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Loner
Observing cormorants feeding over the last few weeks, I have learned something important as a photographer. Most of the time cormorants feed in a group of between two to eight or so. I have noticed that this is when they are most successful at catching fish. They all dive underwater at the same time and swim in the same direction. My guess is as a bird approaches a fish underwater, the fish turns to avoid the cormorant chasing it and ends up in the beak of the next cormorant. They catch a lot of fish that way, but this is the problem. When they pop up out of the water with a fish in their beak they have to swallow down the fish immediately or one of the other cormorants next to them will try to steal it. A cormorant feeding alone is not nearly as successful at catching fish, but when they do they can take their time swallowing it. That gives the photographer a lot more time to get focused in and get some photos. I took this photo at Reid park in Tucson Arizona.
Loner
Observing cormorants feeding over the last few weeks, I have learned something important as a photographer. Most of the time cormorants feed in a group of between two to eight or so. I have noticed that this is when they are most successful at catching fish. They all dive underwater at the same time and swim in the same direction. My guess is as a bird approaches a fish underwater, the fish turns to avoid the cormorant chasing it and ends up in the beak of the next cormorant. They catch a lot of fish that way, but this is the problem. When they pop up out of the water with a fish in their beak they have to swallow down the fish immediately or one of the other cormorants next to them will try to steal it. A cormorant feeding alone is not nearly as successful at catching fish, but when they do they can take their time swallowing it. That gives the photographer a lot more time to get focused in and get some photos. I took this photo at Reid park in Tucson Arizona.