I stopped by a pond at the edge of Acadia N.P. a few years ago to catch the sunrise lighting one of the many mountains that make up the park and as I composed this Double-crested Cormorant decided to do its morning stretch nearby. It stayed so long that I eventually decided to pack up for other parts and left it continuing its morning at pondside.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
What a great morning stretch pose! Why is it that the water has that gorgeous yellow color to it? The entire image has much else to offer that is pleasing to the eye… rock perch, muddy bank, washed up grasses and green growth. Nicely done, Steve!
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Yes! I second that 🙂
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Thank you, Liz! 🙂
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Thanks, Lori! The yellow light is a reflection of Champlain Mountain as the rising sun lights it with a warm glow. You’ve a good eye to see all that in what most folks would just describe as a mud hole. 🙂
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Nice… I was surprised to see cormorants around Salmon Falls a couple years ago. Always surprising to see ocean birds inland. Like gulls at the Hampshire Mall!
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There can be quite a few along the Connecticut and I have seen a few at Poor Farm Swamp along the rail trail here in Amherst.
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Very nice Steve! Plus an interesting pose!
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Thanks, Reed. I’d like to think the cormorant was showing off for me but I am sure I was just a minor annoyance.
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That’s a great portrait with the upraised wings.
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Thanks. It’s a typical drying pose but what made it special for me was the feet gripping the rock.
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Fascinating! Love the colors in the composition too.
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Thanks. The early morning light provided.
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I had a feeling. 🙂
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I’m sure you know that cormorants dry their wings that way. We often have them lined up, one per piling, after a ‘group swim.’ Because they spend so much time underwater, they have to spend a lot of time out of the water, too — drying and preening.
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I just noticed those feet. They’re the same size and shape as the feet of the black-bellied whistling ducks. They’re just so amusing — like pancakes.
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The feet are a favorite feature of the pose. I have seen cormorants drying this way a few times locally at the swamp I visit along the rail trail and on the Connecticut river. Seeing them on their individual pilings has just happened in the images posted by others so that’s an experience I hope to have some day…along with pelicans doing the same which I’ll have to travel to see.
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Stretch and dry, stretch and dry
Got no oil, so have to try
Gold in the water, gold in my beak,
Caught me posing—my, oh, my
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The bird seemed comfortable there and appeared indifferent to my presence. I was probably outside the comfort zone.
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Wow! What a wonderful shot, and contrast with that gold in the background. Very nice, Steve!
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Thanks, Pete. Occasionally I get a cooperative large bird to pose.
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Fabulous, Steve! The golden light on the water was quite a gift, the way it emphasizes the cormorant’s beak. Way cool. I love the feet, too, draped tightly over that rock. I hope they’re not too much of a nuisance where you are – I know they are very problematic in some places.
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The feets are my favorite part of the image. Thanks, Lynn! I am not aware of them being a problem here. The population is not that large. This was in Acadia but I have not heard of them being a problem there either. Maybe if I fished for a living I might have a different opinion. 🙂
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“Feets” was unintentional but I like it. 😀
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Me too. Perfect.
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