Tag Archives: cormorant

For the Birds: SOL24 Day 3

In spite of the weather app’s optimism, intermittent rain has continued today. As we headed out for our daily walk with me wearing my comfy puffer jacket, I grabbed my raincoat–just in case. I love to walk on the beach, but this weekend the tides are not feeling like cooperating and in these parts if the tide is not low enough, there is not enough beach to walk on. So for today, after a bit of negotiating, we decided to walk at the local lagoon.

On our drive over the windshield was spritzed a couple of times, making me think I would be exchanging my puffer for the rain jacket. The clouds were gathering gray as we parked so I decided to play it safe and slipped into the raincoat, strapped my camera around my neck, set my watch for workout mode, and headed off.

It was the cormorants who caught my attention first. While they are residents of our coast, we don’t often see them congregate. I stood for a minute watching one with wings spread wide, drying (or maybe trying to dry) before the raindrops fell. Just then a head popped out of the water–a cormorant had been feeding and popped up just in time for me to watch!

Mist turned to raindrops. I tucked my camera into my jacket and pulled up my hood. Water droplets speckled my sunglasses, but the birds seemed unbothered. In the distance we watched terns gather and then lift off, almost as one, loudly announcing their travel. Buffleheads floated, egrets stood elegantly in the shallows, but it was the great gray heron that caught my attention.

Geoff noticed it in the distance first, noticing its size and wondering if it was a pelican before we were close enough to determine. It seemed unlikely since pelicans seldom hang out solo in the lagoon. A closer look revealed the distinctive characteristics of the heron.

From some angles they remind me of little old men…and then they stretch their long graceful necks and their classic profile is revealed. We got to watch this one take flight and admire the large wingspan as it crossed the river mouth. What a treat! It was definitely worth braving the raindrops to enjoy the birds today!

Cormorant: NPM22 Day 25

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I love science! I think in another life I must have been a scientist. Questions are always my entry point–so today’s #verselove prompt was perfect. Linda at Ethical ELA listed steps in the scientific method and then encouraged us to use all or part of them to craft a poem for today. Yesterday as I walked on the beach, I saw a cormorant in an unusual place…on the beach. In the past, cormorants on the beach have signaled illness for the bird, so I was concerned when I saw this one. I turned my cormorant sighting into fodder for my scientific method poem today.

Cormorant
I see you sitting on the beach
alone, on the sand
are you lost? are you ill?
Most days you fly against the horizon
like a jet plane, pointed due north
wings in constant motion
Today you are still
feathers like midnight
eyes like stars
unperturbed by my approach
Is it avian flu?
Bird dementia?
Or just a relaxing day on the beach?
Relief pulsed through my veins
when I saw you later
floating in the surf
looking for a snack
before blasting back into the sky
continuing your coastal journey
Thanks for stopping by
and posing
for a portrait
@kd0602

SOLC Day 12: A Break in the Rain

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I’m fighting some kind of upper respiratory infection and the laryngitis that always seems to come with it. Luckily, I was able to work from home today (obviously not a teaching day for me!) and not even have to deal with commuting on a rare rainy day in southern California.

So I laid low, kept quiet, and got quite a bit of work done as the rain pattered its soothing rhythm on the roof tiles.

So when the light changed in my house this afternoon and I realized the sky had brightened and there was a break in the rain, I checked the weather app and then headed out to the beach for a much needed walk.

Sometimes I feel like I am solar powered, energized by blue skies and sunshine and depleted by days that are pervasively gray. I could feel my energy levels rise as I headed from the parking lot down to the shore. It felt so good to get outside in the fresh air. In spite of the rain, it wasn’t cold out…the conditions were perfect for a walk.

I love that the beach always surprises me. There were people like me, in jackets and tennies walking along the shore. There were those in jackets and bare feet, walking in the water or throwing rocks into the surf. There were the teenagers in bikinis, seemingly not experiencing the chill of water in the 50’s and air temps in the 60’s. And always, always, there are the surfers. Most wear wetsuits year round…and nothing ever seems to keep them out of the water.

And today’s treat was the cormorant. I’m always on the lookout for seabirds–seagulls are usual, but it’s tough to see seabirds close enough to photograph. I saw from a distance that there was a bird sitting on the tide pool outcropping. I had my camera ready and crept as close as I could without drenching my shoes or scaring the bird. I click and click, watching as the bird gets ready to launch. And I catch that shot…just at lift off!