A few days ago, at Forty Baskets Beach on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, seven Little Black Cormorants swam, fished, and sunned themselves.

Little Blacks are easy to distinguish from other types of cormorant in this area of Australia. Apart from being entirely black, they have green-blue eyes that can look quite eery at times.

Here are six of the seven Little Black Cormorants, hanging their wings out to dry:

The group stayed together most of the time, both in and out of the water.

Here’s another of the birds showing that pretty blue eye.

Common name: Little Black Cormorant (see other cormorants)
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Approximate length: 65 cm
Date spotted: 25 April 2024 (autumn)
Location: Forty Baskets Beach, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’12.6″S 151°16’12.2″E

Interestingly, a White-faced Heron and a few Silver Gulls followed the cormorants around.

I guess they were interested in any fish that the cormorants might find!

Here’s a better picture of the heron: