Best of 2015 - 1

While browsing among the year's photos looking for calendar shots I began to think that some of the year's posts were worth a second look and since I tend to be a bit housebound during the winter I'm going to finish this year by a little retrospective. Above is a Double Crested Cormorant photographed in March 2015 at Swan Lake. I like this photo because it shows some aspects of this cormorant that I rarely see. The beautifully mottled feather markings are particularly visible as is the red around the beak and the remarkable emerald eyes. Usually when I see cormorants all I see is a large black bird flying low over the water. This photo reminds me that they are actually quite spectacular. As far as the Mallard Drake to the right is concerned, I like how close up it is, how you can see right into his eye. Mallards always look so peaceful and happy.

Dapples

Whenever I see a Double-crested Cormorant up close I am always dazzled by their dappled plumage. The colors and pattern are so subtle - if you see one from a little further away it just looks black, but up close, what riches! They have a wonderful color scheme - the jade-green eyes are also very striking. A visit to Swan Lake never disappoints.

Double-crested Cormorant

Just offshore and between Macaulay Point and Saxe Point are a couple of small rocky islets favored by Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) as places to rest between dives and to dry their wings. Often these cormorants fly just above the surface of the water as in the photo above.

Cormorant Plumage

A few weeks ago I posted some photos of Pelagic Cormorants that we saw on a trip to the Gulf Islands and I remarked on their plumage as more beautiful than the Double-crested cormorants I normally see near Victoria. However, on a recent visit to Thetis Lake Park I was able to take some more close-up photos of a Double-crested Cormorant and as you can see in the above photo, they too have beautiful markings when seen from close up. A little more distance and those splendid dappled feathers simply look black. Also I was pleased to see that the Double-crested Cormorants share those remarkable jade green eyes that so struck me when I first saw the Pelagic Cormorants. While it's good to get up close to see details of these birds, I like to see photos like those posted recently on Mike Laplante's blog "tales from a pale blue dot", that have a wonderful atmosphere. Mike's photo of cormorants in the morning mist over Swan Lake is a wonderfully evocative, timeless scene.

Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus)

Fern mentioned that we took a small Gulf Islands tour on Sunday, island hopping a bit to get from Victoria to Galiano Island. The ferry stops at Pender and Mayne Islands on the way to Galiano. My day was made at the first stop on Pender Island when Fern drew my attention to a half dozen large blackish birds perched on the dockside. I recognized them as cormorants immediately but could see that they were not the cormorants I usually see (Double-crested Cormorants) along the West Bay and Westsong Walkways. These are Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), also common along this coast but not a species I have identified before.The photos nicely show off their richly irridescent plumage and bright scarlet skin. They also have striking jade-green eyes. The white patches just above the legs and the scarlet skin on their heads are marks characteristic of breeding season.

Hanging Out to Dry

If you spend much time in an area with Double-crested Cormorants you will soon notice that they spend a lot of time posed like the one above. The reason for this odd stance is that unlike many other water birds such as ducks, their feathers do not repel water. This is also the reason that they swim so low in the water, often with only the upper part of their backs visible. There's a good reason for this - they are divers and buoyant feathers mean much more work to stay submerged when chasing fish. However, this also means that after swimming around underwater for some time they must spread their wings to let them dry. Being heavy makes diving easier but makes flying much harder.

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Two weeks ago I posted a photo of some Double-crested Cormorants relaxing on an island in the Inner Harbour. That's about as close as we usually get to these birds who seem to be much shyer than many of the other local waterfowl, so I was happy to see this one swimming around relatively close to shore in Sailor's Cove. These birds are called "Double-crested" because of the two large white crests they wear above their eyes during breeding season.

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

If you look carefully at yesterday's top photo (below) you will see that the pelicans are sharing their little island amicably with some Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). I should say that the cormorants are sharing their island with the pelicans since this island almost always boasts a number of cormorants resting and drying their wings after their diving exploits and the pelicans are relatively short-term visitors. Generally the pelicans keep to the eastern end of the island and the cormorants tend to hang out on the western end - "Birds of a feather...etc."

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Here's another water bird we often see around Victoria, the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). Above at the edge of Swan Lake is a group of six with a couple of Canada Geese in the background. Below a Double-crested Cormorant swims near a female Mallard Duck (foreground).