Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
I wasn’t sure what I was seeing when I first spotted a dark form walking along the opposite shore on a cold winter morning. It took me a moment to recognize it as a double-crested cormorant as while it’s a bird I’ve seen many times, it’s always been flying or swimming, not walking. I wonder if it was as confused as I was, as we had a rare day cold enough to freeze the water of the slough, icing over its favorite fishing hole.
A double-crested cormorant surfaces after looking for fish in Horse Lake, showing the sharp hook at the end of its bill. I’ve seen them in this close at Horse Lake before but more typically I see them on the opposite side of the refuge in Bower Slough. I was hoping this one would swim even closer so I could better photograph it’s brilliant blue eyes, but there was too much traffic for it to feel comfortable and this was as close as it came to the road.
Boolie 