The mighty commorant

The first January I was in this house, one Sunday morning I heard this awful sound outside. I went out back and there, in my cypress tree and in the neighbor's pecan tree was a flock of these huge black birds with yellow beaks. 

I called my brother and asked what they were. A veteran watcher of informative television programs about nature, he knew right away that comorants were visiting. 

They visit every year on their way to wherever they are going. They visit a week, then they're gone again. Yesterday I took pictures and counted their numbers: 31 in one tree and a dozen in my tree. They were leary of me, of course.

Oh yes, in addition to their distinctive sounds, they also do a display of their wings. Actually, they spread out their wings after being in the water in order to dry them. 

Here's a link  that shows their size and coloring and wing span. Look at the bottom and click on the audibles to hear their croakings.



https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/double-crested-cormorant

Post Note: 2-8-16
In recent conversations my brother informed me that commorants could swim as well as fly and that a flock of hundreds can decimate the fish in a body of water in no time. I already knew that they were a destroyer of salmon beds. Anyway, I told him that I had not seen them in the water at all. However, today, I did see six commorants come up out of the water (they were below the surface) and fly off. They probably ate our bayou fish. I'll know soon enough if they ate too many.