Sorry, I'm Doing My Hair

Very often I will see a Cormorant or two on my walk up the river. Sometimes like this one after fishing and drying out. Caught one or two with fish inn their mouth. I have some other pics of Cormorants that I will post some other time.
Have some shots of male and female Goosanders that I'll post at a later date.

Cormorant

There is a lot of wildlife to be see on the riverside walk that I quite often go. Some on the riverbank, some in and on the river and some in the surrounding fields. Deer, Otters and many species of bird life There is also an abundance of flora that changes as the year progresses. Various grasses, flowers, shrubs, bushes and trees that all come into their own at some point.

There are many cormorants on the river and can be seen most days, whether fishing or like this one drying off. Cormorants have even been seen on the river in the middle of the town. They don't seem to have any fear and feel quite safe. The one in the picture fished a fair bit of the river before hopping onto a rock to 'dry-off'.

Riverside Walk - Cormorant

I went for a walk last Saturday, along the river when I came across this Cormorant. It was sitting on the bank that I was walking on and made no attempt to fly away. Another couple had stopped as well to have a look and the Cormorant didn't move. I have never seen then on the bank like this before, only in the water or on rocks drying their wings. Initially I thought it may be a Shag but the crest is on the back of the head not the front. The sun wasn't really coming from the right direction at the time I took the photograph but the markings on its back are quite clear. There are quite a few Cormorants that inhabit the river, anytime you are walking along the bank you are likely to see one.

Cormorant Feeding

Manage to take this picture a few weeks ago on my daily riverside walk. I see Cormorants almost daily on my walk so seeing one wasn't out of the ordinary. However this one when it surface had a fish. First time I have seen a Cormorant with a fish but the antics bordered on comical. It appeared to be 'juggling' the fish which I assumed was to get it in the correct position to swallow. It looked to be having a difficult time positioning the fish correctly. It was an adult bird and not a juvenile that you may expect to have some trouble. Eventually it succeeded and the fish disappeared down its throat. This is the only time I have seen a Cormorant after successfully catching a fish. I feel privileged to have witnessed this. It could be a long time, if ever, before I see this happening again.

Cormorant 01/06/09

The River Nith in Dumfries is tidal and attracts its fair share of Cormorants. Cormorants usually live and nest on the coast at this time of the year. For some reason they come up the river from the Estuary, even as far as the town centre and further up-stream. In the town centre is what is the Caul. This is like a weir where above it is just a normal flowing river and below it is tidal. A Salmon Ladder makes up part of the Caul. Salmon etc use the ladder but when the river is in flood they can be seen jumping to the non-tidal river. Cormorants can be seen at any time of the day fishing or like this one drying out. There are adult and immature birds, the immature birds being more common. Maybe this is a reason why they are in the river and not on the coast. Cormorants are inland visitors in winter according to the RSPB. Wonder why some stay on our River Nith