Today on the way up the canyon road, Feynner and I saw a double crested cormorant floating and diving downstream about a quarter mile up from the gatehouse. It was drifting down a rapid into a big pool where an adult steelhead was sitting at the time. We saw a different fish dart out of the way while the cormorant dove underwater and swam downstream around the corner. This is the first time I’ve seen a cormorant in the creek, or any creek for that matter. Normally we see mergansers. It was so interesting to see this marine organism going quite far into the watershed to feed. More evidence that we need to understand more about the connectivity between the marine and terrestrial environments and how it is manifested through the watershed.
Feynner saw another or the same cormorant doing the same behavior on Saturday, March 21st. The morning of the 25th I saw another cormorant flying north along the highway head up into Big Creek canyon.
I saw another (the same?) cormorant swimming down Big Creek on the afternoon of March 29th. Even down the same pool and section of the main stem of Big Creek. Maybe this bird has got a unique feeding strategy all figured out!