definitely something I haven’t witnessed before. It didn’t last long as soon after I started photographing, someone came along the path and that was enough to scare them off resulting in this crazy cacophony of activity. You can see each of the birds I mentioned if you look close.
When no one is looking, it’s okay to scratch your butt, right?
When no one is looking, it’s okay to scratch your butt, right? 😀 I couldn’t resist but this American white #pelican seemed to take advantage of the fact his cormorant buddies were sounds asleep.
Double-crested cormorant up close and personal
Check out this cool dude (or dudette)! It was kind enough to sit still for me along the shore of a local pond yesterday morning.
These birds are pretty common here in the summer and can be found around just about any body of water. Their bright orange beak and those crazy turquoise eyes are just awesome. Also notable are their webbed feet which are actually quite dexterous allowing them to land in trees.
Cormorant tip-toes across the water
I haven’t had much of a chance to photograph these cool guys yet this year but got a few shots this past weekend. With light snow falling and light at a premium, I managed a decent shot of this double-crested #cormorant as it took flight across the waters of a pond.
"I don’t want any neighbors!"
A pair of Double-crested Cormorants get into a heated discussion about roosting rights. The lower one had been camped out in this tree for quite a while. When the upper one arrived, it let it know that it did not really want any company. After putting up a brief fight, the upper Cormorant decided it wasn’t worth the battle and flew off to find another place to spend the day.
Juvenile Cormorant takes in the morning sun
When I first saw this bird, and a couple others like it, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I have taken many pics of Double-crested Cormorants but had never seen a juvenile. It’s gray coloring, vice the black on an adult, threw me for a bit of a loop until I looked it up and figured out exactly what it was.
I like this image too because it does a nice job showing the Cormorant’s webbed feet which are amazingly dexterous, something you would not expect. Taken at Jackson Lake State Park, Colorado.
