Waterbirds · Netherlands
Great Cormorant
Aalscholver · Phalacrocorax carbo
Through my lens
A dark, patient fisher
Great Cormorants are large and dark, with a long hooked bill and something a little reptilian about them. In the breeding season adults get a white patch on the thigh and fine white plumes on the head, and the bare skin around the bill turns yellow and orange.
Underwater they chase fish with strong kicks of their webbed feet. Their feathers soak up some water, which seems to make diving easier, and is also the usual explanation for the pose you see on every post and buoy: wings held open to dry.
They nest in colonies in trees, and after a few years the trees are white with droppings. The Oostvaardersplassen once held one of the largest colonies in Western Europe.
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