What species of bird is this?
- Spotted at the mouth of Graham Creek at Newcastle Marina (Bond Head), Lake Ontario, Canada
- September 9, 2023
- The bird was roughly 18 inches tall; dark grey body; light grey head and neck; yellow beak
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4$\begingroup$ +1 for precise location. Sometimes questions here include vague locations (e.g. Canada) or no location at all, nor even a hint on the habitat, and location is often useful to discard a lot of species. $\endgroup$– PereCommented Sep 13, 2023 at 11:53
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1$\begingroup$ The second picture is very good (both for identification and the moment) $\endgroup$– justhalfCommented Sep 15, 2023 at 5:14
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2 Answers
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I'm highly confident that this is a cormorant. I'm less certain of the species, but based on the location I would bet that it is a double-crested cormorant (perhaps a juvenile based on the head color/feathering, though I don't know if this varies in adults based on season) as these are found in high numbers around the Great Lakes region, including Lake Ontario.
photo by Jane Mann, from Macaulay Library
See also:
The rise of the Double-crested Cormorant on the Great Lakes: WINNING THE WAR AGAINST CONTAMINANTS
answered Sep 12, 2023 at 20:12
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1$\begingroup$ Looking at the maps in my Sibley guide, there are occasionally vagrant Great Cormorants & Anhingas in the Great Lakes area. But their coloration is different, even for the juveniles, and so I agree that it's far, far more likely to be a Double-Crested Cormorant $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 1:55
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2$\begingroup$ Anhinga can be ruled out by the bill; theirs is straight, without the hook at the end cormorants have. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 15, 2023 at 15:05
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A cormorant or possibly a shag. Far more common in saltwater surroundings, but can be at home in fresh water.
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4$\begingroup$ As mentioned by @BryanKrause, cormorants are super-common around Lake Ontario, e.g. this photo from Hamilton harbour ontariohunting.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/… (source: ontariohunting.net/… ) $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 13, 2023 at 13:21
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$\begingroup$ @BenBolker - Coming from UK, I wouldn't have a clue about that! But thanks anyhow. $\endgroup$– TimCommented Sep 13, 2023 at 16:44
