… ya get a stick caught in the shrub!
Today’s post features a pair of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) nesting at the Venice Rookery (Venice, Florida). While one bird stayed at the nest in-process, the other would fly out, find a suitable stick, return to the nest, and either present it to his/her partner or add it to the nest. Here is a series of images of this interesting behavior:
In this first image, the cormorant is flying back to the nest with a nest stick:
Once at the nest he/she presents it to the partner:
In this instance, the partner receives the stick and turns away from me (and behind the first bird) to add it to the nest:
Having a tripod by my side at the rookery, I thought I’d try to capture a video clip of this nesting behavior. Of course, the action wasn’t quite the same. As the bird returned to the nest with the stick, he proceeded to get it stuck in the shrub where the nest was located! If you’d like to see this video, please click on this 18-second clip:
Photography Equipment Used:
- Canon 7D body
- Canon EF500mm, f/4 IS lens
- Bogen 3221 Tripod, with Wemberly gimbal head
- ISO 500
- Aperture f/11
- Shutter 1/1000 sec. – 1/1250 sec.