Sunday 5 April 2015

Neotropic Cormorant - Where is Waldo?

I'm sure that if you are "in the birding loop" you have heard about the Neotropic Cormorant that Brandon found from his balcony (yes, his balcony! go here to get the story) in Hamilton earlier this week.  This is a bird that is more typically found from Texas into South America.

On my way down to Niagara to see family this weekend, I heard that this bird was still hanging out at the Tollgate Ponds, so I stopped quickly to see if I could spot it.  As expected, there were other birders there to point it out, which was nice, since it is a bit of a game of Where is Waldo, trying to pick out the smaller black bird from the other larger black birds.  I got great looks at this bird through the scope and could clearly see the smaller size, slightly longer tail and white chevron at the gape of the mouth.  A great way to start the weekend!

I've helped you out and circled the Neotropic Cormorant, surrounded by larger Double-crested Cormorants
The bird was quite far away, so considering the distance, my little camera held up quite well.  In the shot below, the Neotropic Cormorant is near that far bend.  I have a few closer shots of the bird below.

In the shots below you can see the white markings near the corner of the mouth.




A really exciting bird, and one that gets me really anxious for May!

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