Blog Archives
Little Pied Cormorant on honeycomb rock
Little Pied Cormorants are quite common in the waters around Sydney. Most often, you see them from afar, and they just look like another black and white bird. But when you see them through the camera zoom, they’re rather cute. They have big floppy black feet, a Tintin-like hairstyle, and a goofy smile:
Their tail is short and stubby, and seems to be useful in preventing them from teetering over backwards. That tuft of black hair extends down the back of their necks, adding a touch of sophistication:
The rock that this cormorant is sitting on has attractive honeycomb weathering patterns:
In this video, the cormorant is stretching its neck and gulping to help its latest meal go down.
Common name: Little Pied Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Approximate length: 60 cm
Date spotted: 25 February 2024 (summer)
Location: North Harbour Walk, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’05.9″S 151°16’10.1″E
Cormorant with view of Bantry Bay
This morning I went for a long walk along one side of Bantry Bay, an inlet of Sydney harbour. The area is in the lovely Garigal National Park. Along the way, I spotted this Little Pied Cormorant:
The bird had chosen a perch with a stunning view of Bantry Bay. Here’s a zoomed out picture of the bird on its skeleton-tree perch (the bird is at the end of the bottom branch on the right), with the clear water and mangroves of Bantry bay, and couple of canoeists in the distance:
The next picture shows more of the view, following the bay inland:
Here’s a view of the bay taken (on another day) from The Bluff, the highest point overlooking the water:
Common name: Little Pied Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Approximate length: 60 cm
Date spotted: 4 October 2020 (spring)
Location: The Bluff Track, Middle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’23.9″S 151°13’52.8″E
Cormorant poses on Manly Oceanides statue
The Oceanides, or The Sea Nymphs, is a graceful sculpture on the edge of the sea pool at Cabbage Tree Bay in Manly. Today a Little Pied Cormorant added its grace to the work of art:
(Click on the picture to zoom in.)
Common name: Little Pied Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Approximate length: 60 cm
Date spotted: 27 August 2019 (Late winter)
Location: Cabbage Tree Bay, Manly, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’02.5″S 151°17’40.0″E
Cormorants at Long Reef Headland, Dee Why
This morning I took a walk along Dee Why Headland and followed the path down onto Long Reef. Far in the distance, perched on the rocks at the sea’s edge, was an assortment of cormorants.
Pretty cool: when I dropped the pin on Google Maps to mark the spot, the label came up as “Near South Pacific Ocean”!
Great Cormorants
First there were these four birds, which I think are Great Cormorants. The air was full of spray and the early morning sun was low in the sky, so it’s hard to be sure. One is holding its wings up in typical cormorant style. The birds seem to be just about entirely black, with yellow or white around the beak. At the end of the video, I zoom back out so that you can see just how far away the birds were. On cue, a yacht hoves into view too.
Common name: Great Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax carbo
Approximate length: 85 cm; wing span 1.5 m
Date spotted: 29 December 2018 (Summer)
Location: Long Reef Headland, Dee Why, New South Wales, Australia: 33°44’30.6″S 151°19’04.2″E
Little Pied Cormorant
Next I saw this Little Pied Cormorant, looking a bit ruffled:
Here’s a video of the Little Pied Cormorant enjoying the waves and the sticky breeze:
Common name: Little Pied Cormorant
Scientific name: Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Approximate length: 60 cm
Date spotted: 29 December 2018 (Summer)
Location: Long Reef Headland, Dee Why, New South Wales, Australia: 33°44’30.6″S 151°19’04.2″E
Sydney Birder 