{"id":40716,"date":"2016-07-10T07:10:40","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T13:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=40716"},"modified":"2016-07-10T08:07:12","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T14:07:12","slug":"double-crested-cormorant-paying-an-unfair-price-for-being-such-a-good-fisherbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/10\/double-crested-cormorant-paying-an-unfair-price-for-being-such-a-good-fisherbird\/","title":{"rendered":"Double-crested Cormorant – Paying An Unfair Price For Being Such A Good “Fisherbird”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I should aim my lens at cormorants more often than I do. Both their physical appearance and their behaviors seem almost prehistoric and that piques my interest. Part of the reason I seldom post images of them is because their very dark color makes them difficult to photograph well, especially in flight.<\/p>\n

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\"double-crested<\/p>\n

1\/4000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

But last month at Bear River MBR this Double-crested Cormorant posed nicely for me in good light and on an interesting perch. It was a cool morning and this bird was actually shivering as it attempted to warm up in the morning sun. I fully expected\u00a0it to spread its wings in the sun to dry them (a behavior\u00a0extremely common to the species)\u00a0but it never did.<\/p>\n

It’s my preference to photograph cormorants when they’re out of the water like this\u00a0because when they’re swimming they’re typically so low in the water that very little of their body can be seen.<\/p>\n

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\"double-crested<\/p>\n

1\/3200, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

These birds spend an inordinate amount of time and effort preening. When oiling their feathers they use both their bill and the back of their head to spread preen-gland secretions (which is what this bird is doing). They also spread the oil on their legs and feet. There has been at least one documented instance of cormorants using molted secondary feathers as a brush-like tool to spread preen gland secretions over the wings.<\/p>\n

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\"double-crested<\/p>\n

1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n

When they’re close enough for us to see them well their striking aquamarine\/turquoise eyes sparkle like jewels. Greenish eyes are uncommon in nature so this is a feature that really stands out.<\/p>\n

Largely because of their fish-eating habits cormorants have been viewed negatively by humans throughout history. Since about 1975 the rapidly diminishing numbers of Double-crested Cormorants have rebounded nicely due to the ban on DDT and other factors. But as a result of\u00a0perceived threats to human recreational and commercial fisheries the USFWS has made substantial federal policy changes that allow\u00a0“culling” of cormorants by state, federal and tribal entities in the US.<\/p>\n

Under the new rules individuals (in certain circumstances)\u00a0and states are allowed to kill a total of 160,000 cormorants each year. Methods used include shooting, destroying nests and oiling eggs (which suffocates the growing embryos – the adults continue to incubate the lifeless eggs which prevents them from laying another clutch).<\/p>\n

A description from the Seattle Times describing cormorant culling activities of federal agents on East Island, Columbia River Estuary, says it all:<\/p>\n