17
Jun
2015
2015
Cormorants and Seagulls
As I travel around Muskoka especially on the Big 3 lakes I notice the cormorants and seagulls have taken over some of the small islands. I approached this particular island on Lake Joseph riding my Seadoo very quietly by turning off the engine and drifting in. The cormorants were fine with me taking a few photos however the gulls went into psycho panic mode and started dive bombing me. It is interesting how the gulls and cormorants get along nesting beside each other. I think the gulls are opportunistic and wait for the cormorants who are great fishers to drop a few scraps.
Nice silhouette. Cormorants are incredible birds. We’re seen more of them lately down here on the shores of Lake Ontario. They’ve let me get pretty close on occasion.
Noticing fewer herons this year?
“With recovery of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Great Lakes region, their numbers have increased significantly leading to concern about potential impacts on other species. Cormorants are thought to affect co-occurring colonial waterbirds by usurping limited habitat and destroying vegetation used as nest sites by these species. This paper summarizes initial results from a study to assess potential impacts of double-crested cormorants on great blue herons (Ardea herodius) and black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) in the Great Lakes.”
Potential Impacts of Nesting Double-crested Cormorants on Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night-herons in the U.S. Great Lakes Region – ResearchGate. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/257230636_Potential_Impacts_of_Nesting_Double-crested_Cormorants_on_Great_Blue_Herons_and_Black-crowned_Night-herons_in_the_U.S._Great_Lakes_Region [accessed Sep 13, 2015].