I Just returned from New England. It was cold there. Very cold.
Snow. Freezing rain. Sleet. Surfers.
And Great Cormorants.
They are water birds. But like other cormorants they don’t spend all that much time in the water.
Because they sink. More or less. The reason for that is their feathers are not completely waterproof. So they take on water to weigh them down a little. But they’re OK with that. They don’t really want to bob up like a duck. Sometimes they even eat a few pebbles for ballast. That way they can stay underwater longer catching fish. And they're very good at it.
You might recognize them as the famous diving birds you’ve seen used by the Chinese. They put a ring around their necks so they can’t swallow and train them to retrieve fish.
There is a problem though with them taking on water. It’s not so easy for them to swim on the surface. So they hold swimming to a minimum. Instead they prefer to spend most of their time drying out on rocks while sitting on their ankle-like tarsal bones.
I can't say I blame them. If I was a surfer in New Hampshire? In winter? I think I would do the same.
Except of course it wouldn’t be my tarsals I was sitting on.
Distiinguishing marks: Black. Large. White Goatee.
Boring Fact: just to be clear: Great Cormorants aren't all that
great. Just taller (39”). :)
Boring Fact 2: Cormorants(including the double-crested below)are often seen standing with wings spread wide after swimming . Conventional thought says it’s because their feathers take on water. So they need to dry. But recently some scientists have suggested it’s actually to aid digestion. Still others have decided it’s to regulate heat. Or maybe to cast a shadow on the water so they can see better. Or for better balance. Finally after a great deal of slightly sardonic debate they’ve decided.
They’re really not sure. :)